Press Room

Don't Log the Forests for the Fuel: Dogwood Alliance Releases Paper Calling Tree-based Biofuel a False Solution for Southern For

scot@dogwoodalliance.org — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 06:19:09 -0500

Raleigh, NC " This morning at the Biomass South 2008 conference in Raleigh, NC, Southern forest protection organization, Dogwood Alliance, released, “Don’t Log the Forests for the Fuel: A Position Paper on the Potential Environmental and Economic Impacts of the Cellulosic Ethanol Industry in the Southern United States,” exposing the false environmental and economic benefits of tree-based biofuels. Over the last couple of years, policy makers and investors have been quick to jump on the biofuel bandwagon in hopes of cashing in on the climate and energy crisis, though little to no research supports the positive benefits of this fuel. In fact evidence seems to be mounting to the contrary.

“Between the climate crisis and a growing dependence on foreign oil we are facing a grim future unless big ideas and bold policies are enacted. Unfortunately, tree-based biofuels are a short-sighted and false solution,” said Scot Quaranda, campaign director for Dogwood Alliance. “At best this is an economic boondoggle, and at worst, we are setting ourselves up for a disaster for our forests which will exacerbate global climate change rather than combat it.”

Key Findings from the position paper, include:

Regions already known for their forest products are likely to dominate the market, increasing already unsustainable levels of clearcutting, conversion of natural forests to plantations, and use of toxic chemicals in forest management.

Due to the vast amount of carbon released from Southern forest clearcuts, biofuel production could actually double the amount of greenhouse gas emissions.

While it is clear we need to reduce fossil fuel consumption, research shows that we could reduce global warming pollution two to nine times more by conserving or restoring forests and grasslands than by razing them and turning them into biofuels plantations -- even if we continue to use fossil fuels as our main source of energy.

Total government support for all biofuels in the United States reached approximately $ 6.3"$ 7.7 billion in 2006. Total support is projected to reach around $ 13 billion in 2008 and almost $ 16 billion by 2014. Money that could instead fund critical research into conservation and efficiency and proven solutions.

Tree-based biofuels, also known as cellulosic ethanol, is a product that will be produced from pulpwood and wood chips by converting the cellulose to a liquid fuel. Southern forests, currently the largest paper producing region in the world, are projected to be the region in the United States most heavily exploited for this fuel production. Range Fuels, the country’s first cellulosic ethanol refinery backed by venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, is under construction in Soperton, Georgia. Other facilities are currently planned for Florida and North Carolina.

The forests of the Southern U.S. are a global treasure, housing critical levels of biodiversity, unique ecosystems found nowhere else in the world, and the potential to house a sustainable combination of wood products companies, forest-based tourism, and provide a cultural resource for local communities for generations to come. From the Appalachians to the Ozarks and from the coastal swamplands to the majestic upland hardwood forests of the Cumberland Plateau these amazing forests stand on the brink of disaster.

“Not only will the cellulosic ethanol industry compete with an already unsustainable pulp and paper industry in the Southern US, it will also cause irreparable harm to the forests and communities of the region,” continued Quaranda. “This harm will come in the form of more forest destruction, unsustainable levels of water use in an already drought-stricken region, loss of critically important carbon sinks, competition for land better served for food production, and opening the door to untested technologies including genetically engineered trees which could contaminate natural forests with potential untold consequences.”

While tree-based biofuel may not be the answer, the paper outlines a number of effective alternatives including conservation and efficiency, research and development in proven technologies, and everyday steps that individuals can take to reduce their carbon footprint.

To read or download the paper, visit our homepage: www.dogwoodalliance.org

# # #

Dogwood Alliance is the only organization in the Southern United States holding corporations accountable for the impact of their industrial forestry practices on our forests and communities. In addition to challenging false solutions to the climate crisis, Dogwood Alliance is working to stop the destructive practices of the paper packaging sector. Visit www.dogwoodalliance.org for more information.

Dogwood Alliance

Pulpwatch.org Exposes the Good, the Bad and the Ugly in the Paper Industry

scot@dogwoodalliance.org — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 09:11:35 -0500

PulpWatch.org Exposes the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly in the Pulp and Paper Industry

ASHEVILLE " A new website launched by an international coalition of NGOs brings together GoogleMaps technology, environmental risks and manufacturing data on pulp and paper mills to reveal their practices and rate their performance on social and environmental criteria. The website will be a tool for paper purchasers to find information easily on how a pulp mill is performing and identify social and environmental risks associated with those operations, no matter where they are in the world.

Pulpwatch.org provides transparency by assigning a Red, Yellow, or Green rating, in multiple categories for individual pulp mills. It rewards pulp mills which have adopted the cleanest technologies and embraced responsible fiber sourcing through credible forest certification by assigning a Green Light rating. It exposes pulp mills which have failed to adopt sustainable practices, or who are in conflict with local communities or workers by assigning a Red Light rating. The ratings are based on the widely supported conservation criteria laid down in the Common Vision for Transforming the Paper Industry and supported by information provided by local conservation organizations or other stakeholders based on credible evidence. (http://www.environmentalpaper.org/commonvision.html)

The website is part of an international effort by NGOs to transform the practices of an industry with one of the world's largest environmental footprints - the paper industry. The Environmental Paper Network, a coalition of over 100 leading NGO's worldwide, was a sponsor and consultant to PulpWatch.org. The service is powered by the BeBOLD Database, developed by the Borealis Centre for Environment and Trade Research.

