Source Fibre Responsibly
- End sourcing of fibre from unknown and illegal sources, suppliers or operations.
- End the use of fibre from, and avoid suppliers associated with loss of, endangered forests and high conservation value forests, ecosystems and habitats.
- End the use of fibre from, and avoid suppliers associated with, conversion of natural forests or other high conservation value ecosystems into plantations for paper fibre.
- End the use of fibre from, and avoid suppliers associated with, loss or degradation of peatlands and high carbon stock forests.
- End the use of fibre, and avoid suppliers, associated with human or labor rights violations.
- Source any virgin wood fibre for paper from forest managers that have credible, independent, third-party certification for employing the most environmentally and socially responsible forest management and restoration practices. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is currently the only international certification programme that comes close to meeting this goal.
- Avoid sourcing from and promoting misleading and environmentally irresponsible forest certification programs.
- Support the development and use of sustainably grown and harvested alternative crops for paper where credible analysis indicates that they are environmentally and socially preferable to other virgin fibre sources and do not lead to loss of necessary food crops or high conservation value ecosystems.
- Eliminate use of toxic, bio-accumulative or persistent pesticides and herbicides in fibre production.
- Refuse fibre from genetically modified organisms.
- Replace ‘far’ with ‘near,’ using sustainably produced, locally-sourced fibre and minimising transportation wherever possible.
Relevant Reports
News and Resources Related to Responsible Sourcing
Domtar Deal, Deforestation and Abuses: Whose Side are Banks On?
Last July, Andrea Paul received a letter containing a drawing of an Indigenous person and a Black person hanging from a tree. The caption said, "This is what I think of Natives and Blacks. You think you rule the world." Miss Paul is the traditional Chief of the First...
Pulp mill in Sumatra connected to fires and respiratory illness plans to triple production
For Immediate Release Palembang - Today, over 30 civil society organisations sent a letter to investors of Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), part of the Sinar Mas Group, explaining why the expansion of APP’s OKI Pulp and Paper Mill in Sumatra, Indonesia would risk the...
Walking for forests: local communities’ weeks long march to protest their land destruction
Togu Simorangkir lives in North Sumatra. A postgraduate from Oxford University, he is an author and environmental activist. Over the past weeks, he marched for 42 days, walking with friends across Sumatra for approximately 1500 km, and reaching Jakarta a few days ago....
Indonesian paper giant APP takes over North American Domtar, putting the company’s credibility at risk
For the pulp and paper industry, it is the take-over of the decade. Domtar shareholders decided today to sell their shares to Paper Excellence and delivered the major North American uncoated freesheet paper producer (with 21 manufacturing facilities around the world,...
Activists protest first eucalyptus shipment from Mozambique to Portugal and ask World Bank to stop funding ‘afforestation’/operating company
Conversion of forests and land to plantations doesn’t solve climate change The first delivery of eucalyptus trees to Aveiro in Portugal from the port of Beira in Mozambique has been received with strong criticism by Mozambican and Portuguese groups and two...
New violence by an Asia Pulp and Paper controlled company against indigenous women in Sumatra
What started as a normal, quiet day in the country village of Suluk Bongkal (in Sumatra), turned into a horrific afternoon and evening. On December 18th 2008, a small army of policemen, private security and paramilitary groups attacked the village, and suddenly, all...
The Cost of Industrial Logging in Canada’s Boreal Forest
photo copyright River Jordan NRDC With global wood demand expected to triple by 2050, it’s becoming increasingly vital that the world’s last intact forests are responsibly managed. The creation of pulp and paper -- which makes up an estimated 40 percent of all...
Featured Member: Canopy
Canopy works with the forest industry’s biggest customers and their suppliers to develop business solutions that protect the world’s Ancient and Endangered Forests. The not-for-profit is a founding member of the Environmental Paper Network. EPN reached out to Lee-Ann...
‘Food estate’ projects eating up Indonesia’s forests: cascading threats on global environment and communities unveiled
Indonesia’s government recently announced plans for several new ‘food estate’ projects in Central Kalimantan, Papua and North Sumatra Provinces. Despite their name, these developments are not about securing ‘food’: a new report reveals that, once in place, they would...
It’s Time for Companies and Lawmakers to Act on the Packaging Crisis
Shortly after the road turned to dirt, a sign greeted us, painted in the timeless yellow and brown style of so many erected by the U.S. Forest Service throughout the national forest system. “First Tract of National Forest,” it announced. It’s a woods I know well, full...
The capture of policy-making by the pulp and paper industry is driving mega-fires in Portugal and land grabbing in Mozambique
This article is a guest post by Oliver Munnion, Global Forest Coalition, Portugal. It was originally published in Forest Cover 63, December 2020. Global Forest Coalition will host a webinar on Thursday 21st January at 3pm Amsterdam time (CET) to explore their new...
Statement of German NGOs on forest bioenergy
Unlike its European neighbours such as the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark, Germany had so far comparatively low capacities for industrial energy production from forest biomass. Up to now, wood has played a relevant role as an energy supplier mainly for stove...