Paper Task Force Recommendations for Purchasing and Using Environmentally Preferable Paper • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • The Paper Task Force Duke University • Environmental Defense Fund Johnson & Johnson • McDonald’s The Prudential Insurance Company of America • Time Inc. Final Report 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Authors/Special Acknowledgments . 8 Acknowledgments . 9 Project Synopsis . 12 I. In t r o d u c t i o n . .12 Why Paper? What’s at Stake? . 13 What Is the Pulp and Paper Industry Doing about All This? . 14 The Results . 15 Types of Paper Examined . 15 II . What Can a Purchaser Do? . 15 Approaches to Implementing the Recommendations . 15 Five Steps for Direct Action . 16 II I . A Preview of the Task Force’s Report . 19 Appendix: Paper Task Force Recommendations. 20 Chapter 1: Setting the Stage for Purchasing Environmentally Preferable Paper I. In t r o d u c t i o n . 26 II . Scope and Process of the Paper Task Force . 28 A. Types of Paper Examined by the Task Force . 28 B. Basic Steps in the Paper Lifecycle . 29 1. Virgin fiber acquisition: forest management. 29 2. Pulp and paper manufacturing . 30 3. Recycling and waste management . 30 C. The Task Force’s Research Process. 3 1 D. Research Approach for Functional, Environmental and Economic Issues . 32 1. Approach to the functionality research. 32 2. Approach to the environmental research . 33 3. Approach to the economic research . 35 II I . Key Findings on Functional Requirements for Various Grades of Paper . 36 A. Business Communication Papers . 36 B. Publication Papers . 37 C. Corrugated Boxes . 38 D. Folding Cartons . 38 IV . The Economic Structure of the Pulp and Paper Industry and Its Relation to Paper Purchasing . 39 A. Capital-intensive Manufacturing. 39 B. Capacity and Price Cycles . 40 C. Paper Manufacturing and Forest Management . 42 TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 D. What the Pricing Cycle Means for Purchasing Environmentally Preferable Paper . 42 E. The Global Perspective . 43 Appendix A: Paper Task Force Memorandum of Agreement . 44 Appendix B: List of Expert Panel Topics and Panelists. 46 Chapter 2: Source Reduction I. Source Reduction: Why Should We Do It?. 52 II . Reducing Paper Use in Your Organization: Getting Started . 53 II I . Implementation Options. 53 A. Reducing Paper Use in Offices . 54 B. Publications and Direct Mail . 54 C. Packaging . 54 D. Electronic Communications. 55 E. Implementation Examples from the Paper Task Force. 56 1. Source reduction in office settings . 56 2. Source reduction.