Month: September 2023

Rayonier forests are healthy and diverse ecosystems that we manage with a long-term mindset. We recognize the importance of maintaining biodiversity both for the health of our forests and the broader ecosystems in which they exist.

Rayonier is committed to protecting and closely monitoring biodiversity across our timberlands as we manage our working forests.

To this end, we follow programs and policies designed to protect the diverse natural capital embedded within our forests. We assess the biodiversity of our lands, minimize disturbances associated with our forestry activities, promote indigenous species, protect T&E species, safeguard ecologically sensitive areas, conduct prompt reforestation, and incorporate biodiversity considerations into our portfolio management activities. The following are more specific examples of the steps we take to proactively conserve and support the biodiversity that exists in and around our timberlands:

Assessing the biodiversity balance of our lands

Through our third-party certification processes, we maintain a formal biodiversity monitoring program. As part of this program, we regularly conduct assessments across our timberlands, which enable us to design and implement best practices to preserve specific habitats and to avoid certain forest management activities during particularly sensitive times. For example, we curtail our forest management activities during the nesting period in identified T&E habitats, including:

In our U.S. South region, from September to May, we buffer active bald eagle nests by as much as 1,000 feet.In our U.S. Pacific Northwest region, from April to August, we primarily conduct activities between 2 hours after sunrise to 2 hours before sunset to reduce the risk of disturbance to nesting murrelets.

The detailed analyses we conduct, including classifying cover types by geography, also allow us to manage the quality and distribution of wildlife habitats, which is core to conserving biodiversity across our forests.

Promoting indigenous species and protecting threatened and endangered species 

By maintaining a diversity of cover types, leaving buffers along riparian/streamside management zones, and following age class adjacency restrictions (both voluntary and mandated) for final harvests (referred to as green-up practices), we help indigenous plant and animal species continue to thrive as we conduct our forest management activities. Our species diversity further reflects our deliberate replanting and protection of various indigenous species in concert with green-up practices. Collectively, these efforts help our forests continue to provide abundant nesting habitat, food sources, and travel corridors for wildlife. We take particular care in protecting T&E species on our lands, including refraining from harvest activity as necessary and preserving select natural habitats with buffer areas.

WHY POLLINATORS THRIVE IN WORKING FORESTS.

Safeguarding ecologically sensitive areas 

Responsible stewardship of forestlands and the biodiversity within them is essential to protecting the ecosystems where we operate. Accordingly, we engage with state and federal agencies, as well as local stakeholders, including adjacent landowners and tribal authorities, to identify and protect ecologically sensitive areas. Specifically, in New Zealand, protection of highly ranked Significant Ecological Areas (SEAs) occurs through stringent best management practices designed to limit operational effects. The highest ranked areas have separate management plans and are inspected annually.

Incorporating biodiversity into portfolio management 

In addition to taking necessary measures to protect biodiversity within our existing portfolio, we also incorporate a thorough review of ecosystem attributes as part of our due diligence on timberland acquisition opportunities. Specifically, we aim to identify any special sites, including known critical habitats for any T&E species and/or species of concern. If the timberlands being evaluated are ultimately incorporated into our portfolio, we then develop specific guidelines for the new properties to guide appropriate management moving forward.

THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES

Of the thousands of plants and animals in Rayonier’s forests, a few species are considered threatened or endangered, which we work actively to protect.

Our foresters and contractors are trained to be aware of and recognize protected T&E species and their habitats. We rely on mapping and database tools, as well as a working knowledge of our land, to determine where specific conservation practices are needed. In addition to our own efforts, we also participate in broader industry and conservation initiatives, such as population studies and surveys.

THREE KĀKĀ WERE WELCOMED TO THE BOUNDARY STREAM MAINLAND ISLAND RESERVE AVIARY.

In the U.S., we rely on state natural heritage programs, NatureServe, regular biodiversity assessments, and the routine field work of our foresters to locate potential occurrences of T&E species. In New Zealand, occurrences of Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species (RTES) are recorded in our EMS database so that forest management plans can be adapted accordingly. In addition, certain areas designated as either Significant Ecological Areas (SEAs) or High Conservation Value Forests (HCVFs) require special procedures to ensure that they are protected. Through the use of these various tools, we have identified that approximately 50% of our forests have the potential of being a T&E species habitat.

