Paper Clips

Extended producer responsibility for packaging programs in the United States have had some major firsts the last few years. Maine was the first state to pass a packaging EPR law in 2021. Oregon became the first state to begin implementing such a program in 2025. Next week is slated to bring a new milestone: The first packaging EPR lawsuit to go to trial. That means that by year’s end, there could be more clarity about the future risks and opportunities with these programs. The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors is poised to argue its case in a five-day trial in Portland, Oregon, starting July 13 — less than a year since it filed a lawsuit that’s gripped producers and the recycling world. NAW believes Oregon’s packaging EPR program is unconstitutional on two primary grounds: violation of the Due Process Clause, particularly as it relates to delegating authority to producer responsibility organization Circular Action Alliance, and violation of the Commerce Clause, given the state program’s implications for out-of-state businesses.

Nature positive has become one of the defining concepts shaping international discussions on biodiversity, climate and sustainable development. The challenge now is implementation: turning ambition into practical action that delivers lasting benefits for both people and nature. Forests are central to that discussion. They conserve biodiversity, store carbon, regulate water, support livelihoods and provide renewable materials. Nature-positive discussions rightly recognise the importance of protecting forests. They also provide an opportunity to consider how sustainably managed forests can contribute to biodiversity, climate action and resilient communities at the same time. Sustainable forest management provides a practical framework for balancing these objectives in ways that keep forests healthy, resilient and productive. The Global Nature Positive Summit 2026, taking place in Kumamoto, Japan, from 14–16 July, provides an opportunity to explore exactly these questions.

Over the past five decades, China has planted 66 billion trees in a massive wall that spans the Gobi and Taklamakan deserts. This reforestation effort intended to stop the deserts’ spread is working — but, it turns out, with a surprising twist. In a new study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, researchers found that the trees planted in the so-called “Great Green Wall” appear to grow faster than trees in natural forests, possibly because they respond to the rising CO2 levels in our atmosphere better. The Great Green Wall project began in 1978 and is expected to be completed by 2050. The original intent was to slow the desertification of the country’s grasslands, of which the Gobi devours over a thousand square miles every year. In its early stages, the initiative struggled to get off the ground, as some of the trees chosen for their quick growth turned out to be poorly suited for the environment and died off. But Chinese scientists pushed on. In a monumental feat of planning and perseverance, the verdant barrier has continued to grow instead of dying off — a fate that commonly befalls other green wall initiatives that learned that you can’t brute force your way into planting as many trees as possible. Forest cover in the regions the wall touches has ballooned from 5 percent in 1978 to 14 percent in 2023, according to a Nature article, which has helped cut down on dust storms and improve the air quality in downwind cities, including Beijing.

EcoVadis, a leading provider of corporate sustainability ratings, has once again awarded UPM its highest possible Platinum recognition. Among more than 150,000 companies assessed, only the top one percent achieved Platinum status. UPM has been part of this top one percent since 2020 and has now earned an outstanding score of 90/100 for the second consecutive year. The EcoVadis assessment evaluates companies’ performance across four categories: Environment, Labor and Human Rights, Ethics, and Sustainable Procurement. Additionally, in May UPM received an A score in CDP’s 2025 Supplier Engagement Assessment (SEA), which evaluates how companies engage their supply chains on climate-related issues. According to CDP, companies that actively involve their suppliers in climate change mitigation play a crucial role in the green transition.

The EU and China reaffirmed their commitment to step up joint action against plastic and chemical pollution, including from packaging, ahead of the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP17) in Armenia and the resumption of negotiations of the Global Plastics Treaty. High-level dialogues were held this week in Brussels, Belgium During the policy dialogue, the EU and China agreed on the need to accelerate global action, noting that plastic pollution is rising and cannot be addressed by any country alone. Both sides reaffirmed their joint commitment to advance negotiations on a legally binding global instrument to end plastic pollution, requiring global action across the full lifecycle of plastics. The discussions also highlighted the need for chemical pollution prevention and control, including hazardous substances such as persistent organic pollutants and PFAS.

