Apple's forestry program was launched in 2015 with a five-year partnership with WWF to transition up to one million acres of forest, across southern provinces of China, into responsible management by 2020. Apple's first goal, to increase responsible management of working forests in China by creating up to 300,000 acres of FSC-certified forests, was reached in just two years, the company points out. Apple says the progress was made through collaboration with two companies in Hunan and Guangxi provinces, one of which will be the largest FSC-certified plantation area in the Chinese pulp and paper sector. WWF worked with both companies to create forest management plans and train their employees to identify High Conservation Value Forest — both necessary for FSC certification.
Apple says the company is continually looking for ways to make its packaging smaller, creating technologies that use paper more efficiently, and using recycled paper whenever possible. In fiscal year 2016, Apple used 131,000 metric tons of fiber, of which 62 percent was recycled, 38 percent was virgin fiber from responsibly managed sources, and less than 1 percent was virgin fiber that did not comply with the company’s sustainable fiber specification, according to the company’s 2017 Environmental Responsibility Report.
