ARLINGTON, Va. — C&S Wholesale Grocers and U-Haul joined with The Conservation Fund today to announce their commitment to protecting forest-based supply chains. Each company will start by measuring and then offsetting a portion of their wood fiber use—from pulpwood to cardboard paper products—by contributing to the ongoing conservation of more than 8,700 acres of working forestland surrounding Success Pond in Northeastern New Hampshire.
“U-Haul and C&S Wholesale Grocers are corporate leaders who understand that protecting forests can create a vitally important link to sustainable supply chains,” said Larry Selzer, President and CEO of The Conservation Fund. “Through this partnership, we will broaden our collective efforts to ensure that America’s working forests continue to remain environmental and economic assets for generations to come.”
The Fund is continuing to raise capital for the protection of more than 8,700 acres of forestland adjacent to Success Pond. The conservation effort at Success Pond includes an estimated $3 million public-private partnership with lead support from USDA’s Forest Legacy Program. Support from U-Haul will help offset a portion of the millions of boxes the company sells every year. Support from C&S Wholesale Grocers will protect sustainably managed forests to help offset the wood used in many of the pallets the company utilizes in the transport of food and groceries to its resellers.
“Boxes used for packing and moving are essential to our customers and are thereby fundamental to our nation’s mobility. We recognize that manufacturing boxes can have an impact on our nation’s forests,” said J.T. Taylor, President at U-Haul International, Inc. “Ten years ago we initiated our Take a Box, Leave a Box program, providing customers a way to share used boxes with other customers who are in the process of moving. Partnering with The Conservation Fund on the conservation of Success Pond Forest is another important step in reducing that impact by ensuring forests remain environmental and economic assets for the long-term and supporting a sustainable supply chain. U-Haul Company is committed to the communities we serve and safeguarding the forests that clean our air, purify our water, and shelter wildlife now and into the future.”
Richard B. Cohen, Chairman and CEO of C&S Wholesale Grocers said: “From transporting fresh, healthy produce to shipping seafood and soap, tens of thousands of businesses rely on pallets to help run their daily operations. By permanently protecting working forests, we can help create a responsible supply of wood for C&S customers and beyond.”
A conservation easement on Success Pond will be held by the New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands. Once secured this will ensure the forest will be sustainably managed and continue to be open for public outdoor recreation into the future. With the ongoing production of responsibly harvested timber, the land will continue to support more than 20 local and regional jobs for loggers, truckers, foresters, and road contractors, while providing timber to mills in New Hampshire, Maine and Canada.
The protection of the forest surrounding Success Pond is part of the Mahoosuc Gateway Initiative, a broader conservation effort of 30,000 acres led by The Conservation Fund that includes protection of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail and working forestland in New Hampshire’s North Country region.
“This initiative illustrates how public and private sector leaders are able to join state partners to help conserve our natural resources,” said New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu. “We commend those companies willing to invest in a unique partnership with long-term results for our environment and economy.”
More than half of U.S. forests are considered “working” forests and are used for timber and paper production. Over 45 million acres of these forests are at risk of being converted for commercial and residential use. The Conservation Fund created The Working Forest Fund® in the late 1990s to protect these lands through the placement of conservation easements on working forestland. The Fund develops and implements sustainable forest management plans prior to returning them to private ownership or public agency stewardship. To date, the Working Forest Fund has helped protect more than 400,000 acres, including forests in Maine and North Carolina now permanently protected through a partnership with Apple.
“Our window for protecting working forests is closing, but we have the right approach and an ever-expanding group of committed partners,” said Selzer. “Overcoming this complex conservation challenge requires some of our most innovative thinking. Our nation’s conservation challenges can only be solved by bringing leading companies and environmental groups together,” he concluded.
C&S Wholesale Grocers and U-Haul have worked closely with The Conservation Fund on several environmental programs, each for more than a decade. This is each company’s first partnership focused on measuring and offsetting a portion of their fiber footprint.
About U-Haul
U-Haul was founded by a Navy veteran who grew up during the Great Depression. Tires and gas were still rationed or in short supply during the late 1940s when U-Haul began serving U.S. customers. Today, that background is central to the U-Haul Sustainability Program: “Serving the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Our commitment to reduce, reuse, and recycle includes fuel-efficient moving vans, neighborhood proximity, moving box reuse, moving pads made from discarded material and packing peanuts that are 100 percent biodegradable. To learn more, please visit https://uhaul.com/sustainability.
About The Conservation Fund
At The Conservation Fund, we make conservation work for America. By creating solutions that make environmental and economic sense, we are redefining conservation to demonstrate its essential role in our future prosperity. Top-ranked for efficiency and effectiveness, we have worked in all 50 states since 1985 to protect more than 7.8 million acres of land. www.conservationfund.org
About C&S Wholesale Grocers
C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc., based in Keene, NH, is the largest wholesale grocery supply company in the U.S. and the industry leader in supply chain innovation. Founded in 1918 as a supplier to independent grocery stores, C&S now services customers of all sizes, supplying more than 14,000 independent supermarkets, chain stores, military bases, and institutions with over 140,000 different products. To learn more, please visit www.cswg.com.
C&S community involvement programs support initiatives to fight hunger and to promote the health and enrichment of communities that are homes to the company’s employees and facilities. To learn more, please visit http://community.cswg.com.