The team at our Cedar Springs, Georgia, mill believes not only in being a good neighbor, but also a responsible environmental steward. In fact, the Wildlife Habitat Council recently certified the mill as a Wildlife at Work property, a distinction designed to recognize outstanding habitat management on industrial lands.
Wildlife at Work certifications aren’t easy to come by, but for Cedar Springs, the recognition is well-deserved. The employees working at the nearly 5,000-acre site go out of their way to minimize disruptions to wildlife living in the area. For example, the team has carefully relocated a dozen gopher tortoises over the years to ensure the animals are not harmed when a mill expansion or construction project occurs. Other species the team is working to increase include bluebirds, purple martins, bats, and insect pollinators, and it protects endangered mussels living in the Sawhatchee Creek, which runs through the property. The team is also planning to replant longleaf pine trees on 300 acres of the site, a move which will benefit a multitude of indigenous creatures, including the gopher tortoise.
Cedar Springs joins five other Georgia-Pacific facilities that have earned certification from the Wildlife Habitat Council over the years, including: Green Bay, Wisconsin; Big Island, Virginia; Monticello, Mississippi; New Augusta, Mississippi; and Rincon, Georgia.
PEFC and the Handicraft & Wood Association of Ho Chi Minh City (HAWA) will work together to develop PEFC Chain of Custody certification in Viet Nam: this was one of the key results from a week of outreach in the country.
PEFC-certified material from around the world is already used by many solid wood processing companies in Viet Nam - in particular by the furniture manufacturing members of HAWA. Focus is now switching to the development of a national forest certification system in the country, paving the way for the production of domestic PEFC-certified sources.
Many paper industry products are such an imbedded part of our lives that we often take them for granted, but just think about what our lives would be like without the tissue segment of our business. While paper products are inherently sustainable, the growing circular economy discourse has drawn single-use products like tissues and paper towels into the conversation—and often not in a positive way. However, a closer look at the tissue product sector reveals some interesting sustainability facts that may not be top of mind. First, consider that tissue products are highly engineered to perform multiple functions at once. Bathroom tissue, for example, must be strong, soft and absorbent enough to perform its primary purpose, yet break down in a matter of seconds to pass through wastewater systems. To make products that perform according to a wide range of functions and align with consumer needs, paper towel and tissue manufacturers must use the appropriate mix of wood fiber pulp and recovered paper, as each brings different properties to the table. Achieving ultra-softness and absorbency, for instance, requires the use of fresh fiber. U.S. manufacturers are committed to responsible and sustainable wood fiber sourcing. As part of an overall paper industry sustainability goal, paper towel and tissue producers are continually increasing the amount of fiber procured from certified forestlands and through certified fiber sourcing programs. Click Read More below for additional information.
The American Forest Foundation and The Nature Conservancy today announced a new partnership with REI Co-op, the nation's largest membership-based co-op and outdoor retailer, to empower America’s rural family forest owners to manage their forests in ways that sequester and store more carbon. The partnership will support the Family Forest Carbon Program, a joint forest carbon project of the American Forest Foundation (AFF), a national conservation non-profit that specializes in family-owned forestland, and The Nature Conservancy (TNC), a global conservation organization. “REI focuses its work at the intersection of people and planet. AFF and TNC have done the same in their creation of the Family Forest Carbon Program,” said Matt Thurston, Director of Sustainability at REI. “The program is at the forefront of forest carbon strategies, using ground-breaking approaches that help small landowners join the fight against climate change.” The Family Forest Carbon Program is a new forest carbon program rooted in high-integrity climate impact and support for small rural forest owners. The program provides land-owning families with expert conservation guidance and resources along with the financial assistance to actively engage in practices that improve forest health and productivity. The practices not only increase the carbon sequestered and stored in the forests, they also can deliver important co-benefits such as improved water quality, wildlife habitat and increased long-term forest resiliency.