Environmentally Preferable (EP) Paper Procurement Policy

by Wayne Cullen

So much for a paper-less world. Those piles of reports, each thicker than a pair of Dagwood sandwiches contending for space on desks everywhere belie the paper-less predictions.

Not only that, many of those reports don’t even get looked at. Who could possibly analyze all that data? The piles just sit there until they slip off the side of the desk, hopefully into a recycling box, but too often into the garbage. …and another tree is felled…

Global paper consumption has more than tripled over the past 30 years.

Almost half of the trees harvested in North America go to the production of paper.

Is this really the best way to use our natural resources – especially those that can take decades, even centuries to replenish, and which are a significant source of the very oxygen that allows us all to continue breathing?

But what about recycling? Haven’t we improved the situation by recycling over the last few decades?
Although recycling paper at home and at the office has become a common practice for a number of years, it turns out that in Canada we recover only 44 % of all paper products consumed, including only 15 % of printing and writing papers, and magazines. And between 90-95% of all office and printing paper products consumed are still made with virgin pulp fibre.
Why bother with all this recycling and saving paper nonsense?
The pulp & paper industry is one of the most envi­ronmentally demanding and damaging industries. It emits toxins into the air and water, causes greenhouse gases, cre­ates tons of solid waste demanding landfill space, and uses enormous amounts of precious resources: energy (4% of the world’s total), fresh water, and of course, trees.

Big picture, there are several ways to mitigate the over­all harmful effects of the industry – using less toxic chemi­cals in the production process, using alternative materials for pulp fibre – like hemp and kenaf, halting the harvest of old-growth forests, recycling as much post-con­sumer fibre (paper) as possible and reducing the use of paper.

The latter is the focus of this article, which includes some practical tips for using less paper. The workplace is also the focus of this article because while individual consumers can do their part by following the same practices, it is undoubtedly bulk purchasers – businesses, gov­ernments, non-profit organizations – that pos­sess the buying power needed to create change in the pulp and paper industry.

Many organizations are currently discover­ing it to be expedient to adopt socially responsi­ble polices as part of their standard operational procedures. One way of demonstrating an acceptance of that responsi­bility is through EP procurement policies. Since paper is such a ubiquitous commodity in almost every organiza­tion, an EP paper policy is an important component of any “green” purchasing strategy.

Potential organizational benefits of an EP paper policy:

      • Using some of the paper saving tips below can easily offset any initial cost differences between buying recycled and non-recycled paper. Net expenditures can actually de­crease.

• Favourable public image and customer loyalty or credibility leading to long-term economic benefits.

• Employee pride.

• Distinguishing a company from its competitors, and capturing a burgeon­ing environmentally-conscientious consumer base.

• Not missing out on an industry/national trend toward socially responsible investing, leading to healthier re­turns for shareholders.

Reduce – Reuse – Recycle

Here’s how the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” trio applies to the EP paper effort.

Starting with the latter –

Recycle: Of course having a recovery (recycling) sys­tem for paper products is a key component, as ultimately, virgin fibre is replaced by recycled fibre to produce paper.

Resistance to Using Recycled Paper: Cost, quality, brightness and availability are the most often heard objec­tions to recycled paper. A lot of this negativity is based on experiences when recycled paper was first introduced into the marketplace.

First, the availability of EP paper will be solved with more demand. And today, recycled paper is priced very competitively with non-recycled equivalents, especially for most standard use papers. Due to technical advances, there is virtually no discernable difference in the quality of some EP and virgin papers. And while EP papers may not attain the brightness of those made from virgin pulp and bleached with chlorine derivatives, they can be made white enough for almost any purpose. In any case, greater degrees of whiteness add nothing substantial to the usefulness of paper; it is mainly an aesthetic preference. In Germany, bright white paper has a negative connotation because it is considered environmentally unfriendly.

Re-use: Paper can be used more than once, as scrap paper, for printing on the reverse side, with the use of new labels on file folders for example, etc.

Reduce: i.e. paper-saving. The emphasis here is on waste ‘prevention.’ Using less and eliminating needs for paper and thereby reducing purchasing costs.

Conclusion: It is widely acknowledged that current patterns of consumption in North America are not sustain­able. Our lifestyle choices in the West constantly intensify demands on natural resources and create escalating envi­ronmental damage. The population of the world is grow­ing, and furthermore, the developing world aspires to the Western lifestyle.

Our consumption choices are replete with issues of responsibility, for future generations even more than for ourselves. What we as consumers decide to purchase de­termines the types of products offered. Businesses will respond to the ever-increasing demand for environmentally friendly alternatives to their products and services, as evi­denced by phenomena such as the expansion of ecotourism, organic food, natural clothing fibres, etc.

Trees, and forest eco-systems, are a resource on which we need to minimize our demand. While we can plant trees, we cannot recreate ecologically diverse forests. Using less paper is one of several components of a total “going green” paper strategy that will help preserve our forests, and it is an excellent and easy place to start.

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[From WS March/April 2004]

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