Printers need not be on the defensive about paper, says Robyn Frampton, as the major merchants are delivering sustainable papers, with facts to back up their claims that paper is actually the most environmentally sound form of communication Paper is one of the most ubiquitous and versatile materials available today, yet there's a strong perception that paper is one of the environmental bad guys.
The argument is often very simple: To make paper, you have to cut down trees. Trees are good so paper products must be bad, right? Well, no. While the argument might look good on paper, if you’ll pardon the pun, the reality is that paper still stacks up as one of the most eco-friendly and sustainable resources available, as it’s organic, biodegradable, made from a renewable resource using increasingly eco-friendly practices, and totally recyclable.
Add to this a fast growing group of eco-friendly companies operating in the industry and a wide range of well-credentialled paper stocks from which to choose, and paper is a good choice.
Good Companies, Good Choices
Even the experts are yet to agree on how to define sustainability, but there’s no doubt that the paper industry is performing well in this area. That said, the industry is as vulnerable to greenwashing (ed: making shallow environmental claims) as any other, so how can you be sure you’re making the right choice?
As a general rule, says Phillip Lawrence, environmental manager for Stora Enso, forget the product and look at the company.
“People often make the mistake of looking too hard at the product and not enough at what’s behind it,” he says.
“Products don’t have social responsibility, companies do. It's easy to greenwash a product but much more difficult to represent a company as being environmentally responsible unless its practices are genuinely sustainable.”
He suggests checking easily accessible global indices such as the Dow Jones Sustainability and FTSE4Good indices, which assess and report on companies across a range of areas, or the newly launched International Carbon Disclosure Project, which report on the source
and volume of businesses’ carbon emissions and the steps they are taking to reduce them.
When it comes to specific stocks, CPI’s group marketing manager, Les Perrett, suggests a simple formula based on what he calls the twin pillars of sustainability - Fibre and Environmental Management.
Fibre Source
“Firstly, make sure the paper you’re buying is made by sourcing traceable fibre of certified origin,” says Perrett. “Some indicators of this include Forest Stewardship Council, or FSC and Pan European Forestry Council, or PEFC.”
These certifications are widely regarded as reliable indicators of properly sourced fibre, going some way to address concerns about deforestation and illegal or dubious forestry practices.
According to Rohan Dean, general manager marketing for PaperlinX Merchanting Australia, the demand for such credentials reflects the wider concerns of customers.
“Independently awarded and regularly audited certifications offer protection against being greenwashed, because they can’t be faked,” he says.
Catherine Doggett, marketing manager for KW Doggett Fine Paper, says standards like FSC are also becoming
a strong criterion for many Doggett’ clients, offering them real assurance and peace of mind.
“I think most consumers will find that most paper companies are supportive of good forestry practices, too,” she adds. “Ultimately, the industry depends on forests for its livelihood, so it’s in no-one’s interest to take a short term approach.”
Manufacturing
Perrett’s second pillar is environmental management systems, which indicate that the companies involved are committed to environmentally sound practices.
Rod Williamson, marketing manager for Raleigh Paper, says it’s important to be able to demonstrate that the total process stands up to scrutiny.
“It’s no good having fibre from a great forest put through an energy-guzzling, highly polluting manufacturing process,” he points out.
Fortunately, harmful pulping, bleaching and sizing processes are fast being replaced by friendlier alternatives, and the industry is performing well on international indices, as both Phillip Lawrence and Bernard Cassell, President of the Australian Paper Industry Association (and, co-incidentally, managing director of CPI Group)point out.
“Over the past few years, the list of the United Nations 100 most sustainable companies, released annually by the EU, has included eight pulp and paper companies - the highest representation of any industry group,” Cassell reports.
“Between 1990 and 2003, industry energy consumption was reduced by some 24 per cent, CO2 emissions by an estimated 21 per cent, and water usage by approximately 64 per cent, so paper really is a highly sustainable product from a highly sustainable process.”
ISO 14001, the International Standard for environmental management, and the EU Environmental Management and Auditing Scheme (EMAS), are generally regarded as good basic indicators of a company’s approach, but Lawrence warns that they should not be relied on
as an ultimate guide to a product’s eco-friendliness.
“If you want to look like you're doing the right thing, go for logos,” he says, “but if you really want to do the right thing, look at the company behind it. If you get the business right, the product will follow.”
