Forests in the U.S. Southeast are vast and healthy. Despite rapid population growth and increased demand for timber worldwide, the number of trees in U.S. forests has increased every year for more than 50 years. In fact, forest inventory in the U.S. Southeast has increased more than 100 percent since 1953, and during the last 20 years (even after accounting for all of the forests uses by the forest products industry) forest growth has exceeded removals by nearly 50 percent. Currently, the growth to drain ratio in the U.S. Southeast is 1.7x, meaning for every one tree harvested, close to two trees are being replanted in its place across the region.

Third-party data, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) demonstrate that an increased demand for forest products has resulted in more, not less, forest inventory in the U.S. Southeast. That’s because approximately 86 percent of forests in the U.S. Southeast are owned by private landowners, according to the National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO). Timber markets, made stronger by the bioenergy market, provide economic incentives to ensure that landowners keep their forests well maintained and do not sell or convert their land to other uses.

"Companies should consider developing a framework for collecting and verifying the accuracy of their forest-based sourcing data to guide their efforts in ensuring supply chain traceability"

The U.S. is one of the world’s most important timber baskets, and the U.S. Southeast produces about 1/6 of the wood that is used worldwide every year which is then used to produce a wide variety of forest products - everything from furniture, to diapers, toilet paper, etc. It’s important to note, only ~2 percent of the working forests ­in the U.S. Southeast are harvested each year, while the remaining ~98 percent continue to grow and store carbon. Of that percentage, only 3 percent of that annual harvest is used for the production of biomass.Furthermore, privately owned forests generate 2.5 million jobs and contribute $92 billion to the nation’s gross domestic product, according to a report by the NAFO.

So Why Woody Biomass?

The use of wood bioenergy as a climate change mitigation measure, has been and continues to be supported by some of the most authoritative scientific institutions and government bodies around the world, such as the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), International Energy Agency, the UK Committee on Climate Change, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the European Union, among many others. In fact, all IPCC scenarios show bioenergy use is substantial in all pathways that limit temperature rise to 1.5°C because of its multiple roles in decarbonizing energy use.

When sourced responsibly, woody biomass is proven to be a low-carbon, “drop-in” solution to replace fossil fuels. In fact, when used to displace fossil fuels, sustainably sourced wood pellets reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 85 percent on a lifecycle basis compared to coal, and by more than 70 percent compared to natural gas.

When working with forests, how can companies ensure supply is sustainably sourced?

1) Implement policies and procedures

2) Tracking and verifying

3) Reporting

Sustainability teams should hold companies responsible for the systems, processes, and certifications that guide their fiber procurement activities with the goal of knowing precisely where their fiber comes from. In Enviva’s case, we strictly adhere to our Responsible Sourcing Policy to ensure we only source low-value wood from land planned to be replanted as forests and according to the strictest sustainability and environmental standards. In doing this, we incentivize landowners to keep their land as forests and provide an additional source of income.

Companies should consider developing a framework for collecting and verifying the accuracy of their forestbased sourcing data to guide their efforts in ensuring supply chain traceability. Once established, such frameworks and/ or policies should be verified through a third-party audit. Enviva’s innovative and proprietary Track & Trace®(T&T®) program provides detailed insights into the company’s sourcing activities by tracking all of the wood to its origin. Once collected, Enviva publishes all of the data on its website for public consumption.

Finally, companies should also be transparent about their carbon footprint. We recommend publishing a quarterly or annual sustainability report, a net-zero climate pledge, or an environmental impact report to showcase a company’s green efforts.

In conclusion, in today’s global economy, all companies need to ensure they are doing right by forests and people. It is mission critical for every person and company to play an active role to solidifying a sustainable future for all.