For more than 20 years, NGO Canopy Planet has worked collaboratively with more than 900 brand partners and innovators, primarily in the fashion, printing, and packaging industries, to transform unsustainable supply chains, catalyze innovation, and keep vital forests standing all over the world. According to the organization, “scientists have urged greater conservation and restoration of forests as vital components in addressing the climate and biodiversity crisis.”
In 2019, Canopy launched its Pack4Good initiative to transform the paper packaging industry to reduce and eliminate its impact on the world’s high-carbon, high-biodiversity forests. The program has grown significantly since 2019, now boasting 389 members. These Pack4Good partners have committed to ensuring that all of their packaging is free of ancient and endangered forests, designed to reduce material use, maximizes recycled and alternative Next Gen fibers, and uses FSC (Forest Stewardship Council)-certified wood when virgin forest fiber continues to be used.
According to Canopy Campaigns Director Tamara Stark, the NGO works collaboratively with each of its brand partners to switch to preferred supplies and overcome hurdles to ensure they can meet the ambitious targets they set. Among the tools and resources Canopy provides its partners are the following:
· A matrix to assess where their current fiber supply is coming from
· Letter templates that can be adapted and shared with their suppliers to help them understand Pack4Good
· A supplier questionnaire that makes it easy for the brand’s suppliers to review their own supply chain and fiber content
· Access to the EcoPaper Database, said by the NGO to be the world’s largest database of lower-impact paper products that contain high volumes of recycled content or Next Gen materials
· Briefing documents, such as an assessment of various certification systems, to help guide purchasing decisions
· LCAs and other existing tools that help guide brands in their fiber choices
· Invitations to webinars and workshops on topics such as how to use Canopy tools, conservation initiatives that brands can support and success stories that brands have contributed to, and new developments in innovative technologies and products that are relevant to their supply chains, among others
· Opportunities to work collaboratively in a pre-competitive space to scale-up innovative Next Generation solutions
With the help of supporters and conservation allies along with initiatives that include Pack4Good, Canopy reports that it has played pivotal roles in securing large-scale conservation gains in 39 million acres of ancient and endangered Forests in Indonesia, Canada’s Boreal Forest, and North America’s Temperate Rainforests. PW
 | Read related article on Canopy Planet partner, “Veuve Clicquot Switches to Virgin Tree-Free Paper.” |