Recycling
Its ability to be recycled has always been one of paper's most obvious and easy to grasp benefits and the popularity of recycled stocks continues today. Yet here, too, there are traps for the unwary.
For a start, there's pre-consumer and post-consumer waste. The former is sourced from mills and trims from the manufacturing process, the latter from our recycle bins. Post-consumer waste is generally considered the more eco-friendly of the two.
The percentage of recycled content is also a hot issue, highlighted recently in Japan where two of the biggest paper companies were caught drastically overstating recycled content. As a rule of thumb, the stock should contain at least 20 to 30 per cent of this post-consumer waste to be considered truly eco-friendly.
Here, too, customers are taking a more holistic approach says Rohan Dean, demanding responsible manufacture with their recycled content.
“Fortunately, most people now realise that recycled content is not the whole story,” he says.
Perhaps the best news in recycled stock is performance, with no compromise now required to salve your green conscience. Today, many options like Doggett’s Life Recycled (50 per cent FSC fibre and 50 per cent post consumer waste) and Mega Recycled FSC (50 per cent post-consumer waste) perform as well as their virgin fibre counterparts.
“The beauty of these stocks is that they are made with first quality recycled fibre delivering a very consistent, reliable product,” Catherine Doggett says.
The next big thing
While standards and processes are still important, Dean says customers today have moved beyond that and, concerned with wider issues like global warming, are now demanding products that are as close to carbon neutral as possible.
Responding to these concerns many paper manufacturers have begun conducting a ‘cradle to grave’ audit to determine and, ultimately, reduce their carbon footprint.
In this country, Australian Paper recently became the first to claim a 100 per cent carbon neutral range of papers with its ENVI label, available exclusively through Dalton Paper.
Paul Allen, Australian Paper’s general manager marketing, says ENVI relaunches many of the company’s popular stocks with new, carbon-neutral status.
“The paper is exactly the same,” he explains, “but each stock has gone through a thorough lifecycle audit to identify environmental impacts.
“These were then systematically reduced or eliminated by initiatives like reducing electricity and gas usage, sourcing a minimum of 42 per cent of our energy requirements from renewable sources, switching from coal-fired to gas-fired burners and turning more than 60,000 tonnes of waste paper into recycled paper each year. Any remaining impacts were offset by purchasing carbon credits.”
Choice and Transparency
At the end of the day, of course, there are many considerations in stock selection.
What is important, say merchants, is providing a range of choices and the facts needed to allow customers to make informed decisions.
“Print and performance requirements are just as important as satisfying sustainability criteria, so we stock papers with a range of environmental credentials,” says Doggett. This range includes the brand new Life and Mega recycled ranges from the highly-regarded Mohawk Mill, to a revamped and FSC certified Concept range which offers exceptional printability.
Raleigh Paper, too, has a strong range, particularly in FSC certified commodity stocks which have been in short supply
in Australia.
These include the well-known Sumo Offset and Novatech ranges and the Strathmore carbon neutral range.
For something a little different, Raleigh’s Williamson suggests Harvest, containing 60-70 per cent waste sugar cane fibre or the high quality ecoStar range made from 100 per cent recycled post-consumer waste.
“Both have excellent credentials and look, feel and perform like traditional papers,” he says.
Another company with a growing portfolio of sustainable products is Edwards Dunlop Paper with popular stocks like Maxi Gloss and Satin achieving FSC and EMAS accreditation says general manager Gordon Anthonisz.
“The Australian-made, 100 per cent recycled Onyx range has also been extremely well received,” he adds.
CPI Paper and Inks, too, is following the trend with general manager David Christie, saying the renowned Cyclus 100 per cent recycled, unbleached range is arguably one of the best credentialed eco-friendly stocks on the market today.
“It will soon be joined by a fresh promotion for Magno Gloss and Satin, the well-known A2+ having EMAS and PEFC certification with FSC CoC imminent,” he adds.
While choices abound, getting the right information is still the best way to ensure you make the most responsible and sustainable paper choices, and it’s in this area, says Doggett, that merchants find their most important responsibility.
“At the end of the day, we must be transparent and honest about our products so that customers can make decisions based on fact rather than marketing hype,” she says. If all companies follow that lead, the choice will be easy.
