"Green paper" supports the use of recycled magazine stock and debunks myths

The folks at Canopy, the people who brought you the Eco Paper Database to make it easy to find green paper solutions, have alerted us to a "green paper" called Green in All Grades, produced by one of their U.S. counterparts, Green America and its Better Paper Project. 

The hefty (40-page) report aims at dissecting the key arguments made against use of recycled paper to print magazines and showing how it can be the best choice for the environment. 

It argues, for instance, that there is no shortage of waste paper for recovery, that recycled paper bests the same grades of virgin paper and that the biggest environmental impact comes from using recovered paper for writing and printing paper (such as magazine stock). In a release, Frank Locantore, the director of the Better Paper Project says

“Over the past few years, we’ve heard a lot of misinformation and unsubstantiated claims that recycled paper is a poor environmental choice for magazine paper, so we wanted to clear up confusion and present science-based facts to support magazines that want to do the right thing for the planet by using recycled paper.”

Green guide for communicators published

The Toronto chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) has collaborated with Traffic Marketing + Design Inc. to publish a green guide for communicators. It is downloadable as a pdf. The guide provides advice and links to various sources of information for printing and design, public relations campaigns, such things as carbon offsets and green standards.

Agreement will sustain boreal forest and protect endangered caribou

An agreement has been reached between 9 conservation groups and the 21 member companies of the Forest Products Association (FPAC) that may go a long way towards preservation of Canada's boreal forest and protecting the threatened woodland caribou. The agreement, which covers about 66% of commercial forests in Canada  in a band that stretches from coast to coast, will be of particular interest to publishers who pay close attention to the sourcing of the paper that they use to make their magazines.

According to a release about the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement, FPAC member companies manage 2/3 of the certified forest lands in Canada. They have now agreed to suspend logging on nearly 29 million hectares of boreal forest (an area the size of Italy). In return, the conservation groups have agreed to suspend their "Do Not Buy" campaigns led by Canopy (formerly Markets Initiative), Forest Ethics and Greenpeace.

The logging and paper-making companies have won assurances that they will continue to have sufficient fibre for their businesses, using a plan (to be worked out) of comprehensive forest management and harvesting practices.Talks are continuing with provincial government and first nations communities, recognizing their rights, particularly aboriginal and treaty rights; the progress achieved in implementing the agreement will be monitored by an agreed-upon independent auditor.

Canopy points out that this is but the first step in a multi-year program, requiring the translation of principled agreement into specific reality on the ground. The organization -- which has been instrumental in coaxing Canadian printers and  publishers to switch to sustainable or "green" paper -- gave credit to those partners' support in achieving the agreement:

By providing the market incentive for green products and engaging suppliers on issues of conservation concern over the past 5-10 years, many of Canopy’s publishing and print partners have been key in helping secure today’s agreement. As we move forward with implementing the initiative, these large corporate paper consumers will play a critical role in ensuring we secure the ambitious conservation goals and is ultimately rewarded in the marketplace.

The parties to the agreement gave credit to the Pew Environment Group and the Ivey Foundation for bringing the two sides together and facilitating negotiations. 

“For years we have helped bring opposing parties together to conserve this global treasure, Canada’s boreal forest,” said Steve Kallick, director of the Pew Environment Group’s International Boreal Conservation Campaign. “We’re thrilled that this effort has led to the largest commercial forest conservation plan in history, which could not have happened without both sides looking beyond their differences. As important as today’s announcement is, our ultimate success will be measured by how we tackle the work ahead to put this plan into practice.”

Five ways to green your magazine

Bruce Jensen, group vice president of sales for Transcontinental Printing’s magazine, book & catalogue group, has a brief, commonsensical article for Folio: on "greening" the way magazines do business, written from a printer's perspective.

I say common sense, because most publishers may know the following things, but don't always insist on doing them.

• Use low-volatility inks and coatings and go easy on ink coverage
• Use paper that has resulted from environmentally responsible forestry and manufacturing processes.
• Manage retail distribution and, working with distributors, adjust order levels (this is sometimes easier said than done).
• Use good list hygiene and co-mailing to avoid undeliverable copies and mailing inefficiency.
• Use digital workflow to eliminate redundant proofing and deliveries.

Transcontinental Inc. pledges to promote "environmentally preferable" paper

It's too early to say if this is a tipping point, but the announcement yesterday by Transcontinental Inc., Canada's largest commercial printer, that it would champion "environmentally preferable" papers may be the breakthrough that the green paper movement has been working for. It is the first major North American printer to do so.

