APRIL 2021
Wood pallets move the world safely, securely, and sustainably, as roughly 90 percent of all pallets are wooden, and 90+% of all products move on pallets. The industry employs more than 173,000 across the country. This means that our industry and our priorities play a strategic part in the economy of the United States.
Infrastructure: A strong national infrastructure and anything that relates to the structure and flow of the supply chain is a priority. Our industry had a big win by being declared critical and essential infrastructure during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sustainability: We are very proud of our environmental footprint, leading the nation in recycling and landfill avoidance with a product that has a potential ‘net positive’ carbon footprint. This was highlighted in the newly released Environmental Product Declaration.
Agriculture: We work with USDA and other forest sector interests closely on forest policy, as you can’t make a wood pallet without wood. Our work in the agriculture space allowed us to provide leadership in ISPM15 development and its ongoing successful implementation to protect forests from invasive species.
Invasive Species: Because of the value that solid wood packaging material provides to the marketplace and the success of the ISPM-15 program in minimizing the threat of invasive pests, the NWPCA advocates for increased funding to the USDA Department of Agriculture, Plant Protection & Quarantine for enhancements to the ISPM-15 program, additional inspections at ports of entry for cargo, including “hitch-hikers” in cargo shipments for import and exports, and accessible data collection and reporting would support evaluation and costs of policy alternatives.
NWPCA continues to advance these priorities and advocate for the members of the wood packaging industry. Much of our work has been aided by research funded by the Pallet Foundation. Nature's Packaging®, an essential project of the Pallet Foundation, was initiated and continues to evolve with additional support by NWPCA, CWPCA, and WPA. The campaign promotes research that directly supports and strengthens advocacy by answering questions like "why wood" and highlights the importance of healthy forests, healthy markets, and healthy communities. To learn more about the Pallet Foundation and Nature’s Packaging ®, please visit palletfoundation.org and naturespackaging.org.