The American Forest Paper Association (AF&PA) recently released the sustainable development progress report of Better Practice, Better Earth 2020. The report highlights the achievements of the paper and wood industry in sustainable development. AF&PA member companies have met or exceeded most sustainable development goals, including a 24.1% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

The achievements of sustainable development proposed in the report mainly include:

The safety accident rate of AF&PA member companies has decreased. Compared with 2006 (the base year), the safety of member companies has increased by 30%, which is a breakthrough compared with the original goal of increasing by 25%. AF&PA has also developed a voluntary participation support plan for member companies to prevent serious injury and death.

The member companies exceeded the target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which decreased by 24.1% compared with 2005.

AF&PA member companies strictly adhere to the principle of sustainable fiber procurement to ensure that wood comes from suppliers committed to sustainable management and harvesting practices. Members purchased 99.2% of wood fiber through the “Certification Procurement Plan”, an increase of 12.2% compared with 2005.

AF&PA member companies overfulfilled their energy efficiency targets, with a 13.3% drop in purchased energy compared with 2005. The spontaneous power of the pulp and paper complex in 2020 will be 58% of the electricity required by the enterprise in that year, most of which will be generated from the residues of carbon neutral biomass manufacturing industry.

AF&PA member companies helped promote better water resource management, and water consumption of pulp and paper enterprises decreased by 8.3%.

In recent decades, the paper recycling rate has continued to grow and maintained at a high level, reaching or exceeding 63% since 2009. In 2020, nearly 66% of paper and paper products will be recycled.

Better Practice, Better Earth 2020 is a 10-year initiative involving AF&PA members and key stakeholders. Since 2011, AF&PA has issued five biennial reports to track the progress of member enterprises. The current report reflects the data of the member performance verification survey in 2020.