Seeing the forest and the trees, all 3 trillion of them

Forest certification is in this context a success story. As of 2019, about one-third of the wood used in products, packaging or construction is certified as originating from sustainable forest management and supply chains. PEFC, the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, has been instrumental to this success. With innovations such as group certification, a mechanism that makes certification accessible to small- and family forest owners, PEFC has expanded the accessibility of certification. Today about one million forest owners have obtained PEFC certification. With its latest sustainable forest management standard, PEFC expanded the scope of certification to include Trees outside Forests, extending the impact of PEFC certification beyond the boundaries of the forest. This innovation can make PEFC certification practical and affordable to farmers or other land managers, who are often growing trees as just one of their many crops.

“Building Shared Value: Sustainability and Competitiveness, PEFC in Latin America” will take place from 4-6 July 2016 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Join our South American PEFC members as they welcome certified companies, procurers, retailers, media and others to share best practices, build capacity, and discuss how to improve market demand and access for PEFC-certified products in the region. The event will kick off with an introduction to how PEFC promotes sustainability for procurers of forest-based products, retailers and media. Some of the largest forest-based products producers and retailers in the region such as UPM (Uruguay), Suzano (Brazil) and Unilever (Argentina) will then share their experiences on how to encourage sustainability at the highest level. On Day 2, the focus shifts to certified companies including printing, packaging and publishing sector and key stakeholders, consultants and professionals committed to sustainability. Workshops on how to implement strategic branding of forest products and on how to integrate sustainability and a safe supply chain in marketing and promotion strategies, will enable participants to benefit from existing best practices and consider opportunities for their own operating environments.

American Forest & Paper Association President and CEO Donna Harman thanked Congress for reaffirming that federal regulatory policy should reflect the carbon neutrality of forest-based renewable biomass. Fiscal Year 2019 appropriations legislation, which passed the House and Senate, contains legislative language to that effect. “We thank our bipartisan Congressional champions for advancing a measure that recognizes long-standing scientific principles and appropriately reflects the paper and wood products industry’s use of carbon neutral biomass for energy production. We are one of the largest manufacturing sectors in the nation and deserve clear public policy that supports our ability to grow the economy, create American manufacturing jobs and stay in step with global competition. We look forward to working with the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy and the United States Department of Agriculture to fully implement this Congressional directive.”