Category: Paper Saving

Paper Saving Summit

Leave a comment

wistonlodge

If you get frustrated by junk mail, paper cups, disposable napkins, catalogues, packaging or pointless photocopying, you need to come to the Paper Saving Summit.

On 31 May 2016, people will gather from around the world for a summit about paper saving at Wiston Lodge in the Scottish borders. We will be discussing how we can achieve the first goal of the Global Paper Vision: to reduce global paper consumption. Our goal is to be
both inspiring and practical, having fun but also resulting in a viable joint paper saving campaign. So far we have participants from around Europe, China, Australia, USA and Canada and the more the merrier.

The event will begin with a Paper Saving Passions Catwalk, where participants will give creative expression to their passions, irritations, ideas and projects about paper saving. We’ll have market stalls, where details of current campaigns will be shared, and we’ll be bouncing around frightening facts about paper waste to keep us motivated, while also  exploring solutions on which we can work together.

There will be lots of opportunities for discussion, so whether you have a practical project that is going well, or just know paper consumption is a problem but have no idea where to start, this meeting is for you. Come along, be inspired and get active.

All member organisations of the Environmental Paper Network are welcome to take part. Bookings can be made by following this link.

For guidance about preparation for the summit and the agenda, see here.

Contact for more information.

Facebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedin
shrink-truck

CALL FOR PROJECTS: Reducing wasteful paper consumption

Leave a comment
WWF Forests for Life Programme seed-funds projects reducing wasteful paper consumption

Forests will come under pressure like never before in the coming decades to meet the demands of a growing population.[1] Reducing wasteful consumption will be key to ensure that the Earth’s resources are not depleted. It is, therefore, an integral aspect of the WWF Forests for Life programme’s work and at the heart of EEPN. We know that the challenges are vast, which is why finding synergies and working together as NGOs and civil society organisations is of essence. With this letter we approach the Environmental Paper Networks around the world with a seed funding proposal for projects on stopping wasteful paper consumption.

In 2015/2016 the WWF Forests for Life programme will seed-fund 2-3 NGO projects in identified priority countries that show effective strategies and steps towards reducing wasteful paper consumption. Priority will be given to projects with a multiplier effect and chances for continuation beyond the seed-funding phase.

We look for submissions of projects for the following identified priority countries:

  • Projects that reduce wasteful paper consumption in countries with high per capita consumption and significant overall paper consumption rates: United States; Japan; Canada; Germany, UK, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain
  • Projects that encourage sustainable paper use growth strategies (promoting highly valuable paper uses but warning against wasteful paper uses) in countries with low per capita paper use, however with high overall paper use and significant growth rates: China, Poland

Max. funding per project: 5000 Euro

Timeframe of the project: October 2015 to June 2016

Format: Maximum 1 page description and a budget.

Deadline for submitting the proposals: 20th of September 2015

Download pdf for full details here.

Facebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedin

New film: The Future of Paper

Leave a comment

A new film expressing a vision for the future of paper was launched by civil society today in advance of Paper World, the paper industry gathering in Frankfurt, Germany. The film argues that as a global society we need to look at this everyday material with new eyes, and transform the way we use it to achieve a more equitable and sustainable future.

Mandy Haggith of the European Environmental Paper Network (EEPN) said, “We hope that everyone who watches the Future of Paper will value it a bit more and think again about wasteful paper use. Everyone in Europe, North America and China uses paper numerous times every day and yet we mostly take it for granted. This film will help people to make the connection between their own daily consumption and the impacts it has on forests, people, the global climate and water.”

Peter Gerhardt of German NGO denkhausbremen, said, “Current paper consumption in industrialised countries must be reduced dramatically in order to lower the pressure on forests and forest people, who suffer from the impacts of the pulp and paper industry around the world.”

Richard Wainwright of FERN, said “This film urges paper companies to rise to the realistic and achievable challenge of ensuring paper production is never to the detriment of local communities who depend on the forests for their survival.”

The film is the outcome of an international process over the past year, in which more than 140 organisations around the world have endorsed a shared Global Paper Vision. This vision describes a future in which the pulp and paper industry and all governments, financiers and consumer companies associated with the industry, have transformed to achieve sustainable production and consumption.

The film can also be watched on the Youtube Channel of the Environmental Paper Network here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7e9yEc7FUs

For more information contact:

Mandy Haggith on +44 1571 844020 or +44 7734235704 or [email protected]

 

Facebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedin
papervapour

EEPN encourages discussion on paper vapour – the climate change impacts of paper

1 Comment

In July 2013, the EEPN published a commissioned discussion paper analysing the carbon footprint of the full lifecycle of paper. It can be found here. There is still time to comment on this paper, and feedback is welcome on it until 31 August 2013.

The paper indicates that if the full impacts of production, use and disposal are taken into account, paper is potentially responsible for more carbon emissions than global aviation. We call these emissions ‘paper vapour’. The EEPN is encouraging comment and discussion on this issue. Please send comments to

You can find out more about paper vapour here.

Facebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedin
papervapour

Paper Vapour event on link between paper and climate change

Leave a comment

Did you know that the carbon emissions from paper production, use and disposal exceed the emissions from the aviation industry? We call these emissions paper vapour.

