Climate change is mitigated by emission cuts and by binding atmospheric carbon dioxide to plants and soil. UPM is doing research to evaluate the size of the carbon sink generated by its brassica carinata plantations – a new feedstock for biofuel production – in Uruguay. Carbon sequestration or capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it in plants and soil, is an efficient way to mitigate climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emphasises in its 2018 report how important carbon sinks in forests and soil are in alleviating the impact of climate change. “Cultivating carinata in Uruguay benefits not only the environment, but local farmers and UPM´s businesses as well,” confirms Liisa Ranta, Sustainability Manager, UPM Biofuels Development. “The plant provides an excellent feedstock for our biofuels production. And because the carinata farms absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the carbon footprint of our renewable fuels is diminished further. As important, local farmers will have extra income from cultivating carinata as a second crop.” Click Read More below for additional information.

The use of the PEFC framework to transfer Green House Gas (GHG) emission related data along the supply chain has been the subject of increasing interest among the bioenergy sector and other industry sectors processing forest-based materials in recent years. Key to this rising interest is the growing demand from governmental and private customers, particularly in Europe, that biomass used for energy production is from sustainable sources, such as PEFC-certified forests, and is delivered with credible and transparent information on GHG emissions linked to its production, processing and transport. In response, PEFC International has established a Task Force for the development of a voluntary mechanism for the transfer of GHG emission related data along the PEFC-certified supply chain. The objective of this newly established Task Force is to develop a set of technical requirements, which can be used as a strictly voluntary tool for data transfer.

PEFC is much more than just the secretariat in Geneva. We are an alliance of national forest certification systems, NGOs, labour unions, businesses, trade associations, forest owner organizations and committed individuals. Together, we work towards our vision of a world that values the contribution of sustainable forests to our planet and our lives. Our members are a vital part of the PEFC alliance. From the 12 founding members, to the current 81 members (51 national and 30 international stakeholder members), representing several hundred national stakeholder groups, we have grown and become global. But how have we got to this point – and how has it changed the very nature of PEFC?