"Knowing what's in your paper is critically important and this application of GoogleMaps is a powerful way to give paper purchasers the chance to make an informed, responsible choice," said Joshua Martin, Network Coordinator, Environmental Paper Network. (www.environmentalpaper.org)

"PulpWatch.org will drive change in an industry with a huge impact worldwide. We will continue to update data on the site, and provide greater details about mills and Endangered Forests. Borealis welcomes input from all stakeholders that will help the service be more complete, accurate and more useful as time goes," said Jim Ford, a Senior Researcher with the Borealis Centre for Environment and Trade Research.

Visit the website at http://www.PulpWatch.org

The EPN Steering Committee is: As You Sow, Borealis Centre, Conservatree, Co-Op America, Dogwood Alliance, ForestEthics, Green Press Initiative, Markets Initiative, National Wildlife Federation, National Resources Council of Maine, and Rainforest Action Network.

LEARN MORE
Watch a short video from EPN Member, INFORM, at http://www.secret-life.org/paper
Read EPN's State of the Paper Industry Report at http://www.environmentalpaper.org/stateofthepaperindustry

###

DATE: August 12, 2008

CONTACT: Joshua Martin, Environmental Paper Network, 828-251-8558, 828-242-4238(m)

Note from Dogwood Alliance: Please notice that all mills monitored thus far in the South besides the Mississippi River Corporation's mill received the lowest ranking. Mills of concern to our organization tracked thus far include the IP Riegelwood (NC), IP Courtland (AL), and IP Georgetown (SC) mills.

Dogwood Alliance

New Video Game “Pac”s a Punch for Southern Forests

scot@dogwoodalliance.org — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 11:39:36 -0500

Southern Environmental Organization Releases Packaging Man Video Game; New Environmental Twist on the Classic Video Game

Asheville, NC " This morning, Dogwood Alliance launched an environmentally themed video game, Packaging Man, to raise awareness about the destructive impact fast food paper packaging has on Southern forests. The game which is a new take on the classic video game, Pac-Man, follows the exploits of the hero Packaging Man as he works to save forest creatures by collecting excessive packaging and recycling it, all the while avoiding the “evil” fast food corporate executives.

“Our fast food lifestyle is burying us in an avalanche of excessive packaging and waste,” said Scot Quaranda, Campaign Director for Dogwood Alliance. “Rising from this giant pile of waste, our hero Packaging Man has emerged to take on the Packaging monsters.”

The production of fast food packaging drives the continued destruction of Southern forests, the largest paper producing region in the world. Paper companies like International Paper (NYSE: IP) are clear-cutting forests, including some of the most special forests like the endangered wetland forests of the mid-Atlantic coast in Virginia and North Carolina to make fast food packaging. Major customers of the big packaging mills of this region include packaging include McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD), Arby’s (NYSE: TRY), Wendy’s (NYSE: WEN), and YUM! Brands corporate parent of KFC and Taco Bell.

“Southern forests, the jewel of the American landscape, are being destroyed to bring you fried chicken, burgers and fries, and super-sized convenience in a glut of wrappers, boxes and cups,” continued Quaranda. “Join the fun and help our hero Packaging Man escape from the corporate evil-doers, recycle all of that excess packaging, and protect our Southern forests.”

Excessive fast food packaging waste is a serious problem in North America:
--Fast food packaging makes up 20% of all litter.
--15 percent of the landfill mass--as much as 30 million tons a year--is food packaging.
--83% of the packaging used for food and drink is made of some form of paper or other wood-fiber material.
--The average person in the U.S. produces 300 lbs of packaging waste each year

“We developed this game in order to reach out to a whole new audience and engage and educate them about an important range of environmental issues,” stated Quaranda. “We believe that everyone from Generation Y to armchair activists will love this game. We are proud of this achievement and hope slacktivists from across the world will join Packaging Man in the fight!”

To join the fun, play Packaging Man at: http://www.nofreerefills.org/files/packman/packman.html

Dogwood Alliance

Make a `Shrink' Pledge on Paper

scot@dogwoodalliance.org — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0500

STOP THE MADNESS OF WASTEFUL PAPER CONSUMPTION " MAKE A ‘SHRINK’ PLEDGE

A network of more than 50 European environmental non-governmental organisations today launches “Shrink”, a joint project addressing the madness of over-consumption of paper. Individuals as well as corporate and institutional paper users are invited to pledge to cut their paper consumption, on the new website www.shrinkpaper.org .

