Two Sides U.S. joins the Forest Legality Alliance

Two Sides U.S. has joined the Forest Legality Alliance (FLA) as a commitment to advancing the responsible production and use of print and paper, one of the core elements of the Mission of Two Sides U.S.

The press release was issued today and can be found at this link.

The Alliance is a joint effort of the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the Environmental Investigation Agency, supported by the United States Agency for International Development and companies in the forest sector.  FLA’s diverse membership includes organizations such as Staples, Ikea, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the Retail Industry Leaders Association.

The goal of FLA is to reduce illegal logging and eliminate illegal fiber in paper products.  To achieve this, FLA engages in the following activities:

• Outreach and dissemination – providing information and building capacity on legality aspects including the 2008 U.S. Lacey Act amendments.
• Information and analysis – compiling information and generating new analyses to help buyers understand the context in the countries of origin of their raw materials.
• Demonstrating feasibility – through case studies, showcase best practices and examples of how companies are addressing and meeting legality requirements.

Our engagement with FLA also gives us an opportunity to work much more closely with WRI staff.  For the past year, Two Sides U.S. has been looking to collaborate more closely with reputable science-based environmental organizations that have experience and knowledge in the environmental impacts of forest products over their life cycle.  WRI meets this need perfectly as their experience in the sustainability of forest products is world-class.  They have worked with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, NCASI and others to produce documents which are now industry standards, such as:

• the Greenhouse Gas Protocol for Pulp and Paper
• the Sustainable Procurement Guide for Wood and Paper-based Products

Over the next few months, we will be featuring these tools and others more prominently as we develop our dedicated web pages on Responsible Production and Use of Print and Paper.

Forest Legality Alliance staff will also help provide training and education services to Two Sides U.S. member companies on topics related to illegal logging and associated trade, including legal requirements in global marketplaces and the sourcing of legal and sustainable paper products. FLA will also provide peer review for Two Sides materials including web content, blogs, printed publications and promotional materials.

This new initiative will not only benefit our members, but also will strengthen our mutual efforts to promote the responsible production and use of paper.  When fiber is sourced legally from well-managed forests and paper is manufactured and printed responsibly, print on paper is a sustainable way to communicate.

Phil Riebel

President, Two Sides U.S., Inc.