The harvest will be used in creating sustainable eco-friendly product packaging for Apple
April 16, 2015
Apple and The Conservation Fund are partnering to purchase more than 36,000 acres of vulnerable forestland in Maine and North Carolina, and will use the land to sustainably harvest materials that can be used for paper and packaging.
In a press release from The Conservation Fund published on April 16, the organization and Apple revealed that more than 32,400 acres on the Mattawamkeag River in Maine, as well as over 3,600 acres of pine and hardwood forest in Brunswick County, North Carolina, will be preserved. In all, the total land area is larger than the city of San Francisco.
The commitment made by Apple will provide the company with a steady supply of sustainably harvested timber for paper and pulp mills. The “working” forestland will enable Apple to make its product packaging even more environmentally friendly.
Lisa Jackson, Apple’s head of environmental initiatives, penned a piece on Medium with Larry Selzer, president and CEO of The Conservation Fund, in which the two explained the intent behind their agreement.
“Apple believes that paper, like energy, can be a renewable resource,” they wrote. “So Apple is striving to supply 100 percent of the virgin fibers used in its paper and packaging from sustainably managed forests or controlled wood sources.”
