Global sustainability progress report

The International Council of Forest and Paper Associations (ICFPA) released its biennial Sustainability Progress Report which demonstrates progress in seven key areas of sustainability. The 2026 report also highlights the role the forest products sector can play in helping meet global climate goals.

“As the 2026 Sustainability Progress Report makes clear, the global forest products sector continues to make measurable progress toward a more sustainable future,” said José Carlos da Fonseca Jr., ICFPA President. “Across regions, our members are demonstrating that sustainably managed forests, renewable materials and paper recycling are essential to supporting communities, strengthening circularity and advancing responsible growth around the world.”

The ICFPA Sustainability Progress Report tracks progress achieved in 2022-2023. The overall trend is positive – a reflection that the industry continues to improve in key sustainability areas from our baseline years. In addition to quantitative metrics that demonstrate our industry’s progress towards sustainability commitments, the report includes case studies to provide a more robust and qualitative reflection of our industry’s sustainability performance.

Key progress on ICFPA’s sustainability performance indicators include:

• 51 percent of procured wood fibre came from third-party certified sustainably-managed forests, a 39 percentage point increase from the 2000 baseline year.
• Greenhouse gas emission intensity decreased 29 percent from the 2004/2005 baseline year.
• The share of mill energy needs met by biomass and other renewable fuels increased to 66 percent, a 13 percentage point increase since 2004/2005.
• Sulphur dioxide emission intensity from on-site combustion sources decreased 80.5 percent from the 2004/2005 baseline year.
• Water use intensity decreased 6.4 percent from the baseline year.
• Investment in health and safety interventions yielded a 31.6 percent reduction in the global recordable incident rate from the 2006/2007 baseline with the number of recordable incidents falling to 2.81 per 100 employees annually.
• 62 percent of paper and paperboard consumed globally was used by mills to make new products, marking a 15 percentage point increase in the global recycling rate since the year 2000.

The 2026 ICFPA Sustainability Progress Report also includes the 2025 International Finalists for the prestigious ICFPA Blue Sky Young Researchers and Innovation Award. The theme for the 2024-2025 Blue Sky Awards was “Building a Lower Carbon Economy with Climate Positive Forestry and Forest Products.”

ICFPA serves as a forum of global dialogue, coordination and co-operation. Currently, the ICFPA represents 16 pulp, paper, wood and fibre-based associations that encompass 27 countries, including many of the top pulp, paper and wood producers around the world.

The 2026 ICFPA Sustainability Progress Report can be downloaded.

Source & image credit: International Council of Forest and Paper Associations (ICFPA)