“Almost everyone in industrialised countries uses paper every day, but we have become careless. For example, 65% of print-outs and photocopies, many of which could be read on screen, land in the bin before the end of the day, and junk mail and catalogues are clogging our mailboxes,” said Mandy Haggith of the European Environmental Paper Network (EEPN). “Paper production and use is directly linked to grave negative impacts on forests, biodiversity, on water resources, on the global climate and on human rights, through irresponsible producers. All of us can help to change this, starting today by making a pledge on shrinkpaper.org.”

The website enables people to make a personal pledge to use less paper and commit to simple actions, such as signing off junk mail and printing double-sided if printing cannot be substituted by electronic channels.
It provides useful tips for running a comprehensive paper use reduction programme in an office, and how to save costs by doing so. The website will provide a running tally of the amount of trees, water, pollution and climate change emissions saved through the pledges made.

Helma Brandlmaier from WWF International said, "Responsible paper production practices are necessary and possible. But we also need to tackle our careless and wasteful consumption. People in developed countries are using way more than their share while children in developing countries do not have paper to write on or books to read."

Industrialised countries consume more resources than the world can supply while staying within its carrying capacity: if everyone on earth had the consumption habits of Europeans we would require more than two planets. The madness of over-consumption of paper is just one example of many where people need to cut waste, leading the way so governments and corporations can follow.

Coinciding with the global launch of “Shrink” is a specific communication focus by the EEPN in the UK to some of the UK’s biggest paper consumers " banks, magazine publishers, catalogue companies and supermarkets " inviting them to show global responsibility and to commit to paper use reductions following the example of individual pledges on www.shrinkpaper.org.

“Unnecessarily huge volumes of paper are distributed by large corporations as packaging, mailings and publications, so we are asking some of the biggest paper users to commit to reducing their paper footprint. Our aim is to generate a society-wide understanding of the need to cut wasteful paper use and to help both big and small consumers to take action to make real reductions,” said Judy Rodrigrues of Greenpeace International.

“The environmental impacts of paper consumption are vast”, said Otto Miettinen of Friends of the Earth Finland. “Making 1kg of paper requires 98kg of other resources, uses vast amounts of energy and water and causes pollution. Almost half (42%) of all industrially logged timber is pulped to make paper products, much of it sourced from old-growth and other endangered and high conservation-value forests. The paper industry’s climate change emissions, including forest impacts, production, transportation and disposal, are more than three times those of global aviation. Europeans use four times as much paper as the global average so we are responsible for a disproportionate share of those impacts. We must use less paper.”

“In addition to problems created for biodiversity, the paper industry also has negative social impacts, so saving paper is also an ethical issue”, said Peter Gerhardt of Robin Wood. “In some cases deforestation or chemical emissions by the pulp and paper industry endanger people’s livelihoods and have negative impacts on the health, well-being and stability of local communities. In some areas, forests or other natural ecosystems are being cleared for conversion to plantations with limited ecological value, employing toxic chemical herbicides and fertilisers, and with devastating consequences for local people.”

“By using paper more efficiently, companies and individuals can cut paper purchases and related costs such as toner, storage, handling time and disposal, so as well as the environmental and social benefits of saving paper, it can also save money” said Jim Ford of ClimateForIdeas.org.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT
Mandy Haggith, +44-(0)1571 844020, hag@worldforests.org

Notes for Editors:

(1) Access the Shrink website on www.shrinkpaper.org

(2) The European Environmental Paper Network consists of more than 50 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who share a Vision for Transforming the European Paper Industry. The Vision was launched in 2006, and it sets out a series of goals to limit the negative impacts of paper production and use: to reduce paper consumption, source fibre responsibly, maximise recycled fibre, ensure social responsibility and ensure clean production. The NGO Paper Vision can be accessed on www.shrinkpaper.org/our-vision.htm. A complementary network with its own vision in North America is the Environmental Paper Network, www.environmentalpaper.org.

(3) Europe’s overall ecological footprint is 2.2 times its biological capacity, and has risen by 70% since the early 1960s. The footprint of all individual EU countries is above the world’s sustainable level, which indicates the need to reduce consumption across all sectors of the economy, to less than half current levels.

(4) The Shrink project is partly funded in the UK by the Esme Fairbairn Foundation.

Dogwood Alliance

Trash is a Big Climate Problem, New Study Finds

scot@dogwoodalliance.org — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Dogwood Alliance strongly supports the findings of this report as an important solution to the climate crisis. As an organization working to protect the forests of the Southern US, we continue to seek positive solutions for our forests and for the climate and following some of the simple steps set forth in this report will help us achieve that goal. In addition to recommendations on zero waste strategies, incinerator bans and extended producer responsibility, as part of our work to solve the packaging problem, we strongly support the following recommendation:

