KEY ISSUES: SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENT
Greenhouse and energy
A3P members acknowledge that climate is changing as a result of human intervention and that action is required. The three sectors of A3P’s membership are faced with different opportunities and threats by climate change and governments’ policy response.
The pulp and paper sector is a significant user of energy, particularly in mechanical pulping processes, and is faced with competition from imported product. The sector is also a major producer of renewable energy using processing waste such as black liquor from chemical pulping. This energy may be used on-site or exported to the electricity supply system. The pulp and paper sector used more than 50,000 TJ of energy in 2004–05 with more than 11,000 TJ produced from renewable sources on-site.
The solid wood sector is an energy user and a producer of renewable energy. Sawntimber stores carbon and has a substantially lower global warming potential than competing building materials.
The plantation growing sector has a role to play in carbon sequestration as carbon dioxide is captured and stored by trees and remains stored in wood products. Afforestation or reforestation (planting of trees on agricultural land) is recognised under the terms of the Kyoto Protocol as an eligible activity to mitigate emissions of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide. In Australia, some state governments have introduced or are beginning to introduce initiatives to encourage revegetation for carbon sequestration and other environmental benefits.
A3P's role in addressing greenhouse gas emissions and energy usage
A3P is addressing greenhouse gas emission and energy usage by encouraging members to:
- Report transparently on the greenhouse profile at the industry, company and product level.
- Support the adoption of financial signals for carbon sequestration.
- Support research and development into greenhouse gas accounting of plantation products and paper.
A3P’s Sustainability Action Plan also commits members to the following targets:
- Ten per cent reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions per tonne of product by 2015 (from 2006 levels).
- Six per cent increase in carbon sequestered in timber products by 2015 (from 2006 levels).
Timber Information
Free technical information on the source, selection, properties and other atributes of plantation timber based products available for use in building and construction applications.