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Global production in the pulp, paper
and publishing sector is expected to increase by 77 percent from
1995 to 2020, according to the 2001 OECD Environmental Outlook.
Industrialized nations, with 20 percent of the world’s population,
consume 87 percent of the world’s printing and writing papers,
according to Klaus Toepfer, executive director of the United Nations
Environment Programme during a keynote address at UNEP’s 7th
International High Level Seminar on Cleaner Production in April
2002.
These statistics underscore a serious threat to the world’s
forests—a threat that prompted a diverse group of environmental
organizations to join together at the annual Canadian Pulp and Paper
Conference earlier this year to release a common vision for the
paper industry. Their consensus: the paper industry must abandon
its destructive 20th-century environmental practices and adopt environmentally
responsible alternatives for the 21st century.
The Common Vision report emerged from the NGO Paper Summit,
a gathering in fall 2002 of over 50 environmental groups working
on paper, toxics and forestry issues. The Paper Summit was the first
time that such a large and diverse group had come together on this
issue. By sharing information about impacts and approaches, and
by articulating action priorities, the groundwork has been laid
for increasing coordination among campaigns in the future. Members
of the Common Paper Vision Coalition include the Center for a New
American Dream, Co-op America, Conservatree, Dogwood Alliance, Environmental
Defense, ForestEthics, Greenpeace, Markets Initiative, Natural Resources
Defense Council and the Recycled Products Purchasing Cooperative/Green
Press Initiative.
The Problem
According to the Common Vision report, the virgin timber-based
pulp and paper industry is the single largest industrial consumer
of forests worldwide, the largest industrial consumer of freshwater
and largest generator of polluted wastewater. The industry is the
third largest industrial generator of greenhouse gases and the fourth
largest consumer of fossil fuels. The pulp and paper industry also
has negative impacts on the health, well-being and stability of
local communities. In North America, for example, the majority of
paper products are buried in landfills or burned in incinerators,
resulting in substantial pollution, forest destruction and major
climate change impacts.
While paper and paper products yield many benefits, reports Common
Vision, due to society’s growing demand for paper and the industry’s
unacceptably large environmental footprint on the planet, it is
necessary to transform global paper production and consumption toward
processes that are ecologically and socially responsible and sustainable.
“The world simply cannot tolerate another 100 years of ecologically
destructive business as usual in the paper industry. The Vision
Document is a roadmap for the future, it is based on ecologically
necessary and commercially proven practices and technologies,”
said Dr. Allen Hershkowitz, senior scientist at Natural Resources
Defense Council.
The Common Vision sends a unified message to paper producers and
consumers of environmentalists’ highest priorities for reducing
damage to the Earth:
* eliminate excessive and unnecessary paper consumption;
* end the use of fiber that threatens endangered forests;maximize
post-consumer recycled fiber content in all paper and paper products;
* source any remaining virgin fiber from independent third party-certified
forest managers that employ the most environmentally responsible
practices;
* eliminate harmful pulp and paper mill discharges and the use of
chlorine and chlorine compounds;
* end the clearing of natural forest ecosystems and their conversion
into plantations.
“The consensus vision . . . marks an unprecedented coming together
of major environmental organizations across North America. Our organizations
will be working with progressive corporations to implement this
vision, and singling for further scrutiny those companies who are
not interested in change,” said Greenpeace Canada’s Gavin
Edwards.
A number of Fortune 500 companies have already instituted policies
that insist on more recycled and sustainably harvested content in
their paper. Recently, office supply giant Staples Inc, announced
a landmark environmental policy in November 2002, which other office
supply leaders including Office Depot and Office Max are now working
to meet or exceed. In its policy, Staples agrees to increase the
overall post-consumer recycled content and to stop sourcing paper
from endangered forests.
“Staples and other forward-looking Fortune 500 companies are
already beginning to implement the solutions outlined in the Common
Vision, challenging some of the world’s largest paper producers
to clean up their act,” said Sarah Hodgdon, executive director
of Dogwood Alliance.
Some Solutions
The solutions to which Hodgdon refers are included in an accompanying
report, Guidance to Best Practices for Advancing Environmentally
and Socially Sustainable Papers. As the title suggests, the Common
Vision Coalition has established a series of guidelines for pulp
and paper manufacturers, suppliers and purchasers, as well as governments.
This call to action, so to speak, cites specific activities each
segment should undertake to help transform the paper industry.
Fourteen actions are recommended for manufacturers to transform
not only fiber sourcing, but also production processes. For example,
under the “Clean Production” category, manufacturers are
called upon to: minimize the combined impacts of water, energy,
wood and chemical usage, as well as air, water, solid waste and
thermal pollution across the entire paper production system. Secondly,
manufacturers are asked to minimize and over time eliminate harmful
pulp mill discharges and the use of chlorine and chlorine compounds
for bleaching.
The Best Practices guide also calls on federal, sate and
local government to support sustainable paper production and consumption
by establishing timelines to implement the following actions: eliminate
subsidies and incentives for virgin pulp and paper production and
require producers to cover the true societal and environmental costs
associated with the industry; promote and enhance the functioning
of paper recycling as an entire system; purchase environmentally
and socially responsible papers; develop incentives for environmentally
and socially responsible paper product technology, research and
development and production. Lastly, the group calls upon governments
to develop, implement and enforce policies that work to eliminate
unsustainable industrial forestry practices (such as large-scale
clearcutting, conversion of forests to plantations and widespread
use of agricultural chemicals) as well as to work with environmental
and conservation experts to establish scientifically-based regional
forest conservation and restoration plans.
A third element of the Guidance to Best Practices plan puts the
onus on purchasers by providing a detailed plan for preferable paper
purchasing. Purchasers can influence the paper production process
through the paper attributes they demand as well as through the
products they specify or reject, notes the report. The six steps
purchasers should take include: making a commitment; minimizing
paper consumption; maximizing recycled content; be selective about
virgin fiber content; giving preference to chlorine-free papers;
and spreading the word.
To view the complete text of the Common Vision report, and
to download the report Guidance to Best Practices for Advancing
Environmentally and Socially Responsible Papers, visit the Natural
Resources Defense Council Web site at www.nrdc.org.
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