Turning Our Attention to Sustainable Forest Management
Last week we celebrated the International Day of Forests, an important and meaningful date in the PG Paper calendar. Now celebrating its 11th year, International Day of Forests is held every year on the 21st of March to help raise awareness around the importance of sustainable forest management in helping battle the ongoing climate crisis. The Forestry Awareness Day, which was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2002, aims to encourage local and national governments to help drive further campaigns and support sustainable forestry to help create a better future for the next generations.
Learn more about the International Day of Forests.
Sustainable Forestry’s Impact on Climate
The sustainable development of our world’s forests plays a crucial role in the fight against climate change. When forests are managed responsibly, they can provide great benefits to both people and the planet as a whole. As set out in the Paris Agreement in 2015, countries must come together to reduce the release of greenhouse gas emissions to help stop global temperatures from breaking 1.5°C. Scientists believe that reducing emissions alone is not enough to reach this target, and sustainable forestry will play a crucial part in helping stay below the 1.5°C threshold.
Research over recent years has proved that global forests provide many benefits in helping tackle climate issues, having a huge impact on the reduction of global temperatures. Second to oceans, global forests are the largest stores of carbon on the planet. Forests also act as a carbon sink and help absorb up to 2.4 billion metric tons of carbon per year. Forests are not only effective carbon sponges; they also assist in regulating the global climate and help provide clean air and water to worldwide communities. Sustainable forestry is important as a response to climate change. However, it also helps protect biodiversity, enhances livelihoods and helps the 1.3 billion people across the globe who directly rely on forests to survive. Despite the crucial impact forests have on climate action, global deforestation continues to threaten the preservation of global forest landscapes. Each year, approximately 12 million hectares of forest are destroyed, contributing to roughly 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
The Paper Industry in Support of Sustainable Forestry
The pulp and paper industry is one of the major industry supporters of the sustainable management of forests. The world relies on paper products in everyday life; however, the wood fibre obtained to manufacture these products must be acquired from sustainably managed forests.
To help promote sustainable forestry within Europe, several schemes exist to help ensure the wood gathered to manufacture paper products is from forests that are handled responsibly. The two main authorities in Europe are the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC™). The purpose of these schemes is to act as an independent verification authority of responsible forestry throughout the industry, ensuring the conservation of the natural habitats of plants and animals and protecting the rights of forestry workers and local communities. Both of these certification schemes control solid chain of custody systems, which have been set up to track the process of the wood fibre throughout the entire supply chain journey. Since 2019, PG Paper has been FSC® certified or Chain of Custody (COC), meaning that many of our traded products can be tracked from their origin to the very end of the process. We are proud to continue to support the sustainable management of forests, helping to drive our focus on sustainable development. We asked our Business Development Manager for Sustainability, Chris, to share his thoughts on the importance of the sustainable management of forests.
Chris Law
Business Development Manager-Sustainability
“It is, of course, of critical importance that the paper and pulp industry practices sustainable methods in the production of products both for the industry’s social responsibility and to ensure minimum impact on the environment. Here at PG Paper, we ensure that our suppliers offer FSC-accredited products which are sustainably sourced without risk of deforestation, that the well-being of the forest locations and people involved is ensured and that, ultimately, our customers can be guaranteed that sustainability and social responsibility is at the heart of our business.”
If you would like to find out more about the FSC® accredited products we have available, we would be more than happy to discuss your interest in more detail. To get in touch with our team, reach out to us at info@pgpaper.com, and a member of our knowledgeable sales team will be in touch to discuss your product requirements.