Importantly, our forest management practices help reduce the risk of adverse impacts to the normal life cycle or habitat of T&E species. Such practices include surveying sites for species occurrences before conducting forest management activities, leaving buffers along riparian and natural habitat areas, or limiting harvest activities during certain times of the year.

Some T&E species are nomadic, which means they move from place to place and do not have fixed boundaries to their habitat. The modifications we make to our forest management practices for these species include hand planting versus machine planting, and/or adapting the timing of activity based on their cycle of movement.

DUCK CREEK WETLAND WELCOMES BACK THREATENED BIRD LIFE.

SUCCESS STORY: THE GOPHER TORTOISE

The gopher tortoise plays a vital role as a keystone species whose burrow provides shelter to more than 300 other types of species. 

Rayonier has its own spatial mapping system, which includes many layers of information, including a property’s soil type, topography, and notes regarding any protected species that have been identified on the property. Where gopher tortoises are identified, hand planting is conducted to minimize the use of heavy equipment needed.

When forests are ready for harvest, we also work with our logging contractors to protect gopher tortoises and their burrows. This may include site visits, pre-harvest meetings, flagging, and showing pictures to help identify what to look for.

Encouragingly, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced in 2022 that listing the gopher tortoise as a T&E species is no longer warranted for most of its range. Despite these changes in protected status, we continue to go above and beyond what is required to protect the species in all areas by maintaining the conditions they need to thrive through our forest management practices.

LEARN HOW FORESTERS BUILD PLANS AROUND PROTECTING GOPHER TORTOISES.

To learn more, view the full Rayonier 2022 Sustainability Report.

The complexity of sustainability challenges is inhibiting progress to decarbonize buildings, responsible for nearly 40% of carbon emissions globally. Although Climate Week’s 600+ event agendas mentioned “solutions” 40 times more than “problems,” according to The Wall Street Journal, we can’t overlook the underlying challenges to making faster gains.

The world is not moving fast enough. Our industry is not moving fast enough. Climate Week’s proliferation of sessions, companies and solutions illustrated how much activity there is. But companies need to be more strategic. Making our work more urgent, and more difficult, are a wave of new regulations and evolving stakeholder expectations.

Coming out of Climate Week, we are thinking hard about how companies like CBRE cut through the complexity of sustainability and simplify it. One clear takeaway is that establishing and expanding partnerships and collaborating in innovative ways will be critical. Looking at problems in a holistic manner and identifying and addressing gaps will enable us to make more rapid progress. Here are some observations on how to tackle these challenges:

01 Data and Reporting need to be normalized. Laws in place in the EU, with others on the way in California and likely from the SEC, mean the era of voluntary carbon emissions reporting as the foundational reporting mechanism is over. While voluntary reporting will still be expected by stakeholders, mandatory reporting will drive additional complexity – and, hopefully additional consistency. Once we have data that we can normalize and compare with quantitative models, the ability to compare companies within and across industries will become much easier. We have seen this in other markets as data became more structured. The market is moving in this direction and regulatory regimes should help us get there.

Companies have a role to play here as well. We need to partner with our clients, auditors, reporting consultants and industry peers to drive consistency within and across company boundaries. Within our companies, we need to partner with both finance and procurement teams to capture full value chains, as well as work externally with GHG accounting and assurance experts to ensure accurate reporting. Companies need to get better at understanding their Scope 3 emissions and work with data experts to meet these new requirements. Importantly, an updated reporting approach is a tool to accelerate progress toward sustainability goals and inform overarching strategy, not the end result.

02 It’s time to rethink the nature of business relationships. In today’s world, win-win solutions are changing. Where realizing economic value may have traditionally been the litmus test for evaluating outcomes, carbon is now central to the equation. This means that our industry must rethink landlord-tenant relationships. Optimizing resources to make buildings as efficient as possible is increasingly becoming a mutual goal. Yet, our contracting vehicles and incentive structures haven’t fully adapted to this underlying change. When space is leased, landlords and tenants need to work together to drive efficiency, electrification and decarbonization. That requires new ways of partnering and thinking about outcomes. For example, leases need to be structured to incentivize sustainable improvements in buildings so both parties benefit from lower emissions. That requires an understanding of how emissions are calculated and reported, as well as the economic impacts and burdens of lowering carbon emissions. Increasingly, energy, water and space efficiencies may be achieved by sharing costs, while also helping building owners meet local building performance standards and avoid fines.

