Member companies of the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) have agreed to follow an innovative approach to sustainable forest management that takes its cue from nature. The approach, known as Natural Range of Variation (NRV), is aimed at recreating natural landscapes by harvesting in patterns that are similar to the impact of wind, fire, insects and other natural disturbances. FPAC members committed to follow this approach after working collaboratively with environmental groups under the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement. The pledge to implement NRV is considered a major step towards the environmental and industry CBFA goal of making Canada a world leader in sustainable forest management.

The latest sustainability report shows Sun Chemical’s progress toward its goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2030, with 2013 as a baseline, and becoming net carbon neutral by 2050. Sun Chemical approaches its three business pillars of operations, products and services, and collaborations using the ‘five Rs’ framework – Reuse, Reduce, Renew, Recycle, and Redesign – to guide its sustainable initiatives and products in an effort to achieve a circular economy. “As the industry’s spotlight on sustainability grows brighter, brand owners and converters need supplier partners who can help them adhere to regulations and meet their goals,” said Michael Simoni, Director, Global Sustainability, Sun Chemical. “We are proud to announce that Sun Chemical is 86 percent of the way to meeting its own 2030 target to cut carbon emissions in half. Our ‘five Rs’ framework has focused our strategic efforts on reducing waste and improving efficiency, recyclability, and compostability while maintaining the highest standards of performance to best serve our customers.”

As part of a new initiative to eliminate single-use plastic bags from the wastestream, Dick’s Sporting Goods is joining an industry consortium. Dick’s is committing to remove all single-use point-of-sale plastic bags from its stores by 2025. As a first step toward this goal, Dick’s is taking part in the Closed Loop Partners' Center for the Circular Economy’s Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag as the lead sports & outdoors sector partner. Dick’s will work alongside Closed Loop Partners founding partners CVS Health, Target and Walmart, as well as Kroger and Walgreens, in the Beyond the Bag initiative. Closed Loop Partners launched the initiative earlier this year to identify, test and implement viable design solutions and models that more sustainably serve the purpose of the current retail bag. The consortium recently launched the challenge in partnership with global design company IDEO, which is currently accepting ideas from across the globe to re-invent the current retail bag – which could include reusable models, new materials, or software and hardware innovations that eliminate the need for bags altogether.