On November 16, 2010, paper producing giant Georgia-Pacific made a very bold and very public commitment to protecting Southern forest by announcing that it would no longer purchase trees from endangered forests or from new pine plantations converted from natural hardwood forests.
GP worked with environmental groups and scientists to identify 11 endangered forests totaling 600,000 acres in the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Eco-Region and 90 million acres of natural hardwood forests in the South. The company will continue to map endangered forests in these and other regions in the coming years. The 11 endangered forests identified so far are in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Georgia.
As for pine plantations, the company has stated it will not buy pine fiber from plantations that were created at the expense of natural hardwood forests as of July 1, 2008.
Georgia-Pacific’s commitment to increasing forest protection is the result of six years of engagement and discussions between the company and environmental groups like Dogwood Alliance, Natural Resources Defense Council and Rainforest Action Network.
Learn more: Read Georgia-Pacific’s 2010 Environmental Policy
