Paper Production

Over the last few years larger publishers have sought to improve their environmental performance by sustainable paper procurement. This may mean sourcing FSC paper or, as in the case of Raincoast Books in Canada, producing the region's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on 100% recycled paper. However, sustainable paper - both FSC and recycled - are not easily sourced; there are real supply issues.

Recycled Paper

There is much emotive comment around the whole recycling issue that, at times, tends to hide some key facts:

• Book papers are special paper grades where shade, brightness and bulk play an important role in the selection of the right paper quality for the printed book
• When recycled, fibre loses some of its strength, length and bulk
• A book paper made from recycled fibre has different characteristics - e.g.not bulky or bright enough for the reader
• A number of mills can add about 8-10% recycled pulp to the manufacturing mix without incurring the problems detailed above and many publishers paper grades already have this recycled percentage
• There isn't enough 100% recycled paper to satisfy demand
• Paper fibre cannot be recycled indefinitely - 5/6 times is the maximum amount before fibres become too short for re-use, meaning there must always be some virgin fibre included in recycled paper to counter deterioration
• Using recycled paper does not "save trees"; it simply reduces the number of trees that may need to be planted for the production of virgin fibre
• Recycled paper grades for black & white books are even scarcer than FSC stock and, in many cases, more expensive (either because of the cost of production and/or because of the need to purchase a higher grammage option to give the required bulk)
• The recent focus on carbon footprints has highlighted the considerable emissions from transportation and energy involved in the recycling process
• It isn't an easy, clean green quick-win
• Currently grades of paper with a high recycled content for the most part do not meet the specific practical and commercial requirements of book paper for the UK market
• Finally, papers with a high-recyled content for the most part do not meet the specific practical and commercial requirements of book paper for the UK market
• There are clear difficulties for publishers who wish to commit to only using recycled paper

Coupled with these is the decline of the paper mills. The number of mills that produce the book paper suitable for the publishing industry is falling as profits decline. In 2003, there were five Nordic book paper mills and one Canadian mill that supplied publishers with their paper needs for black & white titles; these mills belonged to the Stora Enso, Norske Skog, UPM and Abitibi mill groups. Over the last three years Norkse Skog and UPM have decided to move out of the book market; leaving only two Nordic mills belonging to Stora Enso, Summa and Anjala. Summa mill has also now closed, leaving only Anjala to serve the book publishing market; Anjala can provide a limited amount of FSC certified papers but no recycled grades. The Canadians, following their merger with Bowater, are also reviewing book supply and with the recent closure of the Dalhousie mill ended a source of FSC book grades into the UK with no guaranteed long term alternative in sight.

Book publishers can never exert enough global influence over paper manufacturers to alter book paper production quantities because paper purchases for the publishing industry are minute in global terms; they do not even constitute a defined market segment for the paper manufacturers. As of 2003, book paper consumption was only 1.8% of the total volume of paper consumed in the UK and just 0.26% of the overall global paper/board production of the four largest Nordic paper conglomerates - Stora Enso, UPM, Norske Skog and M-Real.

Therefore even the largest publishers do not necessarily have a strong negotiating position for making changes to their paper supply and few have alternatives if the mills do not offer the desired paper. There are other smaller mills located around Europe; however these can only offer limited volumes of book papers due to the lower production levels and these book papers are not necessarily sustainable grades. These small mills can't possibly supply all the demands of the UK, let alone the global publishing industry. In response to the low availability of recycled paper publishers have turned to certified paper.

Forestry Certification

During the last decade changes to paper production methods have led to the development of alternatives to recycled paper, such as Forestry Certified Paper.

Forestry certification is the sustainable management of forests, measured against a set of particular standards. An independent organisation develops standards of good forest management and independent auditors issue certificates to forest operators that comply with those standards. The certification verifies that forests are well managed - as defined by the standards - and ensures that certain wood and paper products come from responsibly managed forests. The implication is therefore that paper derived from forestry certified wood has been produced in such a way as to have little or no environmental impact and it is possible to compare them to recycled paper. Books produced using forest certified paper will specify which programme they are certified by through logos - usually FSC - on either their title verso or their back cover.

