ACE UK members build on commitment to verified traceability of wood fiber
In 2015, ACE UK members met the targets committed to in 2007, that 100% of wood fiber purchased globally by the member companies was either FSC certified or FSC controlled wood. Proforest, an independent organization working in natural resource management, recently carried out a tenth progress update to cover 2019. The report shows the companies have continued to make progress on their commitments and extend this across their supply chain.
The report shows all 46 of the manufacturing plants operated by the three ACE UK members are Chain of Custody-certified, and all of the mills and traders that supply LPB (liquid packaging board) to the ACE members were Chain of Custody-certified.
Richard Hands, chief executive of ACE UK, said, “The latest report from Proforest illustrates the beverage carton industry’s continuing commitment to ensuring sustainable sourcing of its raw materials and incorporating this commitment into their business strategies.”
Responsibly sourced, renewable materials have a key role to play in supporting a low carbon circular economy. In Sweden and Finland, where most of the wood fiber for European food and drink cartons originates, forests are expanding with growth in forest volume increasing year-on-year as annual growth exceeds cuttings.
“ACE UK members have a clear interest in ensuring that forests are responsibly managed as, on average, 75% of a food or beverage carton is made from this natural renewable material,” Hands said.
“Traceability is one of our industry’s key strategies in ensuring the responsible sourcing of primary raw materials, which is, in turn, critical to achieving sustainable economic growth.”
ACE UK provides a platform for the industry to profile and benchmark cartons as a renewable, recyclable and low-carbon packaging choice, and to drive its environmental initiatives. This includes running the industry’s carton-recycling program.
ACE UK represents Tetra Pak, Elopak and SIG Combibloc, and is also supported by BillerudKorsnäs and Stora Enso, which produce about 98% of the paperboard used by ACE UK members to manufacture beverage cartons in Europe.
