Global Forest, Paper Industry Makes Progress on Sustainability Commitments

The International Council of Forest and Paper Association (ICFPA), Washington, D.C., USA, 2015 Sustainability Progress Report shows improvements on a range of sustainability indicators and focuses on the industry’s contributions toward a green economy. The full report is available online.

"We are proud of the significant and steady progress our global industry has made on our sustainability commitments," said ICFPA President Donna Harman. "We look forward to continuing to manufacture sustainable products that people use and need while contributing to the well-being of communities around the world."

The report highlights the global forest products industry’s contributions to climate change mitigation, a key topic of the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris, France.

The global sustainability performance of the forest product industry is improving, with all aggregate indicators for reporting associations showing progress:

Greenhouse gas emissions intensity was reduced by 17% between 2005 and 2013
The share of bioenergy in the industry’s fuel mix increased by 8 percentage points, to 61%, since 2005
The number of hectares certified to a third-party sustainable forest management certification system increased by 41 percentage points, to 52% of wood supply, since 2000
The global paper recycling rate increased by 11 percentage points, to 58%, between 2001 and 2013
Onsite energy intensity was reduced by 4.3% between 2005 and 2013
Sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions decreased by 40% between 2005 and 2013
Employees’ recordable incident rate decreased by 9% between 2007 and 2013.

In addition to reporting on performance, the Sustainability Progress Report illustrates how the forest and paper industry is supporting a green economy through resource efficiency, carbon sequestration, innovative technologies, bio-based products, and benefiting communities.

Contributing to the 2015 report are forest and paper industry associations from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Europe, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, and the U.S.

The ICFPA represents more than 30 national and regional forest and paper associations around the world. Together, ICFPA members represent more than 90% of global paper production and half of global wood production.