The Conservation Fund outlines effects of its partnership w/ Apple to protect 36k acres of forest

Back in 2015, Apple partnered with The Conservation Fund to protect 36,000 acres of forest. The partnership saw Apple purchase the land and use the paper from the forests for sustainable product packaging, with the company claiming that “forests stay forests” and harvested timber is done so in a sustainable way.

Two years later, The Conservation Fund is offering some details on the effects of the partnership with Apple and says that the return it is showing, especially in the 3,600 acres located in North Carolina…

As outlined by Bizjournals, Apple harvested 13,000 metric tons of wood in 2016 while protecting the 36,000 acres in its entirety. The collective annual production of the two forests Apple purchased in North Carolina and Maine was “equivalent to about 30 percent of the virgin fiber” that Apple had used in product packaging in 2015.

Furthermore, the partnership between Apple and The Conservation Fund has created more than “10 jobs per 1,000-acres” in the Brunswick Forest portion of the project. Additionally, The Conservation Fund has planted 185,000 trees across 300 acres of the forest “because it provides a home for a rare butterfly.”

Additionally, the partnership as also protected natural resources:

And it has also protected North Carolina natural resources. The tract is located next to the Green Swamp Preserve. A natural resource assessment commissioned by The Conservation Fund found the presence of six rare species at the site, including the carnivorous Venus flytrap.

Jena Thompson Meredith, vice president of business partnerships at The Conservation Fund, made the announcements, while Apple VP Lisa Jackson also shared them on Twitter.

Environmental protection = good for the planet & economy. Yet another example through our work with @ConservationFnd https://t.co/XUMRMybdfy

— Lisa P. Jackson (@lisapjackson) March 15, 2017