Sustainable Forest Management

Nippon Paper Group regards forests as a crucial management resource, promoting both sustainable external procurement and in-house cultivation of wood resources. Leveraging its unique technologies and expertise cultivated over the years, the Group will continue to provide diverse value through the appropriate management of its approximately 160,000 hectares of forests both in Japan and overseas.

NIPPON PAPER INDUSTRIES owns approximately 400 company-owned forests in Japan with a total area of approximately 90,000 hectares, and has obtained forest certification (Forest Management Certification) throughout the entire area. Approximately 20% of company-owned forests are conserved as environmental forest areas, and forest management is carried out in consideration of biodiversity. Domestic company-owned forests are widely distributed from Hokkaido to Kyushu and have a diverse composition of tree species.

The Group promotes the strengthening of the domestic supply chain and the use of domestic timber, based on the Japanese government's basic policy of "green growth through the forest, forestry and timber industries." The company's utilization rate of domestic timber as a raw material for paper production ranges between 35% and 40%, which is one of the highest levels in Japan.
Nippon Paper Lumber is developing a domestic timber business by utilizing one of the largest collection networks in Japan.
Click here for the trend of domestic timber utilization rate

The Company is also working to contribute to the revitalization of the domestic forestry industry, such as expanding the production of elite tree seedlings for forestry, forest collaboration through agreements with local communities, and the formation of large-scale forestry business complexes through public-private collaboration.

The Group manages plantation areas in Brazil and Australia, and develops its own resources. All of its own plantation areas have obtained forest certification (Forest Management certification). The Group promotes sustainable business by managing forests that take into account the natural environment/ecosystem, local residents, and local culture/traditions.

The Group is striving to stabilize wood-based raw materials procurement, improve quality and reduce costs, and improve productivity by utilizing its proprietary technologies. At its own plantation areas overseas​, the Group has significantly improved business profitability and CO₂ fixation efficiency per unit area by reducing the costs associated with improving productivity by using its proprietary breeding and propagation technologies. By utilizing its technologies, the Group plans to expand forests where it can secure resources, mainly in Asia.