MillWatch

They created a consensus document, "A Common Vision for Transforming the Paper Industry: Striving for Environmental and Social Sustainability." The Common Vision has four main tenets that the environmental community asserts are necessary for a more environmentally responsible paper system:

• Minimize Paper Consumption - eliminate excessive and unnecessary paper use;
• Convert to Clean Production - eliminate harmful pulp and paper mill discharges to air, land and water, and the use of chlorine and chlorine compounds;
• Practice Responsible Fibre Sourcing - end the use of fibre that threatens endangered forests, any virgin fibre should come from independent third party-certified forests (currently, only the Forest Stewardship Council certification program comes close), end the clearing of natural forest ecosystems and their conversion into plantations; and,
• Maximize Recycled Content - maximize post-consumer recycled fibre content in all paper and paper products

The full text of the Common Vision can downloaded in pdf.

The groups held a reception during the March 2003 Paper Week convention in New York City to highlight their new platform. A previous release at the more technically oriented Paper Week in Montreal received very positive feedback from a number of industry observers and the NYC reception generated coverage in the trade press.

Building a Stronger Movement

The Environmental Paper Summit and Common Vision consensus have allowed environmental organizations to address several important goals, sharing experience and information and combining power. This is a new coalition where small grassroots groups and large international organisations support each other's individual efforts, and work to make all individual efforts support common goals.

The Ripples Are Being Felt

In November 2002 Staples Inc. announced a commitment to phase out paper products originating from endangered forests and dramatically increase their sale of recycled paper products. Office Depot and Office Max are being challenged to meet or exceed this policy.

Kinko's recently announced that it, too, was implementing environmental paper policies, including a variety of measures relating to recycled content, responsible fibre sources and chlorine free bleaching.

Other indicators of success include an increase in environmentally preferable papers being promoted to paper re-sellers by producers and over two million books in Canada printed on paper free of endangered forest fibre.

Magazine publishers, book publishers, catalogue producers, copy chains and individual pulp and paper companies are all receiving pressure, and assistance, from Common Vision member groups. Some examples; Conde Nast, Time Warner, the City of Vancouver, the 2010 Vancouver/Whistler Olympics bid, Raincoast Books (Canadian publisher of Harry Potter), and Cascades pulp and paper company.

Common Vision activities are coordinated by a Steering Committee that includes the Center for a New American Dream, Co-op America, Conservatree, Dogwood Alliance, Environmental Defense, ForestEthics, Greenpeace, the Markets Initiative, Natural Resources Defense Council, Reach for Unbleached!, and the Recycled Products Purchasing Cooperative/Green Press Initiative.

Challenges Remain

Despite the newly forged environmental consensus and an apparent receptiveness from parts of the business community and paper industry, the road to an environmentally responsible pulp and paper system will not be problem-free.

Not every agreement between an environmental group and a large company will pass muster on every element of the Common Vision. The larger movement will have to work hard both to avoid endorsing a rush to a least common denominator standard and also to ensure that incremental successes do not become divisive within the movement, but rather are celebrated and used to build future improvements.

There are still interests inside the pulp and paper industry resistant to any force for change. These interests will need to be won over through cooperation, confrontation, or complete changing of market demand.

Restructuring to meet the full set of demands for environmentally preferable paper will affect the work force. Environmental groups must engage with workers to develop transition strategies that make them beneficiaries, not victims, of change.

Finally, markets and consumers present obstacles and opportunities. Wasteful paper use is difficult to eliminate. Price and convenience play a major role for individual and institutional paper buyers. It is hard to change buying habits if affordable environmental products are hard to find, and it is hard to get paper producers to invest in making better paper in the absence of obvious demand. Improving all sides of this chicken and egg equation until the whole thing equals a better environment is the tough job the Common Vision Paper Coalition has set for itself.

Their efforts appear to offer the best opportunity for success that this movement has seen in some time.

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Reach for Unbleached! announces a new goal: Get everyone who shares a commitment to the environment, sustainability, and socially responsible business to turn that commitment into action. We want groups, businesses and individuals to Walk Your Talk!

Almost all of us use paper in some form or another. Paper has a big impact on our lives and a big impact on the environment. By using paper better (reduce, reuse, recycle), and using better paper (recycled, chlorine-free, no endangered forests) we can help clean up the environment.

Reach for Unbleached! is reaching out to our members, to our fellow environmental groups, to co-ops, churches, and to socially responsible businesses. We are asking them to commit to reducing paper use, and to buying chlorine free, recycled paper whenever they can.

We are also offering to help:

• The Office Paper Buying Club (see below) provides high quality, reasonably priced paper that has excellent environmental and performance properties.
• We are creating new partnerships that will further increase the availability of these papers and lower the cost.
• We are available to evaluate companies' needs, make presentations to purchasers, and facilitate the location and procurement of any paper requirements.

We know that many people do care about the environment. Many businesses are already implementing Sustainability Policies. Reach for Unbleached! wants to help all these organisations, businesses, and individuals Walk The Talk.

*Sponsored by Reach for Unbleached! #708-207 West Hastings, Vancouver BC V6B 1H7; Ph: (604)879-2992; Fax: (604)879-2272 info@rfu.org