Regulate paper packaging and junk mail and pass policies to significantly increase paper recycling: Of the 170 million tons of municipal solid waste disposed each year in the U.S., 24.3% is paper and paperboard. The largest contributors include paper plates and cups (1.18 million tons), telephone directories (550,000 tons), and junk mail (3.61 million tons). Reducing and recycling paper decrease releases of numerous air and water pollutants to the environment and conserve energy and forest resources. When paper mills increase their use of recovered paper fiber, they lower their requirements for pulpwood, which extends the fiber base and conserves forest resources. Moreover, the reduced demand for virgin paper fiber will generally reduce the overall intensity of forest management required to meet the current level of demand for paper. This helps to foster environmentally beneficial changes in forest management practices. For example, pressure may be reduced to convert natural forests and sensitive ecological areas such as wetlands into intensively managed pine plantations, and more trees may be managed on longer rotations to meet the demand for solid wood products rather than paper fiber.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Embargoed for June 5th, 2008

Contact:
Brenda Platt, Institute for Local Self-Reliance: (202) 898-1610 ext 230
David Ciplet, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives: (510) 883-9490 ext 102
Eric Lombardi, Eco-Cycle: (303) 444-6634
www.stoptrashingtheclimate.org

TRASH IS BIG CLIMATE PROBLEM, NEW REPORT FINDS
A zero waste approach revealed as a top climate protection strategy

Washington D.C., June 5 " Legislators in Washington have another tool to confront the climate crisis, according to a new report released today on United Nations World Environment Day. Stop Trashing the Climate concludes that increased recycling and composting are easily-achievable and essential measures to help meet U.S. greenhouse gas reduction targets being debated this week in Congress. Along with waste prevention, expanded recycling and composting can have the same climate protection impact as closing 21% of the nation’s 417 coal-burning power plants says the report. Coal combustion is the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. Released today by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives and Eco-Cycle, the report links America’s trash to use of energy and greenhouse gas emissions, and calls for action to trigger change within a short period.

“Recycling is as important for climate stability as improving vehicle fuel efficiency, retrofitting lighting, planting trees, and protecting forests,” says Brenda Platt, the report’s lead author and co-director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. “By avoiding landfill methane emissions, composting in particular is a vital tactic in the battle to stop Artic ice melting. Biodegradable materials are a liability when buried and burned but an asset when composted.” Leading scientists now recognize that action to reduce methane emissions is needed to stabilize atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, which must peak and decline over the next 15 years in order to avoid widespread and rapid climate change.

Incinerator and landfill companies have lobbied hard to promote waste disposal technologies as sources of renewable energy and as a solution to climate change. As a result, they have gained access to valuable taxpayer subsidies in energy policies. “In reality, incinerators and landfills are bad for the climate,” according to David Ciplet, a co-author of the report and the U.S. coordinator for the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA). “These disposal systems gobble up taxpayer money to encourage more of the same garbage. They compete against wind and solar projects while burdening local communities with pollution and debt.”

Carl Pope, Executive Director of the national Sierra Club says, “Incinerators and landfills are relics of an unsustainable past that have no place in our green economy.”

Main findings from Stop Trashing the Climate include:
• A zero waste approach based on preventing waste and expanding reuse, recycling, and composting is one of the fastest, cheapest, and most effective strategies to protect the climate.
• Significantly reducing the amount of materials landfilled and incinerated has climate benefits comparable to closing one-fifth of all U.S. coal-fired power plants.
• The one-way flow of materials from extraction, processing, and consumption to disposal directly contributes to climate change. Waste disposal is linked to more than one-third of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions; new resources must be continually extracted to replace those buried or burned.
• Landfills are a top source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and landfill gas capture systems are not an effective strategy for preventing methane emissions to the atmosphere. The global warming impact of methane emissions in the short term is 72 times greater than CO2 and is three times greater than reported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
• Incinerators emit more carbon dioxide per megawatt-hour than coal-fired power plants, and waste 3 to 5 times more energy than recycling conserves.

“A zero waste approach is not only good news for climate stability, it’s also good news for America’s businesses and economy,” says report co-author Eric Lombardi, the director of Eco-Cycle, a Boulder, Colorado-based recycling and zero waste business. “On a per-ton basis, recycling sustains ten times the number of jobs as landfills and incinerators. The time to act is now. We cannot afford to pass up this opportunity to create local jobs and new enterprises, while reducing global warming and our reliance on imported goods and fuels.”

Among Stop Trashing the Climate’s key policy recommendations:
• Set local and national zero waste targets, focusing on 20-year plans.
• Eliminate subsidies to landfills and incinerators.
• End the practice of waste incineration.
• Stop sending biodegradable materials to landfills and incinerators.
• Expand the national reuse, recycling, and composting infrastructure.
• Regulate paper packaging and junk mail and pass policies to significantly increase paper recycling

Today community leaders across the country are joining together on World Environment Day in Tallahassee, FL; Providence, RI; Bridgeport, CT; Los Angeles, CA; and Massachusetts to urge elected leaders to redirect the millions of dollars now slated for incinerator and landfill investment toward economically-sound and climate-friendly strategies such as recycling and composting. Calling for an end to business as usual, communities are calling for policies that provide green jobs and healthy solutions to address climate change and poverty.

