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The huge scale of the global paper industry's climate change impacts are noted in a Guardian blog by Tony Juniper, former director of Friends of the Earth. He highlights the work of the Shrink project, saying 'Making paper emits three times more carbon than global aviation. The only answer is to consume less.'
Environmentalists are celebrating the closure of one of the most controversial pulp and paper mills in the world, at Baikalsk, on the shore of Lake Baikal, near Irkutsk, Russia. For more than 40 years this mill, owned by the billionaire Oleg Deripaska, has been pouring effluent polluted with chlorine-based chemicals into the lake. Baikal is the biggest and oldest body of freshwater on the planet, containing 20% of the world's drinking water and many endemic species. Protection of this lake has formed a focus for the environmental movement in Russia, led by Baikal Environmental Wave, which has campaigned tirelessly for the mill to be closed. The failure of an expensive effort to techo-fix the pollution problem has finally led government officials to demand that it shut down operations. It was originally designed to provide 'strategic pulp' to make rayon for parachutes, but this need was superceded by petrochemical fibres before the mill opened in the mid 1960s. Ever since it has produced packaging paper and textile fibres, mostly exported to China.
In the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, eucalyptus pulp producers have been hit by the financial crisis, with currency slumps sending share values plummeting. Three major pulp companies in the region, Aracruz Cellulose, Votorantim Celulose e Papel (VCP) and Stora Enso, have informed the state government that three new pulp mills will no longer go ahead. It remains to be seen whether this will slow the spread of the eucalyptus plantations that were intended to supply fibre to the mills.
It is not surprising that a financial downturn would hit all three companies together as there are already tight links between them. Aracruz and Stora Enso are involved in a controversial joint venture, Veracel, and in September 2008 Aracruz agreed to a merger with VCP to form the world's biggest eucalyptus pulp manufacturer.
We've mentioned before the big impact of junk mail and catalogs on the environment and the huge contribution to climate change. Eliminating catalogs and junk mail is a critical piece of combating climate change. Leeds catalog has apparently taken at least some steps toward this goal. Let's hope that this is expanded and catches on among other catalog companies.
I'll be looking forward to this regular column in the Guardian Online. If you are not familiar with the Guardian, it is one the UK's national newspapers. Better than most.
The paper industry and energy are two of the most frequent loci of greenwash, so we should be seeing quite a bit linkde from here.
The UK National Association of Paper Merchants has launched a marketing program, Two Sides, to
address these criticisms, to educate the paper-buying public of the true facts so they can make informed choices, while at the same time, promote responsible paper use. The key focus is to encourage people to question and challenge their existing wisdom about paper, to counteract the impact of the current environmental lobby against the paper industry, and arrest the guilt surrounding the use of paper.On their web site, they also say that:
[...] the print and paper industries need to speak with a common voice to dispel the myths and present the real facts.It doesn't look like they are making much headway in that regard. A Printweek article entitled "Premier Paper contradicts NAPM's campaign to promote paper's image" says, among other things:
Paper merchant Premier Paper Group has gone against the National Association of Paper Merchants' (NAPM) newly launched Two Sides campaign claiming that the paper industry "inevitably consumes precious natural resources" and has a "significant impact" on the environment.Indeed. Don't forget to visit Shrink and learn how to reduce your paper consumption to a sustainable level.
If true, this is fairly good news:
The European Union should not allow industry to meet climate goals by funding tree planting or cutting deforestation in developing countries before 2020, said a leaked EU Commission paper due for release on Friday.Many companies and their advocates want to avoid reducing their greenhouse gas emissions by paying developing countries for forest carbon credits, either through planting forests or plantations or through stopping deforestation. We do need to stop deforestation, but this scheme is basically setting up a kind of sub-prime market for carbon credits: trading real, permanent, current reductions of emissions in one place for uncertain and reversible (forests protected now are not guaranteed forever) 'assets.'
You may have already had a chance to see the fascinating article in last week's New Yorker about illegal logging, the Environmental Investigation Agency, product chain-of-custody and Wal-Mart.
Though the article itself is available by subscription only, you can listen to a fantastic interview with the author, Raffi Khatchadourian, HERE.
UDPATE 10/13: YOU CAN NOW READ THE FULL ARTICLE IN THE NEW YORKER HERE.
In May 2008, the United States Congress passed landmark legislation to address the U.S. market’s role in the global illegal logging crisis, becoming the first country in the world to ban the import of illegally harvested wood and wood products.
If you are interested in how these new amendments to the Lacey Act might affect your company, I suggest this FAQ developed by EIA as required reading. If you import any products or raw material coming from forest products, I suggest you had better be interested, as the penalties for noncompliance will be significant, and the issue is critically important for our economy and our environment.
In an excellent article authored by a major UK paper distributor (Premier Paper Group) and posted to a leading paper industry blog, the case for reform in the industry and more responsible paper purchasing practices is made quite urgently. It is appropriately titled: Paper and the Environment - Confronting an Awkward Reality - An Insider’s View
Here is a snip:
"Paper is a wonderful product but its ecological impact on our planet is already too great and it is growing too quickly. We should all support initiatives which recognise the need to contain this impact such as:True, these are exactly the specific actions being urged by large coalitions of conservation groups in North America, and also in Europe.
