Going Green is no longer synonymous to ‘tree hugging’, it is a critical factor in the world’s economy. It is the gateway to get out of the linear economy, based on fast cash and who cares about tomorrow? Today’s green business is the key to the other green, cash. By adopting a circular economy we optimize dwindling, and convert pollution and expensive raw materials from waste to gold. Read more [...]

GreenDustries is thrilled with the new policy at Georgia-Pacific that increases protection for millions of acres of the South’s natural hardwood forests. It lets us know that others in industry, like us, believe we must rein in the pillaging of forests to save tomorrow’s forests today – and it is a giant leap in the battle toward understanding of the important role forests play in our planet’s environment.

What the new policy means is that Georgia-Pacific will not purchase trees from Endangered Forests and Special Areas, or from new pine plantations established at the expense of natural hardwood forests. The policy statement was developed in consultation with environmental groups Dogwood Alliance, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and Rainforest Action Network.

While GP’s new forest policy applies to all of its operations, as a first step in implementing its commitment on Endangered Forests and Special Areas, GP worked with the environmental groups and scientists to identify 11 Endangered Forests and Special Areas totaling 600,000 acres in the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Eco-Region, as well as 90 million acres of natural hardwood forests in the Southern region. Endangered Forests and Special Areas in other regions are to be mapped in a similar process, over the coming years.

According to the Dogwood Alliance website: “No other U.S. company has demonstrated this level of initiative in mapping unique forests across such a broad region,” said Debbie Hammel, NRDC Senior Resource Specialist... Read more [...]

2011 has been designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Forests. This is because forests play a critical role in protecting the health of our planet, says Danna Smith, executive director of the Dogwood Alliance, a nonprofit that works to protect the country’s southern forests. Wrote Smith in a recent editorial: “From supporting biodiversity to renewing and filtering water supplies, preventing floods, and removing carbon from the atmosphere, forests are essential for life on earth. Yet, despite their immense value, forest destruction is accelerating and today accounts for 20 percent of global carbon emissions. That's more carbon than is released from all the cars on the road. Smith cites a recent report from proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences finding that the U.S. leads the world in percentage of forest cover loss, attributing much of that loss to industrial logging in the South, where 2 percent of the world's forests produce about 20% of the world's wood and paper products. Read more [...]

The Federal Trade Commission has proposed revisions to marketers’ guides to eliminate the problem of misleading environmental claims on products. Read more [...]