The EEPN is organising a seminar in London on 9 July to explore the links between paper and climate change. It will include the latest research into paper’s carbon footprint and presentations on paper efficiency from public and private sector organisations. This event will make clear why paper efficiency must be a key part of every organisation’s climate change strategy. To find out more see here: shrinkpaper.org/paper-vapour/

Facebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedin
waste paper for printing

We are not anti-paper, we are anti-low-utility-paper

Leave a comment

The EEPN’s vision includes wanting to see paper use by Europeans cut by half, and we are sometimes taken to task by people who think this means we are ‘anti-paper’. We are not. We believe that paper is a precious resource and some of it brings enormous benefit to society. However, some paper uses are pointless, wasteful and stupid, and it is this kind of paper consumption that we want to reduce. Junk mail. Paper plates. Excess packaging. Pointless photocopying.

To help everyone to distinguish between good and bad paper use,  the concept of ‘paper utility’ is helpful. The Paper Utility Matrix is a simple tool that can help organisations to identify where they can make big paper savings without losing any of the benefits that paper can bring.

To introduce the concept and tool we are running an online seminar, or webinar, which we have nicknamed a PEP talk (because it’s part of our Paper Efficiency Project, shrinkpaper) on Wednesday 10 April. You can find out more about paper utility and the webinar on our paper utility page: http://shrinkpaper.org/why-use-less/paper-utility/. Places are limited so if you would like to take part, please contact us to register.

 

Facebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedin
The average European person's annual paper consumption

More or less paperless? There’s a middle way!

Leave a comment

It has been fascinating to watch the flurry of activity on Twitter since the new year concerning an industry initiative, ‘Paperless 2013’, led by GoogleDrive and other digital companies. The idea is that people can sign up to resolve to make this a ‘paperless’ year, presumably by adopting the technologies on offer from the various companies involved, who promise to take the ‘paper’ out of ‘paperwork’. Part of the plan was for people to pledge their support using the Twitter hashtag #paperless2013.

A backlash from the print industry followed pretty swiftly on its heels.  There was an attempt at ‘hashtag takeover’,  whereby print-industry people were encouraged to use the hashtag to promote  paper products and services and argue the virtues of paper. A brief twitter-storm followed, the print industry claiming more people were using the hashtag than those committing to going paper free. Two Sides, the print industry promotion vehicle wrote an open letter to Google accusing them of Greenwash.

To those of us in civil society committed to trying to find pathways to a truly sustainable future of paper production and consumption, it has been educational to watch this very uncivil dog fight between two parts of the communications industry. We would like to suggest a middle way.

It has seemed clear to us, for years now, since we wrote in our Common Vision for Transforming the Paper Industry in 2006, that we don’t need to use more paper, and we don’t need to use no paper at all. We need to use half as much paper as we do now. That’s what our paper reduction project, Shrink Paper, encourages.

Perhaps if they renamed the campaign ‘Less Paper’ instead of ‘Paperless’  it might all have been a bit friendlier. So, here’s to #lesspaper2013 !

 

 

 

Facebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedin

Goodbye Doreen

Leave a comment

We are saddened to report the tragic death of Doreen MacIntyre at the end of 2012. Doreen joined our team just a few months ago, to help us to produce a scorecard rating UK organisations on their paper saving efforts. We are still shocked and stunned by her death, but we know she would have wanted us to continue working on paper reduction, which she believed in so keenly.

Rest in peace, Doreen.

Facebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedin
paper vapour2

Why paper is a climate-change issue

If you are worried about your individual or business carbon footprint (and you should be!) cutting your paper consumption could be a simple way to make a big reduction.

Paper is made of carbon, but the amount of actual carbon in each sheet is dwarfed by the emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere during its life cycle. Carbon emissions happen from the forests where paper is sourced, at pulp mills where it is made, through transportation, conversion into useful products and even after it has been thrown away.

All this ‘paper vapour’  adds up to significant levels, with estimates of up to 10kg of carbon emissions to each 1kg of paper use. Given that global paper consumption is just about to hit 400 million tonnes per year, this means paper’s contribution to climate change is substantial.

See here for some suggestions about how you can reduce your paper vapour.

Facebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedin

Our latest project to reduce paper consumption

Let's stop wasting paper

We are soon going to be re-starting our project to encourage big paper users to reduce their consumption. Paper saving is easy and a great way to save forests, save climate emissions and save money at the same time, so we’re delighted to be able to promise more activity on this topic. By reducing paper consumption we take pressure off forests, reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and thereby protect biodiversity and the climate. Lower paper production will also result in the preservation of fresh water, reduced chemical use (the paper industry is one of the largest industrial users of chemicals), and reduced energy demand.

At the heart of our campaign is the message that organisations must change their attitudes towards paper use. Vast quantities of paper are wasted through the production of unwanted items such as catalogues, promotional material and packaging with little consideration to the environmental impacts of that paper’s production. The Shrink project works to change this and achieve a position where paper is viewed and used as a valuable resource. Our aim is to change the paper paradigm among companies and institutions to increase value and decrease volume.

We will shortly be starting discussions with supermarkets, financial companies, catalogue retailers, utilities, universities and government agencies in the UK. We’ll be looking for good examples of paper saving initiatives, and encouraging these big paper consumers to set targets to use less.

Facebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedin