Download - Understanding the Eco Paper Universe
Our Mission is to inspire through our success, a fundamental shift toward environmental responsibility in the paper industry.
•Widest selection (30+ grades) of unique, market-leading eco papers.•Eco Audit: Share your resource savings.
•Consumer Products: style & substance.
Visit our newly relaunched site
www.newleafpaper.com
Presented by:
Agenda
Introductions to Canopy and the EPN
Why it’s important to choose the Best Eco-Paper
Solutions
The Paper Steps
Navigating Paper Labels and Certifications
Questions
Conserves biodiversity and endangered forests by shifting North American businesses away from papers derived from ancient and endangered forests, globally
We work collaboratively through the entire paper supply chain to bring eco-papers to market
Known as Markets Initiative until 2009
Best known as the organization behind the greening of Harry Potter and facilitating Canadian Geographic to print on the ‘Wheat Sheet’
Steering Committee Member of the Environmental Paper Network
Environmental Paper Network and Common Vision
Represents over 100 organizations working together to accelerate social and environmental transformation in the pulp and paper industry.
Goals are to protect the world’s last endangered forests, safeguard our global climate, and ensure abundant, clean drinking water and respect for community and indigenous rights.
The Network developed the Common Vision as a framework to guide necessary shifts in production and consumption.
Pillars in the Common Vision1. Minimize paper consumption2. Maximize recycled content 3. Source fiber responsibly4. Encourage cleaner production practices
Developed www.whatsinyourpaper.com and the Paper Steps
The importance of choosing the best Eco-Paper
• P&W 6% average recycled content; Newsprint 33% average recycled content
• The balance still comes from virgin fiber
• Forest clear cuts cause forest fragmentation and/or degradation
• Not all certification systems are created equal. Some allow up to 120 acre clear cuts (about 90 football fields) and do not protect threatened or endangered species or High Conservation Value Forest areas
• Unsustainable logging can be both legal and certified
• Conversion of natural forests to tree farms
• Extensive illegal logging around the world, including Indonesia and Russia
• Carbon rich intact forests like the PNW or the Boreal or Indonesia
• Areas with significant cultural and biodiversity impacts (caribou, tiger, orangutan habitat or homes or territories of indigenous peoples in South America, Asia, Indonesia and even Canada)
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The importance of choosing the best Eco-Paper
• Energy, water and chemical intensive to pulp virgin tree pulp (see Susan Kinsella’s webinar on Dispelling Myths for more information)
• Using tree biomass for energy is not carbon neutral (see Carbon Neutral Fact Sheet, EPN and Science, 325:529, October 23, 2009 with research from Princeton)
• Some mills in NA still have effluent issues
• NA has low paper recovery rates compared to some countries: USA 57.4% (AF&PA 2008) compared to ~75% in Germany (CEPI 2005)
• 43.6% of P&W paper recovered (AF&PA 2005)
• Excessive paper in land fill results in potent greenhouse gas emissions (Methane) as it decomposes
Forests and Climate
Carbon values and biodiversity vary by forest type • What’s meaningfully sustainable in the Boreal is different than that which is sustainable in the Pacific North West, the US SE, Indonesia etc
• Cookie cutter certifications/approaches do not address this, nor do some national laws
‘Forests are well known for their ability to absorb carbon dioxide, but when they are destroyed they release CO2 into the air. This helps explain why
Indonesia, a developing country with high rates of deforestation, now has one of the highest emissions rates in the world.
Forest loss contributes as much as 12-15% to annual greenhouse gas emissions, about the same as the entire global transportation sector. It will be practically impossible to avoid dangerous climate change without addressing
this problem. That is why forests must be part of the solution.’
