Every day we find ourselves taking part in activities that are connected to our forests. From making our morning coffee and writing our “to do” lists, to tackling some long overdue DIY project, we connect ourselves to the world’s 4 billion hectares of forests.
Less than 10 years old, International Day of Forests is celebrated throughout the world on the 21st March each year. The aim is to raise awareness of the importance of forestry on our ecosystem and encourage us all to get involved in building a global forest community. This year’s theme is “Forest restoration: a path to recovery and well-being”.
Many global organisations are developing sustainability strategies to support the protection and restoration of forests, but global giant IKEA deserves special mention today.
IKEA’s parent company, Ingka Group recently purchased almost 11,000 acres of forest in Georgia (USA) from the Conservation Fund, a non-profit that has protected over 8 million acres of land. This purchase brings Ingka’s total forest acreage to over 136,000 across the US. As reported in edie – empowering sustainable business and their weekly round-up of their 5 best sustainability success stories of the week, the core focus of this is regeneration and enhancing biodiversity.
In a recent press release, IKEA stated that in order to ensure the management of their forestland meets the highest environmental standards they are routinely audited by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) and their local management units hold the FSC® certificate for forest management.
At PG Paper we have always been driven by sustainability and in December 2019, we were awarded FSC® certification, certified for Chain of Custody (COC), and now comply with the highest environmental standards in the market. As a team we are extremely proud to have our environmental accountability recognised and our license (FSC-C153894) is in line with our continued investment in sustainability.
The FSC® is dedicated to the promotion of responsible forest management worldwide. The system enables businesses and consumers to identify, purchase and use wood, paper and other products from well-managed forests and/or recycled sources, ensuring the world’s forests are managed in an environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable manner.
It is more important than ever to protect our natural resources and work together to protect and restore our forests. This weekend marks the beginning of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere, which will bring more daylight and the opportunity to enjoy the fresh outdoors, allowing us to appreciate the beauty and importance of the forests around us.
To learn more about International Day of Forests, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations have shared their International Day of Forest video that you can watch online here.
You can also get involved on social media using the #IntlForestDay hashtag to help share the message or share a picture of your favourite forest.
At PG Paper we are here to support your environmental paper and board requirements and would be delighted to discuss the FSC® products we can offer you as well as alternative product options. For example, we sustainably source Sugar Cane paper, made from the environmentally friendly alternative to plastic food packaging, bagasse. Bagasse can be used in a variety of paper products including coated base paper, copy paper, double-adhesive paper, high-grade toilet paper and napkins.
For more information reach out to the PG team by emailing [email protected] or dive into another one of our blogs that takes a look at how eco-friendly paper products can be mad.