According to Platt, “The 3R’s " Reduce, Reuse, Recycle " are as relevant today as they were when first introduced in the 1970s. Today we call this approach the zero waste path and include composting, product redesign, and manufacturer product responsibility.”

On World Environment Day, the United Nations seeks to stimulate worldwide awareness of the environment and to enhance political attention and action. Today’s global celebrations focus on solutions and opportunities for countries, companies, and communities to “kick the CO2 habit” and reduce their climate footprint. Stop Trashing the Climate shows a commitment to zero waste is a quick and effective action to address global climate change that every country, company, and community can embrace.

“Landfills and incinerators rank with gasoline-powered cars and coal-burning power plants as major American infrastructure dinosaurs that must be changed from coast-to-coast, and quickly,” says Lombardi.

The Stop Trashing the Climate full report and executive summary can be downloaded at: www.stoptrashingtheclimate.org.

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Members of the press: To set up an interview with sources or if you have questions, please contact: Brenda Platt, Institute for Local Self-Reliance: (202) 898-1610 ext 230
David Ciplet, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives: (510) 883-9490 ext 102
Eric Lombardi, Eco-Cycle: (303) 444-6634 ext 114

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance is a nationally recognized organization providing research and technical assistance on recycling and community-based economic development, zero waste planning and implementation, wind energy, and policies to protect local main streets and other facets of a home-grown economy. Since 1974, ILSR has actively addressed the burgeoning waste crisis, over dependence on fossil fuels, and other materials efficiency issues.

GAIA is a worldwide alliance of more than 500 grassroots organizations, non-governmental organizations, and individuals in 81 countries whose ultimate vision is a just, toxic-free world without incineration. Our goal is clean production and the creation of a closed-loop, materials-efficient economy where all products are reused, repaired or recycled. Worldwide, we are proving that it is possible to stop incinerators, take action to protect the climate, and implement zero waste alternatives.

Eco-Cycle is one of the largest non-profit recyclers in the U.S. and has an international reputation as a pioneer and innovator in resource conservation. Eco-Cycle believes in individual and community action to transform society's throw-away ethic into environmentally-friendly stewardship. Its mission is to provide publicly-accountable recycling, conservation and education services, and to identify, explore and demonstrate the emerging frontiers of sustainable resource management and Zero Waste.

Dogwood Alliance

UN CBD Fails to Protect Forests from GE Trees

scot@dogwoodalliance.org — Sat, 31 May 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Press Release from Global Justice Ecology Project and the STOP GE Trees Campaign:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 31 MAY 2008

UN CBD Fails to Protect Forests from Genetically Engineered Trees

Bonn, Germany--Under heavy pressure from Brazil, Canada, Colombia, New Zealand and Australia, the Convention on Biological Diversity's Ninth Conference of the Parties (COP-9) failed to pass a moratorium on the release of genetically engineered trees into the environment despite support for a global ban endorsed by hundreds of organizations around the world, and the unified efforts to stop GE trees carried out by NGOs, Indigenous Peoples' Organizations, scientists and foresters present at the COP.

The negotiations around the issue of GE trees were heated, with the entire African Group and numerous other Parties staunchly supporting a suspension of the planting of GE trees until risk assessments show that they will have no negative impacts on forests or forest dependent peoples. Among those blocking this effort were the countries of Brazil, Canada, and New Zealand, all of which are currently conducting field trials of GE trees. One member of the Brazilian delegation admitted that their delegation included a representative from ArborGen, the world's leading GE trees research and development company, which projects millions in profits from GE tree plantations that they plan to develop in Brazil. [1]

"Most of the COP resolutions will increase hunger, especially in Southern countries," explained Ana Filippini of World Rainforest Movement and the STOP GE Trees Campaign. [2] "Accepting genetically engineered trees is only one more in the chain of wrong policies that will worsen the already serious hunger situation. Millions of hectares of land are being turned over to the production of agrofuels. With the new emphasis on cellulose-based agrofuels, even more land will be taken for even larger plantations of trees-which will likely someday be GE trees, since the COP would not pass a moratorium on them. Business has been pushing these unsustainable agrofuels all through this COP, which are only for the benefit of transnational corporations at the expense of human hunger and environmental destruction," she concluded.

"Yesterday was a bleak day indeed," added Anne Petermann, of Global Forest Coalition, Global Justice Ecology Project, and Co-Coordinator of the STOP GE Trees Campaign. "The fact that the COP failed to take strong collective action against GE trees means that more forests will be destroyed, more biodiversity devastated and more peoples displaced. Global warming will be worsened and livelihoods lost. As has historically been the case, the work to protect ecosystems will ultimately and unjustly fall upon the communities and peoples that live there.

"Under the leadership of CBD Executive Secretary Ahmed Djoghlaf, the CBD has chosen to actively embrace business and a market-based approach to biodiversity conservation, which has had the inevitable effect of watering down protection of biodiversity where it runs counter to the interests of business. It is having the effect of seriously jeopardizing the legitimacy of this body," she concluded.

