Customers often ask whether PaperWise is FSC or PEFC certified. In this article, we delve into FSC, PEFC, and why PaperWise makes these certifications redundant. People, companies, and organizations that inquire about FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) or PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) do so because of their desire to contribute to sustainability. To combat deforestation. They want to ensure that the trees cut down for their products come from sustainably managed forests. But to what extent do FSC and PEFC guarantee sustainability? And what are the advantages and disadvantages of FSC and PEFC compared to tree-free PaperWise paper?
INTRODUCTION
Sustainability and circularity are very important topics today. FSC and PEFC are also seen as certifications for sustainable paper, cardboard, packaging and printing. But let’s look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of FSC and PEFC and compare them to PaperWise, paper made not from trees, but from agricultural waste.
The European market for paper and cardboard is 72.5 million tons. About 55% is recycled paper and 45% is made from trees (Source: CEPI 2023). Around 60-70% of this paper is FSC or PEFC certified. This means that the vast majority of paper and cardboard comes from sustainably managed forests. But trees, whether FSC or PEFC certified or not, are definitely not the most logical and sustainable choice for paper and cardboard.
THE ORIGIN OF FSC AND PEFC
Both certification systems were established in the 1990s with the same intention: to promote sustainable forest management. The founders were concerned about the increasing deforestation and the negative impact of this on both the environment and local communities. FSC was established by a broad coalition of environmental organizations, businesses, and social groups from North–America and Canada with large industrial forests in mind. PEFC was founded by representatives from the European forestry sector. These were small and medium-sized forest owners who experienced difficulties complying with the strict standards of FSC.
AIMS OF FSC AND PEFC
FSC aims to protect forests, the workers working in those forests, and the indigenous peoples,. PEFC focuses on supporting national and regional certification programs. It acts as an umbrella organization that approves the certification and traceability of wood products from various countries and regions. Unlike FSC, which uses a single global standard, PEFC allows more room for national and regional differences, provided they align with the basic principles of sustainable forest management. FSC is more centralized and globally established and PEFC offers more flexibility to local and national initiatives.
ADVANTAGES: FSC AND PEFC CERTIFIED PAPER MADE FROM TREES
We can state that FSC and PEFC offer tangible benefits, summarized below. More benefits are claimed, but these are not indisputably true and, in some cases, are even false. Therefore, here is a summary of the proven benefits:
- Independent and periodic audits and certification by accredited third parties. This ensures reliability, credibility, and is free from conflicts of interest
- Traceability throughout the supply chain, from forest to end product, which forms the basis for guarantees.
- Responsible forest management, every tree cut for paper is replanted
- Human rights of forest workers and indigenous peoples are respected
- FSC and PEFC encourage the use of recycled paper, which reduces deforestation
- FSC and PEFC provide confidence to consumers that they are making responsible choices
- Paper manufacturers that carry FSC or PEFC have strict quality standards, good paper quality
DISADVANTAGES OF FSC AND PEFC PAPER FROM TREES
Before diving deeper into the disadvantages of FSC and PEFC, let’s go back to the origin of paper. Over 5000 years ago, the Egyptians already used forms of paper made from the stems of the papyrus plant, which is where the word paper comes from. This paper was technically still very different from the paper we know today. To find a closer resemblance, we need to go back 2000 years to China, where a process was developed in which fibers from plant residues such as rice, straw, hemp, bamboo, and mulberry bark were soaked, finely ground, and then dried into thin sheets of paper.
In Europe, until the early 19th century, paper was mostly made from old textile fibers. Due to the growing demand for paper in the 19th century, textile fibers became scarce and expensive. This was the time when the paper machine and processes were invented to mechanically and chemically process wood fibers from trees into paper pulp. This made paper much cheaper, and the demand for paper grew even stronger. At that time, using trees as a raw material for paper made sense because they were abundant, and there was a complete lack of knowledge about the negative impact on the environment.
