UK paper is ethically sourced
Did you know? Eleven million tonnes of paper and board are consumed in the UK every year according to figures from Friends of the Earth. It sounds a lot, but here in GB we are actually doing well with our recycling figures. Conservatree.org estimates a ton of recycled paper saves around seventeen trees, but we do still rely on raw materials to fulfil the demand for paper. Conservatree.org also suggest that one ream of paper (500 sheets) uses 6% of a tree and it goes without saying that many of us are concerned about the sustainability of the paper industry and the impact on the environment from intense timber farming.
The good news for us paper users is that the majority of the wood used in its production comes from Scandinavian, Alaskan and Canadian forests, where they have the highest ethical approach to protecting the environment whilst recognising the need to support what is an important industry for this part of Europe.
The Greener Forests Campaign was launched at the start of the new millennium and states: “The Campaign is about how forestry can effectively combine high economic production with advanced environmental benefit.”
The Boreal Forest is a vast area spanning 6.5 million square miles across the Northern Regions of Russia, Scandinavia, Canada and Alaska and according to borealforest.org there has been legislation in place in the Boreal regions since 1903, that requires the planting and cultivation of new forests after logging in order to protect key woodland habitats and their flora and fauna.
And more reassuringly the Swedish National Forest Policy (1994) makes the following statement: “The forest is a national resource which should be managed so that it provides a good return on a sustainable basis and ensures the preservation of biodiversity.”
So, we paper users, which, let’s face it we all are in spite of the techno dream of a paperless society, can continue do so with perhaps a less burdened conscience. It is good to know that we have so many options to buy items that have been produced through recycling but it is also reassuring to realise that anything that isn’t will have come from sustainable sources.
At Leo Design, Print and Promotions we strive to operate a business that is in harmony with green issues and knowing that our paper products and the paper we use for all printing projects are ethically sourced and haven’t contributed to the destruction of important habitats, is just as important to us as we know it is for our customers.
