As a manager of responsibly managed forests for more than a century, Finch Paper has long strived to help consumers understand that paper manufacturing and a healthy forest resource go hand-in-hand. We’re thrilled to be getting some new help in spreading the word.

Two Sides U.S., a not-for-profit coalition has launched a new website chock full of insightful facts demonstrating that printing on paper is an environmentally sustainable way to communicate. It’s a great resource for printers and brand owners, and I encourage you to spend some time there.

I also want to remind you that our team of Finch foresters is available to answer your questions about responsible forest management. You can see some of your most frequently asked questions, and connect directly with our foresters by clicking here.

Sure there are advantages today to doing some of our communicating in the digital “cloud.” But paper remains a tremendously useful, impactful and sustainable way to communicate as well, and Finch foresters are proud to help continue that tradition by keeping our feet planted firmly in the forest.

Question: Which of the following does not contain products that come from a tree?

A. Toothpaste
B. A football helmet
C. Artificial vanilla flavoring
D. A Twinkie
E. Vitamins

Answer: None of the above.

Each of those items contains elements that come from a tree. In fact, at least a portion of more than 5,000 consumer products contain wood fiber.

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Watch for more Tree Trivia in future editions of our “Finch in the Forest” blog, along with continuing information on why Trees Are The Answer to so many of society’s needs and challenges.

When it comes to carbon mitigation, yet another new study is demonstrating that “Trees are the answer.”

In a report published in the journal Carbon Management, Bruce Lippke, professor emeritus at the University of Washington School of Forest Resources, and a team of researchers show that the amount of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere could be quadrupled over the next 100 years through sound forest management and the use of wood products in place of steel and concrete, both of which require far greater amounts of fossil fuels to manufacture than wood products.

As reported on sciencedaily.com, the Lippke study provides a life-cycle analysis of wood, steel and concrete products that takes into account the environmental impacts beginning with raw material extraction from the forest or ground and continuing through the manufacturing, use and disposal processes.

As you may be aware, the manufacturing processes for steel and concrete devour vast amounts of fossil fuels, which in turn generates far more carbon emissions than producing wood products. For example, Professor Lippke’s life-cycle analysis found that using engineered wood floor joists in a building instead of steel joists reduces the carbon footprint by nearly 10 tons of carbon dioxide for every ton of wood used.

The Lippke study also notes that:

• Any carbon emissions from manufacturing sustainably produced wood products are being offset by the carbon removed from the atmosphere by healthy, managed forests. All forests sequester carbon, but sustainably managed forests sequester more carbon than unmanaged forests. Even trees removed from the forest continue to store their carbon after being turned into tables, cabinets, lumber and paper (yes, even paper is a carbon sink!).

• The burning of wood for fuel produces only 4% of the emissions generated by coal.

“Every time you see a wood building, it’s a storehouse of carbon from the forest,” Professor Lippke told sciencedaily.com. “When you see steel or concrete, you’re seeing the emissions of carbon dioxide that had to go into the atmosphere for those structures to go up.”

You can read Professor Lippke’s full report here, and, as always, feel free to contact me here.