03 The rules around energy are changing. Surge pricing, demand-response, interconnection agreements and electrification. All of these things are creating more confusion. The historical norm of buying energy from the grid and treating energy as a relatively stable-priced commodity is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Renewable energy from wind, solar and biofuel are on the rise, and the mix on the grid and what it costs vary by availability and time of day. We cannot simply flip a switch to carbon-free energy without investing in infrastructure transformation – from the sources to the transmission to the storage. And it is incredibly complicated. There were many discussions last week where even leading experts on the grid and decarbonization fundamentally are unclear about the future business and operational models that will get us to decarbonization at scale. The markets need organizations like the Clean Energy Buyers Association (CEBA) and RMI now more than ever to help create thoughtful models and navigate these changes.

There were so many informative discussions, meetings, sessions, connections and positive momentum at Climate Week. The road ahead certainly lacks clarity, but the number of people pushing for the creation of new solutions has never been greater. It’s a reminder of how much work there is to be done.

“I never thought I would have started as a process engineer, …transitioned to new roles within GP, and then come back to lead the Dixie cup facility.” Patty Lovejoy, plant director at our Dixie cup plant in Lexington, Kentucky, has had the unique opportunity to be in every GP business. Hear more about her career path and what advice she would give those interested in the industry.

Georgia-Pacific

Based in Atlanta, Georgia-Pacific and its subsidiaries are among the world’s leading manufacturers and marketers of bath tissue, paper towels and napkins, tableware, paper-based packaging, cellulose, specialty fibers, nonwoven fabrics, building products and related chemicals. Our familiar consumer brands include Quilted Northern®, Angel Soft®, Brawny®, Dixie®, enMotion®, Sparkle® and Vanity Fair®. Georgia-Pacific has long been a leading supplier of building products to lumber and building materials dealers and large do-it-yourself warehouse retailers. Its Georgia-Pacific Recycling subsidiary is among the world’s largest traders of paper, metal and plastics. The company operates more than 150 facilities and employs more than 30,000 people directly and creates approximately 89,000 jobs indirectly. For more information, visit: gp.com/about-us . For news, visit: gp.com/news

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DÜSSELDORF, Germany, September 29, 2023 /3BL/ – Henkel, a global leader in adhesives, sealants and functional coatings, announced the launch of a revolutionary Battery Engineering Center within its unique Inspiration Center Duesseldorf. The opening solidifies the company`s role as a premier design and innovation partner for automotive OEMs and battery manufacturers worldwide.

The Battery Engineering Center features two high-tech facilities – a Battery Application Center which has opened in August 2023 and a Battery Test Center which will start operating in 2024. The state-of-the-art laboratories have been designed to foster collaborative development of next-generation electric vehicle (EV) battery solutions. Accommodating a team of dedicated EV battery experts, known as Henkel’s esteemed ‘Fuel the Future’ team, the Center focuses on pivotal innovation areas such as safety, sustainability, thermal management, integrated battery design, and battery cell technology.

”The Battery Engineering Center, housed inside Henkel`s 130-million-euro Inspiration Center, represents Henkel’s unwavering commitment to spearheading innovation and technological advancement in the E-Mobility sector,” says George Kazantzis, Global Head of Henkel`s Automotive Components business unit. ”This cutting-edge facility enables our ‘Fuel the Future’ team to accelerate innovation by seamlessly integrating material application, full-scale battery system testing, simulation, and product development – all in-house. This enables us to significantly reduce development and launch time,” adds Dr. Olaf Lammerschop, Henkel’s Global Technology Lead for E-Mobility.

Equipped with the latest facilities and technologies for battery assembly, disassembly, material application, and advanced modeling and simulation, the Battery Engineering Center boasts advanced battery testing capabilities. These capabilities facilitate exhaustive examination of a battery pack’s performance through temperature cycling and charge and discharge processes. Crucially, the data generated is seamlessly integrated with the simulation team, ensuring a harmonious integration of real-world testing and digital modeling. This powerful synergy offers unparalleled flexibility and savings for our customers and optimizes and accelerates the design and material selection process.