* limiting the overall consumption of paper
* reducing the reliance on virgin fibre from trees
* urging social responsibility in pulp and paper manufacture
* being alert to the potential threats to our environment in the production of wood pulp
* demanding the clean production of both pulp and paper
These are not new proposals: they have been advocated by various environmental organisations for many years. It’s time that we all took them seriously."
"There can be no argument against the recycling of paper. In principle, the process of making recycled paper will save energy, use less water, and reduce the amount of chemicals used when compared with making paper from virgin fibres. For every tonne of paper recovered for recycling, about three cubic metres of precious landfill space will be saved."
The Environmental Paper Network's own Joshua Martin received some much deserved recognition as a “Life Leader” in this month’s New Life Journal, the Southeast region’s healing and natural foods magazine. Check out the article here http://www.newlifejournal.com/oct08/lifes_leaders_joshua_martin_environmental_paper_network.shtml.
Keeping it in the family, Kelly Sheehan (Joshua's wife) was also recognized this month when she was nominated for “Outstanding Leader” at the Roosevelt-Ashe Society’s Conservation Awards and Gala for her work to protect the Southeast’s wild places.
Congratulations to Joshua & Kelly! Cora will be very, very proud -- and when she can talk she will thank you both for protecting the all of the special forests she gets to explore!
University of Vermont students have successfully made a change for the better in their bathrooms. A student activist group:
According to the student newspaper, the Cynic.
...recently celebrated a public victory by removing all Kimberly-Clark custodial products such as Scott brand toilet paper from campus...
The next time someone tells you that clearcutting forests is a good thing because very young trees absorb more carbon than old growth forests, show them what science says. In a new study, published in Nature, a study analyzing more than 500 forests around the world settles the question once and for all.
When developing a paper procurement policy or organizational climate initiative, its important to take steps to ensure you are not unknowingly contributing to the loss of old growth or the conversion of natural forests to industrial tree plantations. Get ahead of the curve now.
As Dogwood Alliance continues to educate consumers and companies about the impacts of irresponsible packaging, particularly on the forests of the Southern United States, there are good indications the industry is taking notice and starting to move. An article today on the GreenerDesign blog talks about what's happening. Here's a quote from an executive at Warner Music Group:
“Environmentally responsible behavior is good for corporate America,” said John Esposito, president and CEO of WEA Corp., Warner Music Group’s U.S. sales and retail marketing company. “It’s smart ecology and smart economics. For Warner Music Group, it has proven to lower the cost of paper procurement and waste as well as strengthening employee morale because they feel a part of this larger effort.”A lot of companies are seeing how reducing paper use, increasing recovery, and paying better attention to what's in their paper they purchase can give them real savings and strengthen their brand. For tips on reducing paper use to save money, click here.
There's been a bit of action in the comic book sector of our paper planet, and hopefully, more to come.
Last week, DC comics announced in a post on Blog@Newsarama, some environmental improvements to some of their paper. Congratulations to DC Comics for taking leadership in moving the industry forward, and thanks. The announcement, from President Paul Levitz, states they were, "able to switch a number of our kids’ titles to a recycled newsprint paper stock, made from 85% post consumer waste and most of the Vertigo line to a recycled hibrite paper that is made from 40% post-consumer waste."
Hopefully this is an indication of even more good announcements to come from DC Comics, and continued increase of recycled content in all their comic book lines. However, there is one piece (actually, its in the headline of the post) that they seem to have received some bad advice on: their choice of forestry certification. As has been discussed many times in the Paper Planet, the only credible forestry certification scheme supported by a broad range of conservation organizations is the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The blog post states that DC Comics is considering certification of its remaining virgin fiber in its catalogs to the standards of the inferior, less credible system, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI). To be a true comic book industry leader, they should be choosing the FSC, and we hope they will look into it.
In a similar trend, Archie Comics announced in June it would publish its upcoming "Freshman Year" series on recycled paper, though it is unclear if it is 100% recycled or another amount. Though it no longer does, Archie Comics used to print ALL its comics on 100% recycled paper. Bring it back, Archie!
For more reading on comic books and the environment, check out this Comic Foundry article.
Congratulations to the French government, which has pledged to reduce its paper consumption by half by 2012. In November 2008 it will host a seminar to discuss how this commitment can be put into practice and replicated in other European countries. By pledging a 50% cut in paper consumption France has demonstrated understanding that Europe's environmental footprint is twice what the planet can sustain, and also shown the political will to act upon that understanding. France currently has the presidency of Europe, and is thus in an excellent position to lead its European neighbours towards more sustainable consumption.
The French target can be found first in the 2007 National Action Plan for Sustainable Public Procurement, and it was recently reinforced by the undertakings of the Environment Round Table (Grenelle de l’Environnement). A White Paper on the implementation of the Environment Round Table (Title IV, Article 42, line c) states: "[The Government’s objective] between now and 2012 is to achieve a 50% reduction in paper consumption by its departments."
The same White Paper also includes the following commitment: "By 2012, only recycled paper – or paper obtained from sustainably-managed forests – will be used."
The seminar in November will feature the Shrink Project. It is being organised jointly by Amis De La Terre (Friends of the Earth, France) and the French government. For more details see here: http://www.amisdelaterre.org/Colloque-Consommation-et-achat.html
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