Timber, Pulp & Paper

The following links serve as a companion to The 2050 Criteria, providing additional data, information, tools, and resources on the timber, pulp and paper sector. For context and more complete guidance, download the full report.

Data & Information

• WWF maintains a robust collection of WWF Position Papers on forestry, paper production, milling, and other industry practices and impacts.
• The New Generation Plantation Project provides practical tools and case studies for tree plantation management best practices. These resources include reports on bio-energy and carbon, forests in a green economy, and plantations and biodiversity.
• The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) publishes a regular review of the current market trends and characteristics of sustainability standards across several commodities, including forest products. The State of Sustainability Initiatives Review 2010: Sustainability and Transparency represents the latest edition.
• Life-Cycle Analyses of wood pulp vs other materials for building, packaging, and other uses, includes, for example, a meta-analysis of LCA studies which found most studies ranked the environmental performance of wood-based beverage cartons ahead of other forms of beverage packaging.
• The Forest Trust (TFT) is a global nonprofit that focuses on the extraction stage to help companies create sustainable products.
• The Smartwood Smartstep Program is an independent audit service that helps forest management enterprises achieve FSC certification.
• The Rainforest Alliance TREES Program helps small and medium enterprises manufacture sustainable forest products.
• The FSC Modular Approach Program breaks forest management down into smaller modules, allowing recognition for early progress.

Evaluation & Certification

• In selecting which forest products certifications to use, WWF has collected a robust set of both WWF and non-WWF resources and reports evaluating different schemes.
• Two Responsible Forest Products Purchasing Policies regarding wood sourcing are detailed in case studies.
• Recommendations regarding paper purchasing, details and example of leading companies can be found in the WWF Guide for buying paper.
• Paper buyers can quickly and easily check the overall environmental impact (fiber sourcing, climate, energy, water emissions, waste to landfill) of their paper purchases through the Check Your Paper tool.
• The Paper Company Environmental Index is a tool to evaluate transparency of major paper companies, as well as their overall environmental impact. Rating is on a voluntary basis and updated regularly.