The WWF Environmental Paper Awards 2016, issued today, go to 106 paper brands for environmental performance, 5 paper producers for product transparency and 13 paper producers/merchants for their continual improvement efforts.

WWF created the WWF Environmental Paper Awards to recognise and encourage company efforts in reducing the forest, water and climate footprint of paper production. WWF´s Check your Paper Method, which is simple but scientifically robust, is the basis for the WWF Environmental Paper Awards 2016. Winners1 are awarded in 3 categories – access details here www.panda.org/paperawards2016

1. 106 paper products receive the WWF Environmental Paper Awards 2016 in the category “Best Environmental Performance Paper Brands”. The Award winning brands have been published on WWF´s online database of Eco Rated papers with a third party audit and reach at least 80% of achievable scores. They come from the following 8 producers/merchants: Antalis McNaughton, Arjowiggins Graphic, LEIPA, Mondi (Fine Paper), SCA (Graphic paper and Newsprint), Sofidel, Steinbeis and UPM (Graphic Paper).
    
2. 5 paper producers receive the WWF Environmental Paper Awards 2016 for “Transparency” on their Products´ footprint: Arjowiggins Graphic, LEIPA, Mondi (Fine Paper), SCA (Graphic Paper and Newsprint) and Steinbeis. These companies published the majority of paper brands in at least one product category on WWF´s checkyourpaper.panda.org
    
3. 13 companies receive the WWF Environmental Paper Awards 2016 in the category “Striving For Continual Improvement”: Appleton Coated, BillerudKorsnäs, Burgo, Denmaur, Fedrigoni, Lecta, Lucart, Metsä Tissue, Mondi (Packaging), PaperWise, Rolland Enterprises, Södra Cell and Van Houtum. The companies have been proactive in assessing the forest, water and climate footprint of a number of paper brands for company internal purposes, using WWF´s Check your Paper Method.

“Pulp, paper and packaging products can be environmentally sound. For wood to play a positive role in a “green” economy based on sustaining and advancing the use of renewable resources, production forests need to be managed to the highest ecological and social standards, and the use and recovery of wood products must become more efficient”, says Cecilia Alcoreza, WWF´s new Global lead on Paper and Packaging. “We encourage paper buyers to work with their suppliers in all regions of the world towards improvements and to reward high environmental, social and governance goals in pulp and paper production.”

Most of today´s Award winners also participate in WWF´s bi-annual Environmental Paper Company Index (EPCI) and allow WWF to evaluate the company´s overall performance and targets over time. The EPCI 2015 covered 15% of the world´s paper and board and 15% of the world´s pulp production and will be published again in 2017. “WWF´s Environmental Paper Company Index and WWF´s Check your Paper help the sector gain more credibility and give participants valuable opportunities to engage with customers”, says Helma Brandlmaier, WWF´s Senior Advisor Forest Sector Accountability. “Companies also get useful benchmarking information for free”.

WWF is managing two key accountability tools to encourage continual improvement in the pulp and paper sector: WWF´s Check your Paper focuses on brand level performance (and is the basis for the WWF Environmental Paper Awards); the WWF Environmental Paper Company Index looks at a company´s overall performance, including targets. Both accountability tools are aligned in their methods and are based on voluntary participation by companies. They are designed for all the main pulp and paper categories including coated and uncoated papers, newsprint, tissue, packaging and board papers, speciality papers and pulp.

• WWF´s Check your Paper (CYP) was created in 2007 in cooperation with paper buyers to reduce the complexity in evaluating a paper product´s footprint. The CYP Method was developed in cooperation with scientists, paper buyers, producers and NGOs and is a simple but scientifically robust method in evaluating a paper product’s footprint.
  
  CYP was also designed to assist companies along the whole pulp and paper supply chain to work together in their efforts towards greater sustainability and credibility. Since 2015 it also includes an online Self-Check as free and non-public management tool to support a company’s internal decision making between sales, marketing, production/technical and procurement divisions. Check your Paper features also a public database for pulp and paper products with high environmental standards.
   
• TheWWF Environmental Paper Company Index (EPCI) evaluates a company´s overall performance, including targets. The EPCI started in its current form in 2010 and credits transparency and improvements over time, publishing aggregated findings company by company without direct comparisons. Companies receive non-public benchmarking report cards for company internal discussions.
  
  Participation today covers 15% of the world paper and 15% of the world´s pulp production. It has increased from 5 participants in 2010, to 15 (in 19 product categories) in 2011, 25 participants (in 40 product categories) in 2013 and 31 participants (in 52 product categories) in 2015 with the following regional spread: (participants by region/headquarter locations: 14 Europe, 8 North America, 6 South/Central America, 2 Asia, 1 Africa). The next EPCI will be published in November 2017 – get more information from This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

About WWF
WWF is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with over 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the earth's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.

WWF´s has a long standing track record working with companies towards continual improvement within the forest and paper sectors and to increase supply chain transparency. WWF´s Check your Paper platform and the WWF Environmental Paper Company Index are key accountability tools to motivate and reward continual improvement in the forest products sector. For more information, visit www.panda.org/forests