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Shrink: Paper Efficiency ProjectPEP Talk
Paper Utility
Mandy Haggith
shrinkpaper.org
Jim Ford
European Environmental Paper Network
Common Vision
• Environmental Paper Networks in Europe and North America (> 100 NGOs) have a shared Vision for Transforming the Pulp and Paper Industry– Reduce consumption– Reduce reliance on virgin forest fibre– Ensure social responsibility– Source fibre responsibly– Ensure clean production
The paper industry turns this…
into this…
…and we turn it into this.
Main impacts of paper-making
• Climate Change• Forest Destruction • Energy Use• Waste• Water Use• Pollution• Plantations• Illegal Logging• Human Rights Abuses
Reducing paper consumption by increasing paper efficiency
is top priority
It is the most direct way to reduce the negative environmental impacts of the paper industry.
It’s also an ethical issue: - The UN says we need 30kg/year. - Most people are below this ‘paper poverty line’. - But in Europe we each use 200kg/year.
It also saves you money!
The Shrink project 1 (2007-9)
• shrinkpaper.org
• > 17,000 individual paper-saving pledges.
• All European governments were asked to reduce paper use directly, and adopt paper efficiency policies.
• 20 UK companies were challenged to pledge to half their paper use.
The shrink project 2 (2012-13)
• 60 UK organisations being assessed and urged to take action on paper efficiency, 10 each of– Supermarkets– Catalogue retailers– Financial firms– Utilities (gas, phone etc)– Governmental bodies– Universities
• The scorecard will be published in July 2013• New website, more paper saving case studies • Motivational seminars and PEP talks:
– Paper v Digital (8 May), Packaging (5 June)– Paper Vapour (climate change), 9 July, London
Paper efficiency – What does it mean?
• Using paper where it has real social value
• Eliminating one-use, short-term uses of paper
• Eliminating paper that creates additional resource demands
Where does the drive for efficiency come from?
• Desire by the public for less wasteful paper.
• Businesses can increase efficiency through buying and managing less paper and physical space.
• Businesses can serve customers by giving them just the paper they need, and not burden them with more.
Where is paper used in our society?
What are social benefits?
• Performs a critical function in organising the economy or an individual’s life and cannot be replaced easily (e.g., passports, money);
• Enhances literacy and learning (e.g., books, magazines);• Enhances social functions, such as the spread and
sharing of information and news (e.g., maps, writing pads, news applications);
• Provides entertainment and the arts;• Provides a crucial hygienic function (e.g., toilet roll).
Paper uses that lead to inefficiency
• Is not actually used in the intended way (e.g., unread magazines, catalogues or books);
• Duplicates functions or unnecessary functions (e.g., paper plates and cups where crockery would be feasible, paperwork that could be filled out and/or stored in electronic formats);
• Is not requested by consumers or clients (e.g., junk mail);
• Is discarded almost as soon as it is encountered (e.g., unnecessary packaging).
What does the Paper Utility Matrix offer?
• Understanding paper efficiency
• Prioritise your efforts: where to focus, what to care about
• Understand the social importance of some paper use and the social drag effect of others
Paper Utility Matrix
High utility, low volume
• These are the paper end uses that are key to life’s essentials, for managing our daily lives, that bring us great benefit with relatively low environmental, or economic, cost
• No need to take action with these paper uses.
Low utility, high volume
• These papers offer little to us in terms of social or economic benefit
• Examples: mass advertising, catalogs, junk mail, mass mailings that are rarely read, mass overprinting (e.g., magazines and books), overpackaging
• These are the papers that should be drastically reduced or eliminated
Low utility, low volume
• These papers add little to or detract from our lives or to society
• These papers can be reduced, re-thought, or eliminated
• However, one need not prioritise this category of paper use until the high volume, low utility papers have been dealt with
Efficiency example: Standard Life
• Cut around 23% of their paper use
• Surveyed customers / shareholders on paper needs: 6% wanted a printed annual report
• Thus, SL cut a high volume, low utility paper use, efficiency achieved!
Steps you can take• Survey your customers, employees, members to determine
the utility of the paper you buy, send out, use, or manage
• Determine the longevity of paper end uses. A study by Xerox showed that 45% of all its office paper ends up in the bin after just one day of use
• Determine the use rate of different products - i.e., determine which paper products are actually used by the intended audience and for the intended purpose. More than 90% of credit card mailings go straight into the bin.
• Prioritise low utility papers with highest volumes for elimination, reduction, or medium change (e.g., change to digital).
Thanks for listening and for caring about your impact on the environment!
We’re happy to answer any questions you may have.
More information on paper utility including a new factsheet here:
shrinkpaper.org/why-use-less/paper-utility/
