Chain of Custody: The term, "chain of custody," refers to tracking the custodianship of wood and wood products along the supply chain from harvest to distribution of the final product. The purpose of a chain of custody system is to ensure that certified and other forest products originated in a responsibly managed forest. Special recordkeeping requirements relating to the purchase, shipment and delivery of products must be maintained.

Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF): ECF pulp is bleached without chlorine gas. Over the past fifteen years, the paper industry has, for the most part, converted its pulp bleaching processes to ECF to avoid the generation of dioxins in process wastewater associated with chlorine bleaching. In the ECF process, chlorine is replaced by chlorine dioxide and the lignin content of pulp is reduced to as low a level as possible before bleaching.

Environmental Management System: A set of processes and practices that enable an organization to monitor and manage its environmental aspects. An EMS is a continual management cycle of planning, implementing, reviewing, maintaining and improving the processes and actions that an organization undertakes to meet its business and environmental goals.

Freesheet Paper: Freesheet paper contains a high percentage, or is exclusively made from, fiber that was chemically pulped (as opposed to mechanically pulped). During the chemical pulping process, impurities and undesirable elements for paper making are removed from the raw wood input and this reduction process results in reduced fiber yields.

Groundwood Paper: Groundwood paper contains a high percentage of fiber that was mechanically pulped (as opposed to chemically pulped). Mechanical pulping is highly efficient in that virtually all of the raw wood input is retained during the pulping process.

Illegal sources: Fiber originating from harvesting, processing or trade sources that do not conform to local, national or international law. Illegal logging causes environmental, social and financial damage to the communities where it occurs. Illegal logging activities include the following: timber theft; harvesting from lands that are protected or where harvesting is forbidden; harvesting protected species; overharvesting; gaining permission to harvest through corrupt means; failing to replant at required rates or replanting with low grade species; illegal processing; illegal transportation; and customs violations, including the falsification of documents.

Offset Printing: A printing process by which images are transferred from a printing plate to an inked printing blanket and then to a paper substrate. This process generates higher paper waste than other forms of printing (such as rotogravure), and is limited in the trim sizes it can efficiently produce.

Post-Consumer Waste (PCW): Recovered material that has served its intended use as a consumer item and been discarded for disposal or recovery. Post-consumer material is part of the broader category of recovered material, which includes paper, paperboard and fibrous materials, such as corrugated boxes, newspapers, magazines and cordage, originating in workplaces and homes.

Rotogravure: A printing process by which ink is transferred to paper as it passes between an engraved printing cylinder and an opposing impression cylinder. Rotogravure printing produces less paper waste and has a higher trim efficiency than other forms of printing.

Sustainable Forest Management Standard: A forest management standard designed to maintain and enhance the long-term health of forest ecosystems while providing environmental, economic, and social opportunities. Acceptable sustainable forest management standards include American Tree Farm System (ATFS), Canada Standards Association (CSA), Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Maine Master Logger Certification, and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI).

Third Party Certification: An independent, objective assessment of an organization's sustainable forest management practices or chain of custody system by an auditor that is independent of the party undergoing assessment (the forest manager or supplier of forest products) as well as the party to whom the claim is made (the customer). Third party certification of conformance to voluntary standards such as FSC, SFI, CSA, ATFS, or Maine Master Logger is usually performed by qualified professionals who meet specific education and experience requirements and are accredited by a standards body.