New figures have shown that 88 per cent of wood fibre purchased globally by beverage carton manufacturers Tetra Pak, SIG Combibloc and Elopak in 2012 was FSC certified fibre or originated from FSC controlled wood. The Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE), which counts the companies among its members, says the new statistics show that ‘significant progress’ is being made on achieving fully verified traceability of wood fibre by 2015.

9 September 2013 – Significant progress has been made towards achieving full third-party verified traceability of globally sourced wood fibre used in cartons produced by beverage carton manufacturers represented by ACE UK.

According to the sixth annual Proforest report on the Chain of Custody (CoC) commitment made in 2007 by Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE) members – Tetra Pak, Elopak and SIG Combibloc – 88 per cent of wood fibre purchased globally by these companies in 2012 was either FSC certified fibre or originated from FSC controlled wood. This is compared to 85 per cent in 2011.

The latest figure means ACE members are well on track to meet their commitment to source 100 per cent wood fibre that is traceable to legal and acceptable sources by 2015. 100 per cent of the fibre already used in the EU already comes from plants which are FSC chain of custody certified. In addition, 43 (81 per cent) of the 53 converting plants owned by ACE beverage carton producers worldwide are now FSC chain of custody certified, which is up from 74 per cent in 2011. This means there are only 10 more converting plants to be certified to meet the ACE commitment of securing CoC certification for all beverage carton manufacturing plants by 2018.

“It is great to see that, as Proforest have stated in their report, significant progress has been made by our members towards achieving the stretching targets set in 2007,” comments Richard Hands, Chief Executive of ACE UK. “Traceability is one of our industry’s most important strategies to combat illegal logging, and is equally important in avoiding socially and environmentally unacceptable sources of wood.

“It is also good news that only 10 more converting plants need to be certified to meet our commitment of 100 per cent CoC certification of all beverage carton manufacturing plants by 2018.”

The main raw material for the production of cartons is wood fibre, which is a renewable resource. In Sweden and Finland, where most of the wood fibre for European beverage cartons originates, forests are expanding with growth in forest volume increasing year-on-year as annual growth actually exceeds cuttings.

“With 75 per cent of a beverage carton, on average, being made from this natural renewable material, ACE members have a clear interest in ensuring that forests are responsibly managed,” concluded Hands.

For further information, please visit www.ace-uk.co.uk