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Sustainable Forest Products and Your Small Business

Does your business know the origin of its paper and wood products?  Do you know if they came from sustainable forests?  Do the products come from forests that impinge on the lands and rights of indigenous people?  Can your business really trust the recycled or sustainable label on its purchased paper and wood products?  While forest products are renewable goods that store carbon and have a lower environmental impact than non-wood products, forest products can have significant negative environmental effects if not produced legally or sustainably.

The World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development have recently partnered to produce unbiased, well-researched, and “easy-to-understand” information to aid businesses in their purchases of wood and paper-based products.  Such information has been compiled into a comprehensive guide called the Sustainable Procurement of Wood and Paper-based Products.  Applicable to businesses of all sizes, the guide focuses on 10 key issues related to the production and ultimate sale of wood and paper-based products, including origin, information accuracy, legality, sustainability, special places, climate change, environmental protection, recycled fiber, other resources, and local communities and indigenous people.  During a time when legitimate products are advertised among greenwashed pretenders, such a guide allows gives small and large businesses a valuable tool for making socially and environmentally conscious decisions.

To read the full article on GreenBiz.com, click here.

To download the Sustainable Procurement of Wood and Paper-based Products: Guide and Resource Kit V1.1, click here.

To read more about the World Resources Institute, see their website here.

To read more about the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, see their website here.