We are delighted to announce that Macedonia has achieved PEFC endorsement of its national forest certification system for the first time. “Having a PEFC endorsed national system in Macedonia makes the dreams about Macedonian forestry joining global initiatives for sustainable forest management come true,” said Vladimir Stojanovski, President of The Council for Sustainable Forest Management in the Republic of Macedonia. “The same positive energy used in the process of creating our national forest certification system will be transferred to the next steps - having the first PEFC-certified forest in Macedonia.” Click Read More below for additional information.

UPM has been listed as the forest and paper industry leader in the Dow Jones European and World Sustainability Indices (DJSI) for 2020-2021. “Population growth, climate change and the scarcity of natural resources call for companies to take proactive actions. Finding alternatives to fossil materials and meeting global challenges is at the core of UPM's Biofore strategy,” says Sami Lundgren, VP, UPM Responsibility. “In 2020, we have taken significant steps to advance our responsibility agenda. In January, we became one of the world’s first forest industry companies that committed to the UN’s Business Ambition for 1.5°C and to science-based measures to mitigate global warming. Furthermore, we have established a Green Finance Framework and integrated our responsibility targets of sustainable forest management, emission reductions and innovative bioeconomy products into the company's long-term financing,” Sami Lundgren continues.

The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) applauds today’s news that the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) will now recognize wood and paper products certified by a variety of authorities. The USGBC has previously recognized only sustainable forest management certification from a single standard. But the USGBC says builders and architects can now get credit for the use of wood and paper products certified by a number of standards authorities. For Canadian forest products companies, this change will mean increased market access for some products, wider recognition of the value of some Canadian forest products, and, potentially, increased revenue and employment for the forest products sector.