The company, which is also the largest publisher of consumer magazines in the country, will "promote the use of paper with maximized post-consumer and de-inked recycled fibre and encourages the use of paper made with pre-consumer recovered fibre or alternative fibres in preference to virgin wood fibre", according to a story in the Montreal Gazette.

"Our goal was to develop a paper-purchasing policy that would promote sustainable development in a tangible way by giving our clients clear choices," company president Luc Desjardins said.

The new policy was developed with input from environmental publishing advocate Markets Initiative.

"Transcontinental is the first major North American print-media conglomerate to take such a comprehensive step toward safeguarding our forests and our climate," said Nicole Rycroft, executive director of Markets Initiative.

In addition to such well-known consumer magazines as Canadian Living, Elle Canada and More, Transcontinental prints La Presse in Montreal and other Canadian and U.S. daily and community newspapers. At least one of Transcontinental Media's titles -- Outdoor Canada -- has made the switch. The announcement did not say that other Transcontinental titles would lead the way for their other printing customers, but that seems compelling and inevitable in light of the announcement.

(See our earlier posts)

Markets Initiative says that, currently, publishers of 74 Canadian magazines are working with them to shift away from papers that contain fibre from the world’s ancient and endangered forests. Less than 5% of magazine paper has any post consumer recycled content and every second, a tree is cut down for use in magazine paper. Canadian periodicals use about 110,000 tons of paper annually, while consumer magazines use an estimated 81,000 tons of paper every year.

The figures are even more dramatic for the newspaper industry: About 1.1 million metric tonnes of newsprint were consumed in Canada in 2004, equivalent to over 12 million trees used to produce Canada’s newspapers alone. Canada's total production of newsprint, including exports, uses almost 95 million trees.

Momentum building towards green paper

Magazines in the U.S. are being slow to convert to recycled paper, but momentum is building. Cost, misconceptions and general ignorance are among the reasons given in an item in Folio: magazine's online site. [see earlier posts about ancient forest friendly paper.]

There are about 100 magazines currently printing on recycled paper, says Frank Locantore, director of the Magazine Paper Project for Co-Op America. Locantore says cost, misconceptions about cost and general ignorance of publishers have contributed to the lack of conversion.

Even a large number of “green issues” aren’t printed on sustainable paper (see: Vanity Fair’s 2006 “green issue” for a case study on just how disappointing not following through can be to the green community), something Locantore says is the ultimate irony. And even when they do, most magazine publishers don’t continue the practice for their non-green issues. Nonetheless, he says, there’s a momentum building for magazines to continue to demand green alternatives from their paper suppliers.

When Mansueto Ventures started to look at recycled paper, said Kristine Kern, general manager, “You could see the garbage—literally, you could see the garbage in the paper.”

Now, Mansueto’s magazines—Fast Company and Inc.—are printed on 100-percent recycled paper that is 85 percent post-consumer waste. And Kern says the company pays less than it would to print on regular paper.

“Price and quality don’t have to be sacrificed to make the switch,” says Locantore.

National Geographic branches out; always green, now wants to be seen as green

Funny, we thought that National Geographic, the yellow-bordered staple of many a living room bookcase, was pretty 'green' already. But given the current trend towards heightened ecological consciousness and environmental emphasis, the venerable publication and the Society which publishes it has apparently decided to draw some attention to what it has always done. According to a story in MediaDaily News, National Geo has launched a "green" Web site -- Green.nationalgeographic.com -- which highlights the numerous environmental issues covered by its journalists, photographers and field researchers.

The development follows on National Geographic Society's acquisition of the site greenguide.com, in an effort to move into lifestyle areas with practical and how-to information.

Betsy Scolnik, president, National Geographic Digital Media, commented: "We've created Green.nationalgeographic.com to be a multimedia tool kit for green living. It's a powerful communication tool that is interactive, engaging and fun for all ages." The goal, she says, is to encourage individuals to make a difference by "giving them practical advice that empowers them to become environmental stewards."

(The site is a monster, with all the latest bells and whistles that will only be accessible to those with a high speed connection. For instance, "Is Your Home a Green House?" is a multimedia, interractive tour (sponsored by Ford) through a typical house that requires Flash 6 or better and between one and four minutes to download at high speed.)

The society already publishes a six-time magazine called The Green Guide (available as either a print or a digital subscription for $12) that contains coupons for eco-friendly products. The new website is in effect a logical extension of this (as the Green Guide is of its traditional magazine) and gives the society added traction in the consumer marketplace, including reaching audiences who wouldn't have subscribed to National Geographic, which is sometimes thought of as their grandparents' magazine.