FSC-certified newspapers
FSC-certified news now available: FSC-labeled newspapers with a total circulation of more than 200,000 daily issues were recently launched almost simultaneously in the Netherlands and Denmark.
Certified financial news in the Netherlands
As from the 26th of November, the Dutch daily financial newspaper “Het Financieele Dagblad” are carrying the FSC label. The paper has committed to used certified paper for all of the daily 65,000 daily copies,with an annual paper consumption of 2,500 tons.
Three Danish newspapers FSC-labeled
Four days later, on the 1st of December, three FSC-labeled newspapers - Politiken, Kristeligt Dagblad and Information - were launched in Denmark.
Politiken is one of the largest Danish newspapers and has been a key driver of the process. Production manager Erik Møller of Politiken comments: "After exploring the options, we chose the FSC label. This was not the easiest choice, but we wanted the most recognized label in the marketplace".
About 150,000 FSC-labeled newspapers are leaving four Danish printing houses every day. The labeling of a newsprint circulation this size has been made possible due to the FSC chain of custody certification of the Danish newspapers' joint procurement organization (Pressens Fællesindkøb).
The organization is responsible for the procurement of about 250,000 tons of paper used annually for the production of 1,5 million daily newspaper copies distributed in Denmark. The launch of 3 FSC-labeled newspapers is taking place as a 6-month pilot project that may result in the rolle-out of certification for additional Danish newspapers.
The supplier of paper for the certified Danish newspaper production, Norske Skog ASA, also underwent FSC chain of custody certification in order to deliver the required amounts of certified paper.
Landmark achievements
The labeling of the Dutch and Danish newspapers are landmark achievements within FSC certification. Besides bringing the label close to the daily news reader, certification of the media will almost by definition lead to increased coverage of FSC in the press.
Politiken even went so far as to mention its commitment in a very prominent place - the back page of Politiken called "ATS" reserved for jokes and satirical stuff: "In future, ATS will exclusively bring certified satire. Every time we use one joke we will plant a new one, and furthermore, we will ensure that the points are recycled to the fullest possible extent. Watery jokes will only be included during periods of scarce or no precipitation".
Sources: Politiken, Kristeligt Dagblad, Information, FSC-International.
Den Danske Presses Fælles-Indkøbsforening (Procurement Association of the Danish Press) obtained its FSC multi-site certificate from the Rainforest Alliance on the 18th of November 2009. The certíficate was based on third-party evaluation carried out by NEPCon. The certificate registration code is: SW-COC-004480.
