Why Did We Work to Get FSC Certification?
Paper is created from two cycles. One is “paper recycling” as typified by recycled paper. The other is the “forest recycling” in which CO2 is fixed as wood in forests.
Paper that needed to be of high quality could not use a large proportion of waste paper. Meanwhile, environmentally friendly paper was required by the market. We found the solution for this in “forest recycling.” In “forest recycling,” it is important that forests are managed appropriately and that forest management takes the amount of growth and the ecosystem into consideration. We attempted to ensure “forest recycling” took place through forest certification.
The reasons we chose FSC from the many forest certification systems are that it is a system accepted worldwide and that it is trusted by many people in the field.
Biodiversity and FSC Certification
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plantations in Chile
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The FSC standards require “maintaining and improving services and value provided by forests” and “protecting valuable forest ecosystems,” and sufficient consideration is given to biodiversity in certified forests. Furthermore, an attempt is also made to conserve biodiversity though consideration for “High Conservation Value Forests“ though FSC-controlled wood used with certified wood in certified products.
Obtaining FSC Certification throughout the Entire Group
In 2001, the Hachinohe Mill became the first paper mill in Japan to obtain CoC certification, and began production of FSC-certified paper. In 2002, we obtained FSC certification for our plantations in Chile (regions VIII and IX in Chile), enabling us to secure a stable supply of certified wood. We have also obtained CoC certification for paper mills in Japan (Kitakami, Takasago and Kyoto), and increased our range of certified products. In June 2007, our German subsidiary (Mitsubishi HiTec Paper Flensburg) obtained CoC certification, marking the acquisition of certification by all of the Mitsubishi Paper Mills Group’s paper production facilities.
FSC-certified Facilities in the Mitsubishi Paper Mills Group
| Forest management | Forestal Tierra Chilena (Chile) | SGS-FM/COC-001162 |
|---|---|---|
| Iwaizumi forest (Japan) | SA-FM/COC-001289 | |
| Shirakawa and Shichinohe forest (Japan) | SA-FM/COC-002322 | |
| Woodchips | Hokuryo Rinsan (Japan) | SA-COC-001501 |
| Paper production | Mitsubishi Paper Mills (Japan) -Head Office -Hachinohe Mill -Takasago Mill -Kyoto Mill -Kitakami HiTec Paper -Process Development Lab. |
SCS-COC-000328 |
| Mitsubishi HiTec Paper (Bielefeld, Germany) | SGS-COC-002664 | |
| Mitsubishi HiTec Paper (Flensburg, Germany) | SGS-COC-003270 | |
| Paper converting | Asahi Kankoshi (Japan) | SGS-COC-002681 |
| Ostrichidia (Japan) | SGS-COC-002619 | |
| Sales | Mitsubishi Paper Sales (Japan) | SCS-COC-000424 |
| Diamic (Japan) | SGS-COC-002678 | |
| Mitsubishi Imaging (MPM) (USA) | SW-COC-001431 |
