Stakeholders from around the world are invited to give feedback on the revised Argentine Forest Certification Scheme. Deadline for comments is 29 July 2022. Give your feedback. The Argentine Forest Certification System CERFOAR revised the country’s national forest certification system following the entry into force of the revised 2018 PEFC Sustainable Forest Management standard. The Argentine system was submitted to PEFC after being revised in line with PEFC requirements. The national system is now undergoing the PEFC assessment process, carried out by an independent PEFC Registered Assessor. It must pass this assessment to maintain its PEFC endorsement. An important aspect of the assessment process is the public consultation. Over the sixty-day consultation, stakeholders from around the world can give their comments and provide feedback on any aspect of the system. The Registered Assessor will use the information received from this consultation in their assessment of the system.

Smurfit Kappa’s industry-leading commitment to sustainability has been recognised once again by the Euronext Vigeo Eiris index. The packaging leader was listed on the sustainability index for the sixth year in a row after distinguishing itself for its Environmental, Social and Governance (‘ESG’) performance. The Euronext Vigeo Eiris index is composed of the 120 highest-ranking listed companies for corporate social responsibility performance. To qualify, companies are subject to examination of their sustainability programme by a team of analysts which reviews up to 330 indicators. Only companies that can produce hard evidence of their sustainability programmes and score highly against industry benchmarks make the final list.

Asia Pulp & Paper Group (APP) and the Belantara Foundation last week signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with South Sumatra provincial government, as well as a declaration of commitment with the West Kalimantan provincial government, to support both provincial governments in sustainable landscape management to achieve green growth in their respective region. Both provinces are leaders in this space and have driven the push for integrating environmental protection and economic growth policy in Indonesia. The agreement with the South Sumatra Provincial Government will run until 30 October 2018 and focuses on developing sustainable landscape management, with particular focus on forest fire prevention and protection of peatland. Both APP and Belantara Foundation also commit to be part of donor committee to fund landscape projects in South Sumatra, managed by the Partnership for Landscape Management (KELOLA) led by the Governor of South Sumatra and supported by Zoological Society of London (ZSL).