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Information for the
Environmentally Responsible Production Manager
The Internet is a terrific resource for information on recycled paper, totally chlorine-free paper and other products, current legislation, forestry management practices throughout the United States and abroad, water and air pollution, and much, much more. The following are a few websites to explore. The Green Press Initiative
The mission of the Green Press Initiative is to work with publishers, printers, manufacturers, suppliers, and authors to create paper-use transformations that will conserve natural resources and preserve Endangered Forests. You can contact GPI as follows: Tyson Miller, Program Director:Tyson@greenpressinitiative.org, 734-995-5785; Erin Johnson, Program Manager: erin@greenpressinitiative.org, 301-438-3927; www.greenpressinitiative.org
The Markets Initiative
Based in Canada, the Markets Initiative was one of the first organizations to develop successful partnerships with book publishers. At the time of this writing, nearly 70 Canadian book publishers have committed to their goals. The Markets Initiative works directly with Canadian companies to develop practical and economic ways to shift their wood and paper use away from ancient and endangered forest products to ecologically sound alternatives. They work through the entire supply chain and stimulate the market demand for alternative products. See www.oldgrowthfree.com for more information.
Environmental Paper Network
Given the impacts of paper production and consumption cycle on forests and local communities, many environmental organizations are focusing efforts to catalyze and support transformations that will result in a socially and environmentally sustainable paper production system. The recent development of the Environmental Paper Network (EPN) is emblematic of this commitment. The EPN has developed a Common Vision for industrial change and is working to build organizational cohesion and collaboration, foster dialog, increase awareness, and further meaningful research and analysis. To find out more, visit www.environmentalpaper.org.
Resource Conservation Alliance
The mission of the Resource Conservation Alliance is to protect natural forests and other ecologically important systems through market- and commodity-based conservation strategies. These strategies include reduced consumption, increased recycling, redesign, and resource diversification. Although RCA believes that the forest conservation movement must work on habitat protection, product certification, and demand reduction simultaneously and with equal vigor, our work focuses on demand reduction, the least developed of these three strategies.
Rethink Paper
Rethink Paper provides excellent information on paper-related issues, including a state-by-state guide to ecological paper manufacturers, retailers, and printers; a national resource list of office, printing, and writing papers (a comprehensive summary of tree-free and 100% post-consumer recycled papers currently available in the U.S.); and other related topics.
Purchasing Cooperative For Recycled Products
Recycled Products Purchasing Cooperative (RPCC), a collaborative non profit effort to increase the amount of recycled paper used by businesses and public entities, just went nationwide. RPCC provides recycled paper at prices often equal to or lower than those for nonrecycled or virgin fiber paper. Member purchases this year alone are expected to save the equivalent of 10,000 mature trees.
Conservatree
Conservatree has launched a new website dedicated to providing comprehensive information about environmental papers. The site includes Conservatree's Guide to Environmentally Sound Printing and Writing Papers, which lists 500 papers in the United States and Canada by recycled, tree-free, and chlorine-free attributes. The Paper Guide section also includes:
- mill contacts to determine distribution in specific geographic areas,
- description of specific printing and writing grades and what they're commonly used for,
- suggestions of paper grades appropriate for specific projects, and
- trends apparent in the current compilation of papers compared to previous years'.
Other site sections discuss:
- environmental paper attributes in detail,
- environmental content issues, such as, definitions and labeling,
- common issues, such as, cost and availability,
- source reduction,
- vendor tips and leads for buying in small quantities,
- overview of environmental issues affecting paper production, and
- paper industry overview, history, distribution, and glossary.
The whole site is a continually evolving resource, and under construction are detailed sections for printing; using recycled paper in copiers; purchasing in large quantities; graphic design, book and magazine publishing; more environmental and solid waste issues; and how individuals and organizations can increase the use of environmental papers for themselves and in their areas.
Reach for Unbleached!
Reach for Unbleached!, the pulp industry watchdog, has launched their new and improved website, packed with information on stopping pulp pollution and promoting clean paper.
The site is searchable and pages have been organized so that you can find the information you want, no matter if this is the first time you've ever wondered about that rotten egg smell in a pulp town or if you're looking for the latest updates on clean pulp mill science and technology.
Order environmentally responsible paper, find out how to stop pulp mill sludge from being dumped on your food, or learn about totally chlorine free, zero discharge pulp mills that could lead to sustainable jobs and a healthier environment.
Scorecard
Scorecard is provided by the Environmental Defense Fund. Enter a zip code to find maps that show the locations of chemical releasing companies, including paper mills. This site lists states by the amount of cancerous pollution produced, supported by a rich supply of documentation materials.
Sector Facility Indexing Project
The SFIP is a community-right-to-know and data integration pilot project that provides environmental performance data for facilities within five industrial sectors, including the pulp manufacturing industry. This website, released on May 1, 1998, contains SFIP (Sector Facility Indexing Project) data released by the EPA.
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