The paper chains custody battle

Only a quarter of commercially managed forests have COC certification, of which almost two-thirds are PEFC endorsed and one-third FSC. In January 2007, Pira published the world’s first COC paper market study, which found that global consumption of FSC-certified paper grew by 128% from 2006 to 2007, whereas FSC’s certified forest acreage grew by only 33%.

PEFC, which has roughly twice the forest area of FSC, admits that demand is outstripping supply in some markets. In 2007, around 887,050 tonnes of FSC-certified paper was used worldwide, compared to only 64,000 tonnes of PEFC-certified paper.

As demand for sustainable fibre increases, many in the packaging industry doubt that forest certification schemes, especially FSC, will be able to keep up with demand. “There’s not enough FSC forest to meet the total market need and so, to sustain the marketplace, industry targets and timescales will have to be agreed,” says Phil Husband, UK packaging development manager at Smurfit Kappa. Mark Kerridge, managing director of carton firm Benson Box, points out that the major retailers all prefer FSC.

Tom Sene, sales director at folded carton manufacturer Alexir Packaging, says there is a massive difference in public awareness. “FSC is more widely known by consumers, but there is little knowledge of PEFC outside the board or paper industry.” 

Smurfit Kappa’s sales and marketing director for the UK and Ireland, Martin Ferrari, agrees. “FSC has stolen the march in terms of promoting their organisation,” he says. Sene adds that none of his customers has ever asked for PEFC, but many have asked for FSC. He says customers have declined PEFC when he has offered it as an alternative.

Opinion formers
This has much to do with customer preference. “The policies of retailers have a large impact on shaping broader opinion on certification standards,” says PricewaterhouseCoopers’ global forest, paper and packaging industry practice director Clive Suckling. The problem for PEFC is that powerful environmental NGOs, such as Greenpeace, are viewed as trusted and respected sources by retailers and the public, and these support FSC.

Marks & Spencer, for example, already specifies FSC for its paper-based packaging, while Tesco senior packaging buyer Sonia Raja announced at the Carton Conference last month that Tesco is developing a policy for FSC.

The FSC symbol is easy to understand, explains Asda packaging buyer Shane Monkman. The multiple insists on FSC certification. “Other schemes clearly exist,” says Monkman, “but we feel keeping it simple for customers to understand is the right way to go, and as such, FSC is the one they recognise.”

SIG Combibloc demands that all its paperboard suppliers are FSC certified. The carton manufacturer’s ecological brochure spells out its preference for FSC over PEFC, for two reasons; the support of international environmental organisations and traceability. “To guarantee a high credibility level of the traceability system, it is important that it is based on international standards, the compliance of which is regularly reviewed and certified by independent experts.” 

Paper merchant PaperCo is PEFC and FSC certified. John Turner, divisional manager of graphical and carton board, says that if the principles of both are to encourage sustainable forests, then PaperCo must support both schemes. “At the time we became accredited, only 3% of the pulp supply was FSC so it made sense to include PEFC.”

Suckling believes certification has been slowed by rivalry between the schemes, and PEFC International secretary general Ben Gunneberg agrees: “The sooner we engage with FSC, the sooner we can get things moving.” However, FSC has said that it will not work with PEFC due to different working practices.

FSC originated from environmental NGOs in 1993 and has grown in popularity thanks to the support of founding member the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

FSC writes its own standards, whereas PEFC, established in 1999, reviews and adopts national standards. PEFC has more than 196 million hectares, while FSC has 103 million hectares. 

There appears to be a general lack of understanding of the two schemes, admits ProCarton environmental officer Jennifer Buhaenko. ProCarton tried to fill the knowledge gap by providing information about the green credentials of carton packaging and COC certification at the Easyfairs Ecopack show in March.

WWF, Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth are all supporters of the FSC scheme and are among PEFC’s harshest critics, particularly with regard to social issues arising from certification. Greenpeace UK forest campaigner Mariana Paoli criticises the Finnish Forest Certification Scheme (FFCS), endorsed by PEFC, for infringing on the rights of the indigenous Sami community by failing to protect forest areas essential for reindeer herding.

Rigorous assessment
In response, PEFC says that the Finnish government is dealing with this in a “fair and proper manner” by following due process of both national and international law.

Paoli also asserts that the FFCS “allows the destruction of important habitats for endangered species”. PEFC contests the view that it has a weaker COC. “The standards are assessed against a rigorous assessment process by an independent assessor against some 300 requirements,” says Gunneberg.

Pira predicts that, within five years, inadequacies in both FSC and PEFC supply chains are likely to cause problems with fibre labelling. It remains to be seen whether certified acreage will keep up with demand, so that retailers can continue to wear COC accreditations on their sustainably sourced cartonboard sleeves.

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Extending life

The green credentials of recycled board are already well established. It has a very strong following, particularly within the corrugated sector, where excellent recycling systems are in place. “We need to have vibrant, well-managed forests and we need to have recycled material to extend the life of virgin fibre,” says Mike Clark, PEFC chairman and M-Real senior adviser on sustainability and environmental affairs.

The environmental factor is the main reason for using recycled fibre, says Andrew Barnetson, corrugated sector manager at the Confederation of Paper Industries. The process itself has taken place for hundreds of years. It can also benefit a company economically, as recycled board is cheaper than virgin materials.

However, recycling weakens paper fibre, explains Barnetson. “The result is that to get the same strength, you have to increase the weight,” he says. Mark Kerridge, managing director of Benson Box, agrees. “Recycled substrates tend to be weaker, because of the shorter fibres,” he says. “So the board tends to be bulked up, which goes against efforts to reduce packaging weight.”

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The world in wood

• Only 8% of the world’s forests are certified to any chain of custody (COC) scheme
• 25% of commercially managed forests are certified
• PEFC has more than 196 million hectares of certified forests. FSC has 103 million hectares
• About 30% of the earth is forested
• Europe’s forests account for 27% of the world’s forests
• 46% of European land is forested. Over 50% of the forest area is certified as being sustainably managed, with a COC
• Over 80% of the timber used in the European paper and board industry is derived from European forests
• Globally, 12% of harvested wood is used for paper and board – no rain forest is used
• At least 30% of paper and board used is ‘lost’ through tissues for personal hygiene, food contaminated packaging and cigarette paper etc
• Forest area in Europe is increasing, not decreasing. It increased annually by an area the size of Cyprus from 1990 to 2000

Sources: www.procarton.com and www.paper.org.uk

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