Between 2010 and 2015, forest area expanded in the U.S. and Europe and stayed roughly the same in Canada.

– FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment, 2015

The most common cause of global deforestation is the conversion of forest land to agriculture and livestock areas.¹

“The forest industry has made significant progress in improving sustainability over the last years, and use of products from sustainably-managed forests is increasing.”

– United Nations FAO, 2018

Forest certification to independent third-party standards promotes forest management practices that result in outcomes that are economically viable, ecologically sound and socially just.

Globally, a total of 428 million hectares are certified under the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (including the Sustainable Forestry Initiative or SFI) and the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®).¹ Roughly half of this area is in North America, one third is in Europe, and about 5% is in South America.²

Certification of the forests which supply raw materials to paper and board mills in Europe for pulp production has increased to 75%.³

The number of commitments by companies to ensure that their raw materials do not cause deforestation increased globally from 579 in 2016 to 760 in 2017.⁴

Paper is responsible for about 13% of the world’s wood harvest; fuelwood (50%) and lumber (28%) are by far the largest users.

– Derived from FAOSTAT, 2015

7% of the world’s forests are plantations and they provide a third of the world’s forest products. They are vital to the survival of natural forests, which would otherwise be in greater danger of over-use.⁵