Apple, the celebrated American technology giant, is protecting forests in the United States and China because, in the words of Lisa P. Jackson, vice president and head of environmental initiatives at the Cupertino company, it "believes that paper, like energy, can be a renewable resource." At a conference on damage to natural resources held in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Jackson stated that Apple is "constantly looking for ways to reduce the impact of the paper used in its packaging."

How Apple will reduce its impact on forests

Apple has committed to using only sustainable paper for its products, easing the pressure on forests. The programme to achieve this goal is based on three points: first, more efficient use of paper; second, greater use of recycled paper; and finally, the use of paper sourced exclusively from sustainable sources certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (Fsc) and the Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (Pefc).

The partnership with the Conservation Fund to save forests

Last year Apple began working with the Conservation Fund, a conservation NGO established to safeguard the natural resources of the United States. The aim of the partnership is to protect nearly 15,000 hectares of forests in Maine and North Carolina. Some of the trees will be used by Apple to produce the paper it requires, and the plan provides for new trees to be grown in place of those felled. In one of these areas, in Brunswick County, the Conservation Fund has planted 185,000 trees since last February. "We hope other companies will follow Apple's example," said Larry Selzer, president and CEO of the Conservation Fund. "Forest loss is one of the greatest environmental challenges facing the United States."

America increasingly stripped bare

Over the past fifteen years, nearly ten million hectares of forests have disappeared in the United States, an area equivalent in size to the state of Maine. A further eighteen million hectares of tree cover are at risk, threatened by development and urbanisation.