Forests & Timber

Paper is natural, recyclable, precious, essential. 91% of the raw materials are from Europe, 70% is recycled in Europe, forests have grown by 30% since 1950 and CO2 use has reduced by 40% per tonne of paper produced in the last 20 years. All this shows we are an important partner in the bio-economy!

Wood pulp fibres can be recycled a number of times, but after 6 or 7 times they eventually lose their papermaking qualities.

Fresh (virgin) wood pulp fibres need to be constantly introduced into the papermaking chain.

Without these virgin fibres, from new trees, the paper cycle can neither begin nor continue.

With responsible forest management, European forests have grown by over 30% since 1950 and are increasing every year by an area four times the size of London or 1.5 million football pitches.

Paper is completely natural, wholly biodegradable and entirely recyclable, comes from a renewable resource and is manufactured in a sustainable manner.

Trees absorb CO2 from the atmosphere, and paper, as a wood product, continues to store carbon throughout its lifetime. A well managed forest, used and re-planted, absorbs more carbon dioxide than a mature forest consisting of older trees.

Paper is made by mixing a variety of wood pulps in order to obtain the characteristics required in the end product.

UK papermakers support the use of forest certification as a means of providing independent assurance of responsible sourcing of woodpulp.

More trees will need to be planted if the needs of papermakers and EU targets for renewable energy are to be met.

Forest certification was launched well over a decade ago now to help protect forests from destructive logging practices. Like the "organically grown" sticker on produce, forest certification was intended as a seal of approval -- a means of notifying consumers that a wood or paper product comes from forests managed in accordance with strict environmental and social standards. For example, a person shopping for flooring or furniture would seek a certified forest product to be sure that the wood was harvested in a sustainable manner from a healthy forest, and not clearcut from a tropical rainforest or the ancestral homelands of forest-dependent indigenous people.

Increasing consumer demand for certification creates a powerful incentive for retailers and manufacturers to seek out good wood suppliers. This in turn prompts forest managers to adopt ecologically sound certified practices that maintain natural forest characteristics, and to move away from destructive techniques like large-scale clearcutting, logging in endangered and old-growth forests and destruction of natural forests for replacement by barren tree plantations. (see FSC and PEFC)

From March 2013, EU Timber Regulation applies - legislation designed to ensure all timber (and timber products such as pulp & paper) manufactured or imported into the EU are legally harvested. The new system works by requiring that those placing
or handling regulated materials on the European market exercise due diligence to ensure illegally harvested materials are not used or sold.