Sustainable Forests Update

Last month Wild Animal Baby, National Wildlife Federation’s (NWF) magazine for children ages one to three years, became the first magazine in the U.S. to be printed on FSC-certified paper (Forest Stewardshp Council). The magazine is printed on Tembec’s FSC-certified Kallima coated cover. Wild Animal Baby has an average circulation of 180,000 copies per issue, using a total of 380,000 pounds of
paper per year.

In 2003, the Tembec Paper Group, a forest management and chain-of-custody (COC) certificate holder in Canada, announced the manufacture of an FSC-certified board stock appropriate for NWF’s magazine. In December 2003, NWF’s printer, QuadGraphics, received its COC certificate. Finally in April 2004, NWF’s magazine paper merchant, Central Lewmar South, received its COC certificate, making it possible for NWF to purchase the paper. SmartWood, a program of the Rainforest Alliance, granted all of the COC certifications.

Tembec sells more FSC-certified wood, newsprint and paperboard than any other company in North America. Over 25% of Tembec’s Canadian forest operations are FSC-certified. The Company’s goal is to obtain certification for all 40-million acres of its Canadian forest by the end of 2005.

Initially, the switch to FSC-certified paper was expected to cost more due to increased costs for additional presswork needed to varnish one side of the paper. Because Tembec paper has a significantly lower basis weight, the amount of paper used and the costs to mail Wild Animal Baby actually decreased, saving NWF approximately $46,000 per year. In addition to the environmental benefit of being FSC-certified,
NWF will actually consumer less paper and wood fiber.

NWF is exploring options to switch other publications to FSC-certified papers, including Your Big Backyard, Ranger Rick, and National Wildlife magazines. Currently, NWF publications use non-chlorine bleached paper containing 15% post-consumer waste. www.nwf.org

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Scientific Certification Systems (SCS), an FSC-accredited certifier, announced last month they have certified 490,000 acres of Wisconsin state forestlands as responsibly managed according to standards set by FSC. Wisconsin joins states such as Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts and Maine who have also earned FSC-certification for state forestlands. Of the 12 million FSC-certified acres of forestland in the U.S., nearly 5 million acres are comprised of publicly owned land.

Wisconsin’s forest products sector is a $28 billion dollar a year industry, providing nearly 100,000 manufacturing jobs in the state. With 25 FSC chain-of-custody manufacturers located in Wisconsin, this additional certified acreage will significantly impact the supply of FSC-certified products available in the Midwest market, particularly in the paper sector.

Massachusetts recently announced their FSC certification for 500,000 acres of state forest land, the first state where multiple forest management agencies joined forces to earn certification of all of publicly managed state forestland. Certified lands are managed by different agencies of the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA), including the Department of State Parks and Recreation (285,000 acres), Department of Fisheries and Game (110,000 acres), and the Division of Water Supply Protection (104,000 acres).

View a list of paper merchants and printers with chain-of-custody certification in the U.S.


FROM US FSC Views and News