Contact: Anne Petermann, Co-Coordinator, STOP GE Trees Campaign
+49 (0) 160 435 9236 (Bonn mobile until 9 am Bonn time Sunday 1 June) or
+1 802 578 0477 (US mobile after 5 pm eastern U.S. time Sunday 1 June)

Notes:
[1] "Rubicon Interim Report", Rubicon. 02/28/07 (Rubicon is a joint owner of ArborGen)

[2] The STOP GE Trees Campaign is comprised of 137 organizations in 34 countries, all of whom support the call for a global ban on GE trees. http://www.nogetrees.org

Dogwood Alliance

Dogwood Alliance Launches No Free Refills in Louisville

scot@dogwoodalliance.org — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0500

For Immediate Release: March 31, 2008
Contact: Scot Quaranda, Dogwood Alliance, 828.242.3596 (cell)

No Free Refills!
Dogwood Alliance Launches National Campaign Targeting Fast Food Packaging; Group Releases Report and Calls on Top 11 Worst Offenders to Use Less, Recycle More and Stop Using Paper from Endangered Southern Forests; List Included Louisville’s Own Yum! Brands

Louisville, KY – This morning, community leaders and businesses joined Southern forest protection organization, Dogwood Alliance, in front of the signature KFC in Louisville, KY to release a report focused on the destructive legacy of fast food packaging and calling on the top offending restaurant chains, led by Louisville’s own Yum! Brands to dramatically overhaul its use of paper packaging or risk being the target of a national campaign. Yum! Brands is the parent company of five chains listed in the report, including KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Long John Silvers, and A&W.

The groups are calling on Yum! and some of their biggest competitors, like McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Bojangles, Jack in the Box, and Arby’s to stop using so much packaging, to increase the use of recycled paper used in its packaging, and to stop buying paper packaging that originates from endangered forests in the Southern US.

“Today we are here at the signature KFC store in Louisville, to call on Yum! to be leaders in Southern forest protection,” said Scot Quaranda, Campaign Director at Dogwood Alliance. “Southern forests, the jewel of the American landscape, are being destroyed to bring you fried chicken, burgers and fries, and super-sized convenience in a glut of wrappers, boxes and cups.”

In addition to announcing the campaign, Dogwood Alliance released a report, “The 2008 Fast Food Packaging Report,” and a new website called “No Free Refills!” that draws attention to the negative impacts of fast food packaging on Southern forests and communities and names the biggest offenders.

Some startling facts from the report include:
• The average American eats fast food more that 150 times per year.
• 300 pounds of packaging waste are generated each year for each person in the United States and 32% of the entire domestic waste stream consists of containers and pack¬aging.
• Diners on the run generate more than 1.8 mil¬lion tons of fast food packaging in the Unit¬ed States each year.
• Recent surveys show that fast-food packag¬ing makes up about 20 percent of all litter, with packaging for chip bags, drink containers, candy wrappers and other snacks compris¬ing another 20 percent.

“Our fast food lifestyle is burying us in an avalanche of excessive packaging and waste. Every year millions of pounds of food packaging waste litter our roadways, clog our landfills and spoil our quality of life,” continued Quaranda. “Simple choices and creative solutions can reduce the excess and destruction while still allowing us to enjoy the level of convenience we have come to expect.”

For more information, or to download the report, visit: www.nofreerefills.org

# # #
Dogwood Alliance is the only organization in the Southern United States holding corporations accountable for the impact of their industrial forestry practices on our forests and communities. In addition to holding the office supply industry accountable to their environmental commitments, Dogwood Alliance is working to stop the destructive practices of the paper packaging sector. Visit dogwoodalliance.org for more information.

Dogwood Alliance

Office Supply Industry's Environmental Progress and Problems Cited in USA Today Ad

scot@dogwoodalliance.org — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0500

For Immediate Release: March 31, 2008
Contacts: William Craven, cell 415-407-3426; Andrew Goldberg, cell 828-251-2525 x19

Office Supply Industry’s Environmental Progress—and Problems—
Cited by Environmental Groups

As NY Paper Week continues, USA Today Ad and Scorecard Reveal Leaders and Laggards

Asheville, NC - An advertisement in today’s USA Today highlights the forest-related paper practices of five major office supply companies: Corporate Express (NYSE: CXP), FedEx Kinko’s (FDX), Office Depot (ODP), OfficeMax (OMX), and Staples (NasdaqGS: SPLS). Environmental groups Dogwood Alliance and ForestEthics say FedEx Kinko’s and Staples are making significant progress in their paper purchasing, while OfficeMax has been doing the least to back up its “green” spin with concrete actions.

In addition to several other cities, the ad ran in USA Today’s New York City edition, where paper industry executives are gathered for the American Forest & Paper Association’s annual “Paper Week.” The environmental groups released the ad and their “Green Grades” report card to provide the environmental information that companies and consumers increasingly use to guide their buying choices—and to remind paper industry executives of where progress is still needed.

“Office supply companies buy and sell large amounts of paper and their decisions directly affect the world’s forests and forest communities—including forests that provide homes for endangered species and shield us from global warming,” said Andrew Goldberg of Dogwood Alliance.

