Stakeholders from around the world are invited to give feedback on the Spanish Forest Certification System. Deadline for comments is 3 May. Give your feedback. PEFC Spain revised the country’s national forest certification system to ensure its forest management standard is up-to-date and continues to meet stakeholder demands and expectations. The Spanish system was submitted to PEFC after being revised in line with PEFC requirements. The 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.

SCA has filed a formal complaint against ASI, and has also informed FSC about the consequences for SCA due to the fact that important parts in a recent report from ASI is misleading and also was published on their website. SCA has been certified according to the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC©) forest management standard since 1999. To confirm that the forest operations meet the FSC-standard, SCA is audited by a third-party certification company, SGS. In August 2017, Accreditation Services International (ASI) evaluated SGS performance during a surveillance audit of SCA forest operations. The report from ASI was finalized and distributed to SGS in July 2018. Click read more below for additional detail.

Mondi opened the Group’s first recycling laboratory at its Frantschach mill in Austria to test the recyclability of paper and paper-based packaging using non-paper components such as coatings. Conducting recycling tests in-house speeds up the process for developing sustainable packaging. While paper packaging offers many sustainability benefits, it also has certain barrier functionality limitations for products like perishable food. To enhance its functionality, non-paper components such as barrier coatings may need to be added, which in turn can impact recyclability. The data collected at the laboratory can be used to improve existing products and provide reliable information about their environmental impact. Mondi will also use the results to determine how the design of new packaging can be improved as well as how best to improve the circularity of [our] material flows. The tests are carried out on various paper and paper-based packaging products developed by Mondi and can determine whether the packaging can be efficiently recycled. The laboratory works in a similar way to industrial recycling facilities, but on a smaller scale. Results generated provide concrete evidence that the material can be recycled.