American Forest Foundation

Ensuring a sustainable future was key theme of Woodland Owner – Brand Owner Summit

Robert Brown looks over the valley of hardwoods and pine trees that five generations of his family have planted and harvested before him. He points out the multi-million dollar homes that sit on the ridge that backs up to his property. Those houses will probably put him out of business one day, he says. There is a popular vacation destination just over the ridge and those houses are driving up his property taxes. As real estate taxes grow with the influx of higher property values around him, Robert worries that he will be unable to keep his land.
Development expanding in the region is not the only challenge he faces as a young woodland owner who is trying to continue the family legacy of managing more than 500 acres of forest land. While some crops such as corn are harvested and regrown annually, trees in the Southeast often take 15 to 30 years to become ready for harvest. Once trees are ready for harvest, finding mills that will buy his timber and pulp at a competitive rate is challenging. Prices for wood and pulp are low, and even if he can nurture and maintain a tree from seedling to fully-grown, environmental factors such as ice storms and hurricanes can wipe out his crop overnight.

One of the biggest concerns family woodland owners shared at the recent Woodland Owners and Brand Owner Summit, hosted by the American Forest Foundation and the Forest Products Working Group, was their concern for the future of the land when the cost of managing it is so high, and the market return is so low. This was exacerbated for landowners that have longstanding family and emotional ties to the land and hope to pass it along, but their children have live away from woods and may not value it in the same way.

“We have concerns about the future of our tree farm. Will our kids be able to inherit a tree farm that they can pass along?” questioned one landowner.

One landowner brought her middle-school aged daughter to the Summit. She wanted for them to learn about sustainable forest management alongside each other, she said. Another landowner talked about the need to educate students about the importance of forests in school. One landowner joked that the younger generations care more about getting a new car than taking over a forest farm.

“I don’t have a crystal ball. I have strong ties to the land because of my parents and I want to see it forward to the next generation, but lives change and I don’t know what the future holds,” said another landowner.

Landowners also expressed concerns about hurricanes, and wildfire, as well as invasive species and insects as a threat to the longevity of their woodlands.
Brand Owners at the event (McDonald’s, Mars,Time Inc, Staples, Havi Global Solutions, andMacmillan Publishing) similarly expressed a desire to ensure the future of the forests that would provide a sustainable source of wood and pulp for their business.

If landowners are unable to keep hold onto their land or keep that land as forests, it may affect the availability of not only the availability of domestic wood supplying supply chains but also the supply of other benefits, like clean water and wildlife habitat for Americans.

“One of our sustainability drivers is making sure we have our supply chains lined up for the long term,” stated one brand owner.

Many of the brand owners at the event represented the sustainability or packaging departments of their respective companies. They cited the fact that domestically-sourced wood from the Southeast was not only environmentally friendly because it won’t have to travel as much to the manufacturer, but also that it was the best quality of wood products of anywhere.
Brand owners also expressed gratitude toward the family woodland owners for sharing their stories because they can leave knowing that they know that they are supporting the legacy of family woodland owners with their purchasing decisions. Together they discussed ways in which they can more broadly share these stories with the public, in order to provide assurance that our forest caretakers are taking the necessary steps for the future.

“I’m hearing conversations about not just years as longevity, but generations. It’s an emotional issue and I get that now,” said one brand owner.

Woodland Owner-Brand Owner Summit allows for open, honest dialogue on sustainable forest management

This past week GreenBlue’s Forest Products Working Group, and the American Forest Foundation (AFF) hosted a successful, first-of-its kind summit, Woodland Owner and Brand Owner: Opening a Dialogue about Sustainable Forestrythat brought together a diverse set of America’s family forest owners and several well-known marketplace brands, including Mars, Incorporated; McDonald’s USA; Time, Inc; McMillian Publishing; and Staples. The event truly achieved its goal, and opened up dialogue between the two groups about their respective values and challenges relative to sustainable forest management and how they might work together to meet their goals.
Family landowners make up the largest ownership group in the United States, collectively owning more than one-third of forests in the country, more than the federal government or corporations. These forest lands belong to 22 million individuals, whom all have unique motivations and reasons for owning land. These family lands are a key source for wood fiber that flows into supply chains that later become coffee cups, paper, candy packaging, and much more. Nationally, the US Forest Service (USFS) estimates 47 percent of all timber removed from forests in the US comes from family lands. In the South, specifically, 51 percent of wood removed from forests and supplying companies comes from family-owned land.
The Forest Products Working Group, last fall, initiated a partnership with AFF, the leading conservation nonprofit in ensuring we have sustainable wood supplies, clean water, and wildlife habitat come from family-owned woodlands. The partnership focuses its work in promoting constructive and transparent dialogue across the forest products supply chain to address shared sustainability challenges and opportunities.
The Summit, which was held in Chattanooga, TN, opened up honest and thoughtful discussions between both ends of the supply chain.
To kick off the Summit, woodland owners described why they each owned land, noting family legacy, income, and a love of nature. Responding to questions from brand owners, they also described challenges they face such as insects and disease, natural disasters like wildfire and hurricanes, high management and property costs, and declining markets. Concerns about trust, and the future of the land as it is passed on to future generations were voiced as well.

“I finally feel like I have a seat at the table,” stated one landowner from Georgia. “I appreciate the opportunity to be a part of this event and to collaborate on how we can work together.”

Brand owners, in return, shared their distinct company goals, with many encompassing common threads.
Reducing their companies’ environmental footprint was very important, as companies want to be able to provide goods and services, without unintended consequences, or social and environmental impacts. Brand owners also shared a desire to have more visibility into their supply chains to better understand where the fiber is coming from, reduce risks and to be more inclusive of family woodland owners in their sustainability planning process. And brand owners described a desire to build trust with their customers and demonstrate the sustainability of their suppliers and the complex network of indirect suppliers that help them source their materials.

“Its important to my company to know that our supply chain is reducing its impact,” said one brand owner. “We loved hearing directly from landowners, very interesting and insightful.”

Emerging from this session were three key themes: building and maintaining trust, ensuring the long term or future of forests and its sustainable fiber supplies and building new markets – all of which were further explored in roundtable discussions.
Trust, brand owners stated, is vital to developing relationships with their customers, who want to know their products come from sustainable sources. “We use certification now as a tool to demonstrate sustainable and create trust, because it’s the only tool we have, but it does not always satisfy our needs,” said one brand owner.
Land owners described how they conversely desire to feel trusted. “We have been doing good management for years, because it’s in our best interest and we want to leave the land better than we found it.”
Both brand owners and land owners spoke about their desire to ensure the future of the forests and the wood supply that comes from it, particularly in the Southeast. One brand owner said, “we get nearly 95% of our wood supply from the Southeast. There’s less risk sourcing from there and it logistically makes sense. We want to help make sure this supply is available in the future.”

“My landhas been in my family for five generations,”stated a landowner from Tennessee. “I have had to deal with some challenges based on what future generations did, so I want to make sure that my children don’t inherit these issues as well.”

Thinking of the future, opportunities for new markets were discussed in detail as well. “What will happen to that resource [forests] if there isn’t demand for it?”stated a brand owner. “A little competition could have a positive impact.” Emerging markets such as biomass and more green building with cross-laminated timber were noted, as well as the need for further research and development around wood fiber.
Building on insights gained at the Summit, in the coming months, GreenBlue’s Forest Products Working Group and AFF plan to continue the discussion, expanding the dialogue with other key partners in the forestry sector to help inform new strategies or the refinement of existing ones to encourage and verify sustainable forest management in the U.S.
This event was made possible through the generosity of our sponsors Staples,McDonald’s and Georgia-Pacific.