8.5M tons of packaging entered California landfills in 2024: CalRecycle study

J.D. Irving Limited’s (JDI) partnership with Natural Resources Canada's Canadian Forest Service has led to the commercial development of advanced tree breeding, field testing and seedling production techniques. Maritime Innovation, JDI's new lab in Sussex, New Brunswick was designed to use advanced seedling production technologies based on selection from our native tree population for a range of high value traits such as fast growth rate, high wood quality, resistance to insects and disease and broad adaptation to climate change. A propagation method called Somatic Embryogenesis is used to produce large numbers of seedling from a broad range of genetically diverse trees which have been field tested across the region. Another aspect of the lab’s research involves fungi which live inside the needles and leaves of trees across our region which are called endophytes. A range of these fungi have been selected because they produce compounds which improve their host tree’s tolerance to insect and disease attack. Methods have been developed to inoculate small seedlings in the nursery with these special fungi which stay with the tree throughout its life. Investing in this technology will sustain diverse forests, contribute to a sustainable wood supply for the forest industry and improve tree tolerance to various insect and fungal pests leading to a reduction in pesticide usage.

With the endorsement of IFCC’s sustainable community forest management certification, PEFC forest certification is now more accessible for Indonesia’s community forest management. The system was developed by the Indonesian Forest Certification Cooperation (IFCC), our national member for Indonesia, in collaboration with local communities, and supported by the 2015 PEFC Collaboration Fund. “It is fantastic to see that our Collaboration Fund has paved the way to forest certification for Indonesia’s small- and family forest owners,” said Ben Gunneberg, CEO of PEFC International. "As of 1 June 2019, Indonesia has a total of 3.09 million hectares of forests managed by 679,467 households included in the Social Forestry program,” said Dradjad Wibowo, Chairman of IFCC.

Copy Express, Inc. has joined Two Sides North America, the non-profit organization that promotes and encourages the responsible production, use, and sustainability of print and paper. “The world as we know it has evolved, but our passion for printing remains as strong as it was when we started in 1975. In all fairness to the digital world that surrounds us, there remains a place in our lives for print and paper. Two Sides North America understands and supports this point of view; we, therefore, choose to join them in the promotion of this environmental dialog,” said Jim O’Leary, President, Copy Express, Inc.