SWEDEN (News release) -- The hygiene and health company Essity is collaborating with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and The Consumer Goods Forum's (CGF) Forest Positive Coalition of Action initiative to further strengthen responsible forest management, nurture high conservation value forests and increase the certification of forest operations in north-western Russia. Deforestation is a major topic at the ongoing climate summit COP26 in Glasgow, since deforestation and forest degradation affect climate change on a large scale.

Essity is co-financing the project, which aims to provide trainings and workshops to forest managers and government officials to increase the uptake of sustainable forest management practices in north-western Russia, as well as engage communities and other local stakeholders in a landscape planning process. The project is a follow-up to an earlier successful collaboration in which FSC, together with Greenpeace Russia and the WWF Russia, worked with the Russian government to introduce formal protection of high conservation value forests in the Dvinsky region. These forests in north-western Russia are Europe's largest intact forest landscapes with high nature values. In 2021, Essity is also collaborating with the members of The CGF's Forest Positive Coalition in several other projects to strengthen forest management and prevent deforestation. This endeavor to strengthen regeneration and identify high conservation value forests in need of protection is in line with Essity's commitment to promote biodiversity and that more forest operations are to be certified.

The Consumer Goods Forum is a global partnership organization for manufacturers and consumer goods retailers. In addition to the initiative to increase responsible forest operations, The CGF runs a range of different programs in sustainability, health and product safety. In conjunction with the ongoing COP26 in Glasgow, The CGF is holding a panel discussion on the industry's transition to net zero emissions, which Essity intends to achieve by 2050. Magnus Groth, Essity's President and CEO will be taking part in the discussion together with other business leaders and representatives from the United Nations. The discussions will focus on how fast-moving consumer goods companies and retail companies collaborate pre-competitively with industry peers and NGO stakeholders to achieve this interim goal and halve emissions by 2030 and be NetZero by 2050.

"We must increase collaboration if we are to achieve our own goals and contribute to our joint targets for greater sustainability. An exchange of knowledge and experiences will strengthen our ambitions and ability to reach targets in the short and long term," says Magnus Groth, President and CEO of Essity.