“While no office supply company is perfect, Staples and FedEx Kinko’s are making real progress and lead the sector overall,” said Daniel Hall of ForestEthics. The two companies have been the industry’s most responsive in shifting their paper sourcing from Endangered Forests to more sustainable sources. Last month, Staples stopped sourcing from Asia Pulp & Paper, Indonesia’s largest paper manufacturer and the subject of current investigations into illegal logging and endangered rainforest destruction. Last fall Staples committed to shifting the majority of its paper offerings to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) sources by 2010.

FedEx Kinko’s played an important role in a landmark agreement to protect endangered caribou in British Columbia by shifting its paper purchases away from caribou habitat to FSC sources. The company was the first to adopt a strong FSC preference, and has renewed efforts to avoid controversial Indonesian fiber sources.

The “Green Grades” report card also notes that Office Depot and Corporate Express are making strides in some areas, but the jury is still out on key questions. Office Depot has a strong fiber tracking system, is phasing out its last remaining Asia Pulp & Paper products based on longstanding recognition of concerns there, and is promising to help bring more FSC products to market, including in the US South. However, the company needs to more aggressively cut its sourcing from imperiled Canadian Boreal Forests.

Corporate Express adopted a new paper procurement policy last fall, and is now making large FSC purchases. It is not yet clear whether the company will drop Endangered Forest sources from Indonesia and elsewhere.

The report card identifies OfficeMax as the industry’s clear laggard, with the company’s procurement policy lacking strong Endangered Forest protection measures or a preference for FSC certified products. While some progress has been made to increase FSC products, the groups also noted that too much of the company’s paper still comes from destroying forest ecosystems in Canada and the US South.

The two organizations are confident their work will spur further progress in this important sector, having guided the office supply industry over many years towards more sustainable policies, as evidenced by the actions of Staples, FedEx Kinko’s, Office Depot, and other companies. “Pressure from major corporate customers is often crucial to encouraging forestry companies and governments to protect Endangered Forests and adopt more sustainable practices,” said Hall. “The office supply sector has a major role to play in forest ecosystem protection and restoration,” said Goldberg. Several office companies have already helped protect selected Endangered Forests—and all of the companies need to take more aggressive steps elsewhere, including by addressing their utilization of fiber from the Southern US and International Paper, a company with a long history of destructive logging practices in that region.

The “Green Grades” report card evaluates companies on five categories crucial to forest protection: post-consumer recycled content; sustainable forest management; Endangered Forest protection; establishing chain-of-custody to determine origin of paper products; and prohibiting the conversion of native forests into tree farms or other non-forest land uses. The report card is available at forestethics.org/greengrades
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Dogwood Alliance is the only organization in the Southern United States holding corporations accountable for the impact of their industrial forestry practices on our forests and communities. In addition to holding the office supply industry accountable to their environmental commitments, Dogwood Alliance is working to stop the destructive practices of the paper packaging sector. Visit dogwoodalliance.org for more information.
ForestEthics, a nonprofit with staff in Canada, the United States and Chile, recognizes that individual people can be mobilized to create positive environmental change—and so can corporations. Armed with this unique philosophy, ForestEthics has protected more than 12 million acres of Endangered Forests. Visit ForestEthics.org for more information.

Dogwood Alliance

Dogwood Alliance Responds to IP Purchase of Weyco Packaging Mills

scot@dogwoodalliance.org — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0500

International Paper’s Purchase of Weyerhaeuser Packaging Mills Amplifies Need For Company to Reform Forestry Practices in the Southern US and Around the World

The March 17th announcement of International Paper’s (NYSE: IP) $6 billion purchase of Weyerhaeuser Company’s (NYSE: WY) packaging and recycling mills marks the further expansion of IP’s influence over the world’s forests, including the special forests in the Southern US – the largest paper producing region in the world. With this purchase, IP extends its position as the largest producer of packaging in the country and one of the leaders worldwide. This announcement places even greater responsibility on the company to address the forest destruction associated with its production of paper packaging.

The number one paper product originating from Southern forests is packaging. Though IP is the clear leader when it comes to paper production in the Southern US, IP has consistently lagged behind other paper producers in the region such as Domtar, Potlatch Corp. and Bowater, Inc. when it comes to responsible forestry.

With the purchase of 72 packaging locations, 10 specialty-packaging plants with 6.3 million tons of annual capacity and 4 kraft bag and sack locations from Weyerhaeuser, IP continues its focus on producing paper packaging. The Weyerhaeuser mills that IP will purchase are spread out across the US and Mexico, including two packaging mills in the Southern US in Campti, Louisiana in Pine Hill, Alabama.

IP is the leading producer of paper in the Southern US, yet when it comes to responsible forestry, IP comes in last. IP’s long history of unsustainable forestry practices has scarred the Southern landscape for decades. Practices such as large-scale clearcutting, logging of endangered forests, intensive use of toxic chemicals in forest management and the conversion of natural forests to monoculture pine plantations have had a detrimental impact on the quality of life of local communities, wildlife habitat, water quality and our forests ability to store and sequester carbon to reduce the impact of global climate change.