”Thanks to our investment in the Battery Engineering Center, we can create a digital twin of any battery and simulate the performance of our solutions under various conditions,” explains Kazantzis. ”We validate these simulations and our models through real-life stress tests, ensuring both the reliability of our data and the efficacy of our solutions.”

Designed to handle all types of full-scale battery systems, at full pack level and confidential prototypes, the Battery Engineering Center is TISAX certified, the automotive industry’s global standard on information security assessments. In addition, Henkel has partnered with AVL, one of the world’s leading mobility technology companies for development, simulation and testing in the automotive industry, and in other sectors, to equip the Battery Test Center with the latest tools, equipment, and technology for full-scale battery system testing, including a climatic chamber, following the automotive industry standards. By collaborating with Atlas Copco on their powerful high-end precision and smart dosing equipment, the company has further enhanced the capabilities of the Battery Engineering Center. This enables customers to implement reliable, fast, and sustainable processes for battery assembly, running and testing all existing and innovative materials from small development scale up to series speed.

As the pioneering facility of its kind, the Battery Engineering Center in Duesseldorf represents just the beginning. Henkel plans to establish a global network of Battery Engineering Centers with upcoming locations in the United States and China. This interconnected network that will run on shared digital platforms will foster seamless cross-regional collaboration among global teams, with OEMs and battery manufactures.

Sebastian Hinz
Henkel Adhesive Technologies
Media Relations
Headquarters, Düsseldorf/Germany
+49-211-797-8594
press@henkel.com
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September 29, 2023 /3BL/ – The Consumer Goods Forum’s (CGF) Food Waste Coalition of Action has today launched #TooGoodToWaste, a food loss and waste education campaign that aims to spur faster progress among CGF members and the millions of consumers they reach.

CGF is the only CEO-led membership association that brings together both manufacturers and retailers globally. The campaign will harness the experience and influence of major businesses to help inspire consumer behaviour change to reduce food waste.

Members of CGF’s Food Waste Coalition – including Bel Group, Grupo Exito, Kerry,, Majid Al Futtaim, Migros Ticaret A.Ş, Tesco, Unilever, and Walmart – will support the initiative. Companies will use the hashtag #TooGoodToWaste as they share their own campaigns engaging consumers with inspirational messaging, raising awareness of the food loss and waste problem, and providing tips and advice on ways to reduce household food waste.

CGF exists to help its members collaborate to drive faster progress at scale. CGF will provide an online resource hub FoodIsTooGoodToWaste.com for participating members to share resources and helpful information that can make a difference.

The resource hub will include:

Tips and advice on overbuying, changing attitudes to imperfect produce, and ideas for using leftovers.Explanations of how to understand date labels, the difference between ‘use by’ and ‘best before’.Examples of successful collaborations with non-profit organisations and government agencies to educate consumers about addressing food loss and waste.

While a significant portion of food is lost along the food supply chain, a lot of food is wasted at the household level. Data from the UNEP shows that some 60% of food waste happens in peoples’ homes. Collective action from food companies, retailers, manufacturers and consumers is therefore vital to tackle the problem together.

According to the World Resources Institute (WRI), food loss and waste accounts for 8-10% percent of annual global greenhouse gas emissions — if food loss and waste were a country, it would be the third biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. Food loss and waste wastes 1/4 of fresh water used in agriculture every year.

Research by WRAP shows that while 81% of consumers are concerned about climate change, only 37% realise the connection with wasting food. CGF hopes that #TooGoodToWaste will empower consumers with practical tips that drives positive behaviour change, such as helping them feel good about using all the food in their fridge.

Sharon Bligh, Director of Health and Sustainability at The Consumer Goods Forum, said:

“The food waste challenge is a complex, shared, and global one – and so our approaches to tackling it must also be shared. This campaign is all about uniting members to gather practical insights that can drive faster collective progress. We hope that through this initiative, our members – regardless of where they are on their journey – will be inspired to do more while also empowering consumers with clear information and advice on how to play their part.”