The rise of certification has led to the emergence of several different systems throughout the world - SFI (Sustainable Forest Initiative), PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes), CSA (Canadian National Standard on Sustainable Forest Management Standard), FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) - and, as a result, there is no single accepted forest management standard worldwide and each system takes a somewhat different approach in defining standard of sustainable forest management. This is a significant problem.

Certification schemes have the potential to be a suitable alternative to recycled paper but they are not without their own issues. They do not necessarily address the existing issues of deforestation and the rights of indigenous peoples, and some schemes do not have clear minimum performance thresholds for forest management but rather review the status quo of the existing management system.

Forest certified papers also have similar supply issues to recycled paper, with not enough fibre produced from certified forests to meet the existing needs of book paper manufacturers, let alone with increased demands from the publishing industry. At this time it would be impossible for all UK publishers to choose to solely use forestry certified paper products. Furthermore, mills place a similar premium on certified paper as recycled paper. The relatively low availability of forest certified paper and the higher cost is a major stumbling block for publishers who are attempting to produce titles in the most responsible way possible.

It is important, however, to note that forestry certification schemes are a significant step towards realising the goal of the entire UK publishing industry producing their books in an environmentally sound way, and publishers have already moved to act on this. Random House, HarperCollins, Penguin and Egmont all source paper from certified forests, most notably FSC certified. The certified paper forms part of a supply chain where every step along the way is monitored and assessed for its systems and methods.

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)

The best-known forestry certification scheme is run by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), founded in the 1990s by various environmental and forest welfare interested organisations. The FSC has a clear set of standards and monitoring expectations that are applied worldwide and certified forests are monitored annually to check their standards. This certification system is acknowledged to be far more rigorous than any other existing certification programme and this demanding set of standards has resulted in wide support from major environmental groups. Greenpeace is satisfied that FSC certified products (including paper) are of rigorous enough standard to be considered suitable as an alternative to recycled paper, citing the FSC as "the only credible global certification system".

There has been some criticism of the FSC's certification of forests in countries where there are no national performance standards and no accredited auditors, leading to allegations that the logging of ancient forests has taken place in some FSC certified forests. Importantly, even these organisations that have highlighted flaws in the FSC programme still acknowledge that the FSC is their preferred forest stewardship certification system, due to the exacting standards that the FSC demands.

The Programme for the Endorsement of Forestry Certification (PEFC)

The Programme for the Endorsement of Forestry Certification (PEFC) is not a single certification scheme but rather a programme of endorsement of individual European national forestry schemes, soon to be rolled out across the globe. There are different environmental concerns relating to each of the individually endorsed national programmes across Europe, but not every national programme has attracted criticism; many organisations, including the UK Government, are satisfied that PEFC timber is comparable to FSC timber and give them equal footing.

Criticism has been aimed at the PEFC's failure to encourage schemes that recognise the rights of indigenous peoples and also that certificates of assessment are issued every five years with random annual monitoring as opposed to the FSC requirement of annual monitoring of every forest.

Will all publishers ever be able to print all their titles on environmentally friendly paper? Unfortunately there is no clear answer, but it is evident that at the moment supply cannot meet demand, whether for recycled or forest certified paper products. It can only be hoped that as consumer demand for sustainable sourcing increases and businesses respond by supplying to these demands there will be a significant increase in the availability of recycled and certified paper, thereby driving down prices and making these papers the norm rather than the exception.

Take action on paper use

• Use FSC certified paper. Forest certification involves the certification of forests and the certification of wood flow via processing, manufacturing and trading enterprises to the final consumer
• Print the FSC consumer logo on your books
• Consider membership of the PREPS initiative
• Check whether your supplier supports ISO 14001 and support the PA's recommended accreditation scheme

Links

Useful sites for further research include:

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)

The Programme for the Endorsement of Forestry Certification (PEFC)

Lovely as a tree

Green Futures

Paper Profile

The National Association of Paper Merchants

PREPS