IP’s prominent packaging mills in the Southeastern Swampland region along the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Forests, including the Riegelwood Mill in NC, the Franklin Mill in VA and the Augusta Mill in GA, have facilitated the ditching and draining of hundreds of thousands of acres of wetlands to make room for industrial pine plantations to produce packaging products that are used once and thrown away. Some of the most unique and special places in the South, from the Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia to the Green Swamp of North Carolina to the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee and Alabama have been irreparably harmed by the IP’s practices.

For over ten years, Dogwood Alliance and our broad-based network have called on IP to change these practices and join the effort to protect our local communities and forests in the region. IP’s expansion of its paper packaging production in the region and around the world through the purchase of these mills further amplifies the critical need to reform this paper giant through transforming the market demand for paper packaging.

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Dogwood Alliance is the only organization in the Southern United States holding corporations accountable for the impact of their industrial forestry practices on our forests and communities. In addition to holding the office supply industry accountable to their environmental commitments, Dogwood Alliance is working to stop the destructive practices of the paper packaging sector. Visit dogwoodalliance.org for more information.

Dogwood Alliance

A Leap Forward - Environmental Groups Help Paper Companies Become Better Stewards

scot@dogwoodalliance.org — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0600

For Immediate Release: February 29. 2008
Contact: Scot Quaranda, Dogwood Alliance, 828.251.2525 x18

A Leap Forward –Environmental Organizations Help Paper Company Become Better Steward of Southern Forests

AbitibiBowater Leaps Ahead of Competitors on Southern Forest Conservation; International Paper Lags Further Behind

Asheville, NC – On February 29, 2008, Dogwood Alliance released a report, “Southern Forests & Bowater, Inc.: Progress Report July 2006 – July 2007,” detailing the leap forward Bowater (now AbitibiBowater) made in honoring its commitment to improve forestry practices in the Southern US and in protecting forests of ecological significance on the Cumberland Plateau of Eastern Kentucky, Central Tennessee and Northern Alabama. The report does not address concerns with AbitibiBowater’s forest practices in the Canadian Boreal forest.

In June 2005, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between Dogwood Alliance, NRDC and Greenville, SC based Bowater, Inc. which set the standard for improved management of the Southern United States working forest landscape. Though in October of 2007, Bowater merged with Abitibi Consolidated to become AbitibiBowater, the terms of the MOU remain in effect for all of the AbitibiBowater mills in the US formerly owned by Bowater. The report details progress the company made over the second year of implementing the commitments contained in the MOU.

“AbitibiBowater has demonstrated that working together, we can end the conversion of natural forests to plantations and protect special places in the largest paper producing region in the world,” said Danna Smith, Policy Director for Dogwood Alliance. “While AbitibiBowater has taken a leap forward, the largest paper producer in the region, International Paper, continues to cling to out-dated practices that are destroying some of North America’s most unique forests in the Cumberland Plateau and Southern Swampland regions of the Southern US.”

Highlights from the progress report include:
• An end to the conversion of all natural forests to pine plantations on Bowater’s forestland – making it the first paper company in the South to formally discontinue this ecologically destructive practice.
• Steps taken by the company to discourage others from converting natural forests to plantations including: notifying landowners supplying it with wood fiber that it will no longer purchase any fiber from plantations established in 2008 and beyond at the expense of natural forests; tracking plantation conversion in its’ Verifiable Fiber Tracking program; and, exploring the use of satellite imagery analysis as a means of identifying natural forests converted to plantations in 2008 and beyond so that it can avoid purchases of wood from these plantations in the future.
• Protection of ecologically important land on the Cumberland Plateau. Over the past year, 16,000 acres of forests once owned by Bowater, has been transferred to the state of Tennessee for conservation purposes, representing more than 25% of the land sold by Bowater during this period.

International Paper’s indiscriminate use of large quantities of wood for its paper mills continues to have significant negative impacts on forests of high conservation value in the Southern US, including in the Cumberland Plateau and the wetland forests of the Mid-Atlantic Coastal region. IP has been a leading force behind the conversion of millions of acres of natural forests and wetlands in the South to sterile pine plantations.

“As others in the paper industry embrace the need for change and make progress, International Paper continues to make excuses,” said Smith. “Dogwood Alliance is escalating its efforts to pressure the company to take meaningful action to protect Southern forests and communities.”

In addition to working with IP’s largest customers in the office supply sector like Staples and Office Depot, Dogwood Alliance recently launched an effort targeting IP’s large corporate consumers of paper packaging such as Yum! Brand Foods (parent company of KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and more) and McDonald’s of the fast food sector and Procter & Gamble and Unilever in the health and beauty sector to convince them to hold IP to a high environmental standard or find alternative, more environmentally progressive paper suppliers.

To read and download the full report, visit: http://www.dogwoodalliance.org/images/pdfs/bowaterprogressreport2007.pdf

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Dogwood Alliance