Packaging minds from P&G, General Mills and Just Born Quality Confections, along with municipal waste leaders and other collaborators, discussed the latest compliance tensions and emerging solutions. -You’ve got questions. So does everyone else. As EPR begins to take hold in U.S. states, questions abound across the value chain. “We’re supposed to be talking about navigating EPR, and I’m not sure that I’m really any more familiar with where I should be going as a local government,” said Christina Seibert, executive director at the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County, Illinois. “I’ve got as many questions as I have answers.” -State disparities create tension The differences among states’ packaging EPR laws is a major pain point for brands and packaging companies, speakers said. “Where we create conflict in setting policy is creating conflict for the implementation and the logistics that it takes to make it effective,” Seibert said. “We know that brands are not designing packaging for a state, they’re designing it for a market. The market is national, and sometimes larger than national.”  -Peeping at data solutions Concerns over disparate state programs also have come up at Just Born Quality Confections, the parent company of candy brands including Mike and Ike, Peeps and Hot Tamales. “Every time I thought I had a good grasp, another state would change their goal posts,” said Charlotte Ashcraft, senior manager of packaging and graphics development, discussing her journey with learning about EPR. “Then something clicked for me. I realized I was trying to solve the wrong problem. I was treating EPR like a policy problem, and it’s not — at least not for us. EPR is really a packaging data problem.” -Where the fees flow Various speakers touched on how collected EPR fees go toward adding or improving recycling infrastructure. Speakers at one session discussed an area they believe should be at the top of the funding list: flexible film recycling.

Companies across the paper and packaging value chain are facing growing pressure to provide accurate Scope 3 emissions data and support sustainability claims with transparent, verifiable information. As sustainability expectations evolve, broad environmental claims are no longer enough. Sustana’s latest EnviroLife® life cycle assessment (LCA) provides product-specific environmental data that helps customers evaluate fiber choices, strengthen sustainability reporting, and make more informed packaging decisions. As sustainability expectations continue to evolve, companies need more than broad environmental claims to guide procurement and material selection. They need data grounded in actual products and manufacturing processes. Sustana’s latest EnviroLife LCA provides that added level of insight, helping customers better understand the environmental impacts associated with the materials they source and use.

-Circular Action Alliance, the producer responsibility organization selected to implement California’s extended producer responsibility for packaging law, on Monday hit a highly anticipated deadline to submit its program plan to the SB 54 advisory board. -In the draft plan, CAA projects a California program budget of up to $1.87 billion in 2027. Looking at the next five years, it could total between $9.35 billion to $17.2 billion. -A public comment period is open until Aug. 14. CAA will consider the comments as it prepares the final program plan for submission to CalRecycle in October.

Proposals to reduce forestry activity and increase protected forest areas have become an important part of the European forestry debate. However, according to a new impact assessment, such measures risk leading to lower production, tens of thousands of lost jobs, and higher societal costs — without delivering any climate benefits. A central question addressed in the report is how reduced forestry activity would affect the climate. The analysis shows that carbon storage in forests may increase in the short term when less timber is harvested. In the longer term, however, forest growth declines, which according to the report's authors leads to reduced carbon sequestration both in forests and in wood products. According to the report's authors, the focus should therefore be on maximizing the climate benefits of Swedish forests through active management and the continued development of resource-efficient products and materials.

The service is available to UK-based companies that:  -Have set a net-zero carbon emissions target for no later than 2050, covering Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions  -Measure and publicly report greenhouse gas emissions on a regular basis These requirements make sure that credits sit alongside meaningful work to cut emissions, not in place of it.  UK companies will have access to a growing portfolio of credits across multiple climate solutions:  Reducing deforestation-Restoring forests-Direct air capture-Superpollutant abatement-Lower-carbon fuel insets

Reuse and refill businesses in the Portland area are among the initial adopters of PR3’s new reuse symbol that organizers hope becomes as universally recognized as the chasing arrows for recycling. Since its introduction in 1970, the imperfect yet ubiquitious chasing arrows symbol has become synonymous with recycling. The reuse sector aims to achieve that type of instant recognition with a new symbol launched globally last week. U.S. companies are among the first to commit to using the symbol — especially those in the Portland region, which has a reputation as a reuse leader. PR3: The Global Alliance to Advance Reuse chose the new symbol from 236 submissions from 29 countries, with Colombia-based creative firm Epigrama Studios producing the winning design. PR3 is offering symbol versions with and without the word “reuse” included.

The Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act faced another year of intense scrutiny, lobbying and more than 30 amendments. The New York state legislature is not expected to pass a contentious extended producer responsibility for packaging bill in the final hours of the session. The Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act faced another year of intense scrutiny, lobbying and more than 30 amendments.  Previous versions of the bill passed the Senate in both 2024 and 2025, but neither made it through the Assembly before the clock ran out on the session.

According to Forest Products Association of Canada-FPAC, forest management certification relies on independent audits that verify forestry practices against internationally recognized standards, including environmental, social and economic criteria. These standards cover the protection of wildlife habitats, forest regeneration, water quality, worker safety and social issues affecting local and Indigenous communities. In Canada, 154 million hectares of forest are certified — roughly equivalent to the combined area of Ontario and Manitoba. FPAC pointed out that about 10% of the world’s forests are certified, with Canada alone accounting for more than one-third of that area. The organization attributes this strong position to decades of investment in regulatory frameworks, science-based forest management and independent monitoring mechanisms.

Just 16% of U.S. consumers understand the U.S. forests are actually growing in size. Between 2000 and 2025, U.S. forests grew by 10 million acres. That is equivalent to about 1,100 NFL football fields EVERY DAY!

As economic volatility, regulatory pressure and supply chain disruption reshape global business, companies are increasingly treating sustainability as a core driver of resilience. EcoVadis, the global standard for resilient, sustainable supply chains, today released its 2025 Purpose Report. The report shows how organizations are using sustainability intelligence to reduce risk, strengthen procurement decisions and improve long-term performance, with more than $2.5 trillion in global spend now connected to sustainability insights across the EcoVadis network. In 2025, EcoVadis saw 25,852 new companies using its Sustainability Ratings, expanded carbon transparency across 55,838 companies reporting at least one GHG metric, scaled worker engagement to 251,613 active users  “The companies performing best right now are using sustainability to protect revenue, manage supplier risk and make faster decisions,” said Pierre-François Thaler, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of EcoVadis. “You cannot build a resilient supply chain if you don’t know where your carbon exposure is, where labor risks exist, or which suppliers could disrupt your business tomorrow.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), along with others worldwide, shares the commitment to ensuring the health and resilience of forests. The European Union has identified the United States and Canada as low-risk countries for deforestation, and SFI has taken further action to reduce risk through the SFI Standards. With the European Commission’s recent release of its EUDR simplification review, we have yet to see a reduced burden for certified products from low-risk countries. We believe that SFI certification is well positioned to meet global deforestation and degradation policies, such as the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). We have also introduced new tools specifically to demonstrate compliance with EUDR. We encourage competent authorities to recognize forest certification like SFI and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) to help provide assurances of no deforestation and forest degradation in low-risk countries. The SFI 2022 Forest Management Standard, in place since January 2022, prevents deforestation, forest degradation, and does not support forest lands converted to other land uses including natural forests to plantations.

Surging global demand for sand, driven by population, economic, urbanization and infrastructure growth, is outpacing sustainable sand supply, threatening the ecosystems and livelihoods on which we depend, according to a new UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report, Sand and Sustainability: An Essential Resource for Nature and Development. Sand is extracted for various infrastructure needs that underpin modern society and development. It took nature hundreds of thousands of years to generate sand through gradual, geological erosion processes. Yet we are using sand at the staggering rate of 50 billion tonnes per year; its use for buildings alone is projected to rise by up to 45 per cent by 2060. We are extracting it faster than it replenishes - this is the sand gap.

REM requirements are an important facet of packaging EPR because they’re meant to make recycling systems more transparent and trackable. The concept was born in part to fight dumping, especially after China imposed recycling import bans in 2017 and other countries followed suit, raising more public awareness of the role some U.S. recycling systems played in exporting waste to other countries. REMs can help rebuild trust in the recycling system by providing a “clear and credible framework that supports regulatory requirements while giving interest holders confidence in how recycling outcomes are defined, evaluated and verified,” said Victoria Norman, executive director of SCS Standards and Assurance Systems, in a statement.