“Members of CGF’s Food Waste Coalition are already working hard to tackle this enormous environmental and social problem – but we know that more is needed at every level. Every food company has a significant role to play in doing more to minimise food waste across their own operations, while also increasing consumer awareness and action.”

Ken Murphy, Group CEO at Tesco and 12.3 Champion; CGF Food Waste Coalition of Action Co-Sponsor, said:

“Food waste is a global issue, and one we all have a responsibility to tackle together. Retailers in the food industry must work harder to tackle food loss and waste across the entire chain, and engage with customers on the importance of reducing food waste – both in stores and in their own homes. This new campaign supports Tesco’s ongoing commitment to do just that, and we look forward to working alongside other coalition members to drive long-lasting systemic change at a global level.”

Cécile Béliot, Chief Executive Officer, Bel Group, said:

“To achieve maximum positive impact, collaboration between all food actors is key to tackling the challenge of food waste. The collective fight against food waste is ultimately a matter of citizenship involving our consumers, employees and all the people of our ecosystem. The awareness campaign #TooGoodToWaste aimed at all citizens is a powerful way to prompt actions to cut down food waste at home. With CGF members, we are harnessing the communication power of our companies & brands to empower citizens to adopt better habits.”

Hani Weiss, Chief Executive Officer, Majid Al Futtaim, said: 

“Addressing food waste isn’t just a choice; it’s our responsibility. In our journey towards a sustainable future, we are thrilled to report on the tremendous impact our “War on Waste” initiative has had on combating food waste. By finetuning demand forecasting, optimising product stockpiling, temperature controls, and expiration dates, we have successfully reduced food waste by 23% over the past two years, preserving 20,000 tons of food. These steppingstones will pave the way for more impactful initiatives as we embark on a sustainable journey alongside our customers.”

Chris Franke, Senior Manager, Global Sustainability at Walmart; CGF Food Waste Coalition of Action Co-Chair, said:

“Standardized date labeling can be a useful aid in improving customer decision-making and behavior, especially the “Best If Used By” label for packaged food if the date references optimal quality, not safety. And we encourage suppliers to do so In line with the CGF Date Labeling Call to Action. We estimate that in FY2023, 96% of our Walmart U.S. private-brand food supplier-reported sales came from items carrying the “Best if Used By” or “Use By” standardized date label.” 

Bert De Vegt, Global Vice President Food Preservation & Protection, Kerry, said:

“As well as adding to consumer costs, waste in the food chain accounts for up to 10% of global green house gas emissions, and as such, represents a vital issue for industry and consumers to tackle. We are proud to partner with CGF and our industry partners on this important initiative, to empower consumers and drive meaningful change.”

Maria Fernanda Posada Puerta, Director of Sustainability, Grupo Exito, said:

“At Grupo Éxito, “Nourishing Colombia with opportunities” defines our company strategy. We are committed to the care of the planet and as a retailer one of our big challenges is the management of food waste. From our sustainability strategy we implement different actions in our direct operations, supply chains, and towards our customers, such as: donating 582 tons of food through 24 food banks and more than 200 institutions and foundations allied, benefiting 820.000 people by July 2023, actions like these make us one of the main food donors in Colombia.

For our company, the #TooGoodTooWaste campaign, led by the Consumer Goods Forum, is an opportunity for companies in the food sector to become spokespersons for this great challenge to raise awareness among consumers and guide them towards the implementation of changes in their consumption behaviors that allow the reduction of their food waste.”

The #TooGoodToWaste campaign, which is part of CGF’s ongoing efforts to tackle food waste, kicks off on International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste (29 September), an initiative led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the United Nations Environment Programme.

The fourth annual International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste will raise awareness of the scale of the challenge and promote collective action that will help deliver Sustainable Development Goal 12.3: to halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer level by 2030 and reduce overall losses in supply chains.

CGF’S Food Waste Coalition is led by 21 of the world’s major food companies, who are committed to halving food waste within their own operations by 2030 and who strive to reduce food waste in their supply chains and at the customer level.

Existing Coalition initiatives include member commitments around measurement and reporting, taking practical steps to reduce food waste in their own operations and supply chains, and working collaboratively with other companies to innovate and help consumers reduce food waste.

Go online to FoodIsTooGoodToWaste.com to find out more about the campaign and the work of the Coalition.