Geneva 4 February 2009 - China is a major player in the global forest products markets, both as a producer and consumer. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, China's market for industrial timber, pulp and paper is the second largest after that of the US and is growing faster. Although China has relatively limited forest resources of its own, increases in the consumption of wood and paper products are driven by its very large population and rapid economic development.

The Sustainable Procurement of Wood and Paper-based Products Guide and Resource Kit, now also available in Chinese, is a toolbox designed to help corporate managers understand and find the best advice on how to purchase products originating from the world's forests.

Countless resources have been developed to help businesses sustainably procure forest-based products such as construction materials and paper. This proliferation is confusing many buyers.

Now a representative number of these resources have been referenced in an easy-to-use toolbox - which includes a full report detailing the top 10 questions that corporate managers should ask when purchasing forest-based products and references to resources for help, a shorter overview report, and a Web site - released by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the World Resources Institute (WRI).

This Guide to the Guides will help sustainability managers define and implement purchasing policies for the entire range of forest-based products, from wood products like construction materials and furniture to paper products like packaging, tissue paper and countless other products.

It details topics such as forest certification, legality, environmental friendliness, social impacts, and recycled-content percentages, and directs managers to advice on tracing their supply chains, implementing monitoring processes and many other issues.

The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that 28,000 square miles of forest - the approximate size of Ireland - were converted to other land uses each year between 2000 and 2005. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment found that 54 countries have lost 90 percent or more of their forest cover. Encouragingly, forest area in Europe, North America and China has been growing in the past decade due to reforestation initiatives. However, rapid forest loss continues in the tropical regions of South America, Africa and Asia, where socio-economic and political problems present formidable challenges to forest conservation and sustainable management.

Source: World Business Council for Sustainable Development