FSC and PEFC certifications are great systems to guarantee sustainability if we assume that trees are the most logical and sustainable raw material for paper and cardboard. But what if it turns out that trees for paper are not that logical and sustainable? Why should we use primary raw materials (trees) with growth periods of 10 to 80 years to make paper? Paper and cardboard for products such as packaging materials, printing, or copy paper, which have a lifespan of mere seconds, days, or weeks? This imbalance in time has many negative effects.
With the knowledge we have today, we can state that there are also quite a few disadvantages to FSC and PEFC certified trees, paper, and cardboard:
1. Damage to biodiversity
Trees for paper mainly come from plantation forests. These monocultures do not contribute to biodiversity; they do not provide a varied habitat for animals and plant species, and pesticides are used.
2. Ecosystems
Even though forests are sustainably managed, it takes at least 30-40 years for a cut forest to fully recover ecologically. FSC and PEFC certifications ensure reforestation, but this does not guarantee that the original ecosystem will fully return. In fact, this ensures that the original ecosystem does not return, due to the choice of plantation forests (monocultures).
3. CO2 emissions
Cutting, transporting, and processing trees for paper production remains an energy-intensive process that emits CO2. Primary raw materials like trees cannot reduce this ecological footprint, even certified systems such as FSC and PEFC do not solve this issue.
4. Chemicals and water
Plantation forests, whether certified for FSC or PEFC, rely on pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers to maintain the monocultures. These chemicals are harmful to the environment. Different tree species have varying effects on water consumption. Fast-growing tree species like eucalyptus, poplars, and birches have significant negative impacts on local water systems and ecosystems. The environment dries out. Look at a country like Portugal, where forestry for paper production causes significant damage and danger to the environment.
5. Risk of non-compliance
Although FSC and PEFC have strict rules, there are cases where certifications are misused or where monitoring and compliance are insufficient. This means that not all certified forests actually meet sustainability criteria.
6. Large-scale deforestation remains an issue
Certifications like FSC and PEFC mainly work on a concession basis and on a large scale. Although this can be more efficient, it often means that large areas of land are used for logging, which affects the integrity of forests and naturalhabitats, even if this is “controlled.”
7. Recycling
Paper is recyclable more than 25 times according to the latest studies, but pure new cellulose is always required in the paper cycle. The recycling share in Europe is 72%. Paper that comes into contact with food must always be made from pure cellulose for safety reasons. This explains why 45% of paper in Europe is made from trees. This ratio will not change. The question is, where should this pure cellulose come from? Must it come from trees? Or are there alternative, more ecological raw materials available?
PAPERWISE PAPER FROM AGRICULTURAL WASTE MAKES FSC AND PEFC REDUNDANT
The answer is YES! There are much better raw materials available. Ecologically speaking, and in the ratio of growth time versus usage time. These are secondary raw materials that become available once farmers harvest. These raw materials are abundant, become available globally every year, and no trees need to be cut down. They are plant residues such as stems and leaves left over after harvesting wheat, barley, rye, rice, hemp, or sugarcane. These waste streams—raw materials for paper and cardboard—are called agricultural waste.
In short, trees, whether FSC or PEFC certified, are NOT the most logical and sustainable choice for paper. They are primary raw materials whose renewability takes an extremely long time compared to the usage time. So why cut down trees for paper when we can also obtain pure cellulose fibers from secondary raw materials… from agricultural waste?
If you truly care about sustainability, choose PaperWise, paper from agricultural waste. Agricultural waste constitutes 80% of the weight of the plant (yes, really that much!) and is full of pure cellulose. Agricultural waste is a by-product that comes from another industry. This is what we call secondary raw materials. PaperWise paper and cardboard is tree-free, recyclable, compostable, food-safe, and the environmental impact is 47% lower than paper from trees and 29% lower than recycled paper. Furthermore, agricultural waste provides additional income for farmers in developing countries where PaperWise is produced. Win-win.
Would you like to know more about PaperWise and the possibility for your sustainable packaging, printing or copy paper? Contact us via the button below, and we will be happy to send you more information or examples.
