Why the forest industry should become one of the greenest and most sustainable industries and why business needs it
The timber industry is a whole complex of industries, which includes, firstly, the actual logging and, secondly, the processing of wood and the manufacture of various products from it. This is a paper direction – from pulping to the production of paper and cardboard, these are lumber, plywood, chipboard and other materials, which are then used for furniture production and wooden housing construction. The forest industry also includes forest chemistry (produces, for example, rosin) and the production of biofuels.
“Air conditioner” of the planet
The industry is vast, and its impact on the environment is multifaceted and very significant. Starting with the fact that forests are not just the lungs of the planet, as they say, but also a kind of air conditioner. Absorbing CO2 and storing it in wood, the forest reduces the greenhouse effect, helping to fight global warming. In addition, the forest is a complex ecosystem, home to many thousands of species of living beings.
Hence the need to control deforestation, rehabilitate it efficiently, fight fires, and minimize waste at all stages of harvesting and processing.
Then there are the issues of resource consumption and production waste emissions that are typical for any industry. For example, anyone who drove downwind past a pulp and paper mill (PPM) with outdated cleaning systems would never agree to repeat such an experience. The old pulp and paper mills consumed more than 200 cubic meters of water per ton of product and, accordingly, discharged the same amount of wastewater. Modern mills require 3–5 times less water, yet the pulp and paper industry remains one of the largest water consumers.
Extensive development
A group of researchers in 2020 compared the forest industry in our country and its closest neighbors. It turned out that, for example, the forests of Sweden and Finland, whose area is about 6,2% of the forests in our country and which are in similar or comparable natural and climatic conditions, produce approximately 75–80% of the volume of timber harvesting in the Russian Federation. This does not mean that we are cutting down less, it means that our neighbors are cutting down more efficiently. “Obviously, these qualitative differences are not due to natural factors, but are the result of different models of forestry management – an intensive model in Finland and Scandinavian countries and an extensive “gathering” model in our country,” the researchers emphasize.
If we continue in this vein, scientists warn, clearings will continue to overgrow with anything, more and more virgin forest will be involved in the circulation, damage from forest fires will increase, biodiversity will decrease, and the forest “air conditioner” that slows down climate change will – reduce power.
“The importance of the environmental agenda in the timber industry in our country is underestimated. The forest industry has a significant potential for environmental effects: the absorption of greenhouse gases, decarbonization, waste recycling, and the circular economy. The timber industry should also become a driver for the introduction of new “green” technologies,” said Rashid Ismailov, head of the Russian Ecological Society.
Just business
Something is already being done. “Over the past year, we have been actively engaged in the decriminalization of the industry, increasing its transparency. A lot has already been done – the regulatory framework has been adopted, the barriers necessary to limit the export of valuable round timber have been established. Lacks, in my opinion, the responsibility of economic entities. In general, we do not have a business motivation to comply with environmental laws,” says Ismailov.
On the other hand, for business, the main motivation is income. The timber industry in our country has been operating in the most environmentally sensitive markets for many years and therefore has been “green” for quite a long time. In the current situation, this has its advantages, says Evgeny Schwartz, Doctor of Geographical Sciences, Honored Ecologist of our country. The industry is strongly export-oriented, and until recently a lot of timber went to European markets. And it is impossible to compete in these markets, and indeed to be present in general, without confirmation of environmental responsibility. To do this, you need to have a certificate, and not any, but from a certification system recognized by the end user. For example, the most common FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certificate in our country guarantees the consumer that the certified product comes from a forest that is environmentally and socially responsible forestry. At the same time, wood of illegal or unknown origin is not mixed into products during production, processing and delivery.
Now FSC has closed its representative office in our country, and the enterprises of the domestic timber industry are forced to reorient the “western” part of exports to the East. But the need to comply with international standards is not canceled, Evgeny Schwartz believes.
“China buys Russian wood to make high value-added products like furniture for export to Western countries. Accordingly, Chinese manufacturers apply certification systems that are in demand in these countries. At the same time, it is possible to establish or check where the wood came from using isotope and radiocarbon analysis, and the Chinese have already been caught on this. Thus, the American company Lumber Liquidators (“Lumber Liquidators”) was sentenced to fines of more than $13 million for the supply to the United States of a batch of products made in China from Russian timber of illegal origin (from the so-called “Worles”). The case was filed in September 2013 under the Lacey Act. This law was passed in the USA in 1900, and in 2008 its effect was extended to all forest products. According to the US Department of Justice, this is the largest fine for importing forest products for violating the Lacey Act,” the environmentalist explained.
According to him, in our country there are four voluntary national certification bodies “Forest Standard”, the standards of which are based on the national FSC standards. In world practice, there are other successful cases of replacing one international certification body with another, more accessible in a particular region. For example, standards and methodologies for certification of Verra VCS emission reduction carbon credits in the Middle East, Turkey, India, China and Vietnam are also used by another international verifier, the Global Carbon Council (GCC). So the situation, as if it will be possible to export products of the timber industry to foreign markets without taking into account international environmental standards, is an illusion, Yevgeny Shvarts believes.
And business statements confirm this. “When managing forests, Segezha Group continues to be guided by the principles of sustainability. Previously, the company was certified according to the standards of the international voluntary forest certification FSC. Now she continues to maintain a certificate in sustainable forest management,” said Nikolay Ivanov, Vice President for State Programs, Sustainable Development and Forest Policy, Segezha Group (part of Sistema) at the TASS round table “Clean Future”: the role of the forest economy in Russia’s achievement of carbon neutrality.
Ivanov described how the principles of sustainable development are implemented within the holding. “There is a complete relationship between the allowable cut and all types of production of the company. From standing wood, all directions are brought to the maximum final stage of processing of raw materials. At the same time, all waste from logging and sawmilling is used as a renewable energy source for our own needs and supplies to third-party consumers,” he said.
Another point of intersection of business with the environmental agenda in the forest industry is climate projects. The decarbonization course launched in Europe with a “carbon tax” makes such projects aimed at reducing the carbon footprint profitable.
“Despite all the difficulties, in the corporate environment, the urgency of reducing the gross greenhouse gas emissions of companies and the carbon footprint of products does not cease to grow. In this regard, business will most likely continue to look for opportunities to implement climate projects, in particular forest climate projects,” said Maria Spiridonova, Senior Manager in the Sustainability Services Group at DRT (formerly Deloitte). This can be both the implementation of projects on their own, and the purchase of compensation certificates (offsets) to achieve their climate goals. “It is important to continue working on shaping the practice of developing the forest industry in such a way that these projects are real and fulfill the tasks set for decarbonization,” concludes Maria Spiridonova.