Source:
www.Illegal-logging.info
Maintained by Energy, Environment and Development Program of
Chatham House and financing from UK Department of International Development
“Curbing deforestation is a highly cost-effective way of reducing
greenhouse gas emissions and has the potential to offer
significant reductions fairly quickly.” —Stern Review, p.537
Solutions
1. Maximize paper efficiencies
2. Give purchasing preference to paper from the Superior or top steps of the Paper Steps
3. Support chlorine free/advanced bleaching technologies
4. Support agricultural residue paper development
5. If you need to buy paper with virgin tree fiber source virgin from FSC certified forests
Environmentally Responsible Fibre Attributes
Post-Consumer
Pre-consumer (deinked)
Agricultural residue
FSC certified virgin free of Endangered or High ConservationValue Forest fibre
Cleaner Production Technologies are also included in each step
Environmentally Inferior Paper
Very few if any environmental attributes
Little if any recycled content
Virgin tree fiber is not from FSC certified forests and may be from Endangered or High ConservationValue Forests
Transitional Paper
At least 10% of the fibre has environmental attributes
10% Post-Consumer or10% Agricultural Residue
And/or
FSC Mixed Sources certified
No controversial fibre sources
ECF, not EC
Improved Paper
At least 50% of the fibre has environmental attributes
30% PCR minimum if paper hasvirgin tree fibre
FSC certification if more than 50% virgin
No controversial fibre sources
EECF, PCF or TCF, not ECF
Superior Paper = Greenest of the Green
100% of the fibre has environmental attributes
50% PCR minimum if paper hasvirgin tree fibre
Virgin from FSC certified tenuresWith no ‘controlled wood’ or controversial fibre sources
PCF or TCF
Where do I find the best Eco-Papers?
There are almost 700 FSC papers on market = Transitional and higher
# of Superior or FSC papers suitable for book, magazine, catalogue and newspaper publishers more than doubled in the last 18 months
350+ papers in the Eco Paper Database - papers with the highest eco attributes as identified in the Paper Steps
Searchable database of P&W and packaging papers
Contains the best eco papers in each paper type
Searchable by Paper Step
www.canopyplanet.org/EPD/index.php
If you have manufacture a paper you think should be in the database let us know, we’ll review the specs and add it if it fits the criteria
128 Superior Papers in Eco-Paper DatabaseSuperior
Coated Freesheet 5
Coated Groundwood 7
Uncoated Freesheet 55
Copy Paper 22
Uncoated Groundwood 16
Packaging/Board 13
Envelopes 4
Other 6
www.canopyplanet.org/EPD/index.php
Benefits of buying ‘Superior’ Eco-Paper
No new trees needed if 100% post consumer recycled or agricultural residue
Maximizes the life cycle of paper already in the system
Supports paper recycling and deinking infrastructure
Supporting FSC results in more sustainable on the ground logging - e.g.35 million+ ha now certified in Canada
Uses less energy, water and chemicals in production
Supports advanced pulping and bleaching technologies (e.g. extended and oxygen-based delignification, maximal effluent recovery and the use of non chlorine-based bleaching chemicals)
Considered a ‘low carbon’ and ‘low biodiversity’ paper option
May cost more, but you reduce your environmental impact as much as possible
Labels you might see on Superior Paper:
3rd Party Certification and other Designations
• FSC recycled
• FSC/PEFC Recycled
• Ancient Forest Friendly TM - Canopy’s ‘designation’ applies to fiber content and bleaching
Certifications and Other labels you might see on Transitional, Improved or Superior papers:
• Green Seal - on some Superior papers - certifies recycled content
• Ecologo - currently no recycled content minimums but most Ecologo paper is also Superior - check recycled content
• WWF Panda - can apply to Superior papers but can also be found on Transitional papers
• Rainforest Alliance endorsed/certified - can apply to Superior papers but can also be found on Transitional papers
• Recycled mobius loop/symbol - not regulated
• CFPA - PCF or TCF - applies to bleach process only
• Green-E - applies to energy, not fiber content
• Biogas - Cascades brand
• Wind energy - can also be seen on papers that are not Superior
• Acid Free
Labels and Certifications that do not apply to ‘Environmentally Superior Papers’:• ‘Recyclable’ or ‘Renewable’ or ‘Sustainably Harvested’ - they might be but just because this claim is made does not mean it is ‘Superior’
• Carbon Neutral- especially on virgin papers because they usually do not look at the loss of biomass associated with logging forest of origin- can be a mill claim that is not 3rd party audited - may apply to some Superior paper from certain mills
• Elemental Chlorine Free = Transitional category
• Chlorine Free - could mean ECF
• Woodfree
• SFI, CSA, PEFC certified virgin
• FSC controlled wood - is not from an FSC certified tenure
• ISO 14001
Questions?
Eco Paper Databasewww.canopyplanet.org/EPD/index.php
The Paper Stepswww.whatsinyourpaper.com
Common Visionwww.environmentalpaper.org