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The paper industry is frequently accused of being environmentally damaging, a charge to which the National Association of Paper Merchants (NAPM) pleads 'not guilty'. As part of its defence, the NAPM recently launched its first campaign, Two Sides, which aims to tackle the "barrage of misleading information" that surrounds paper and the environmental impact of its production.

The campaign challenges the view that paper production accelerates deforestation and consumes huge amounts of energy. In fact, Two Sides argues that paper is one of the few truly sustainable products, and that it’s production actually encourages the planting of trees.

The charges against the paper industry have been around for some time, so many may feel that the NAPM’s campaign is long overdue. High-profile campaigns in the national press against the use of paper have dealt a severe blow to the industry; with the trade association recording a 6.5% drop in the consumption of fine and graphic arts paper over the past four years. As a result, more than 2.4m tonnes of capacity have been taken out of the market in the past year alone and, owing to the difficult economic conditions, consumption is expected to fall further.

NAPM survey
One of the reasons behind this fall is a lack of knowledge about paper, according to a recent survey of print buyers by the NAPM; while 80% of media buyers surveyed for the report said environmental considerations play a role in their paper purchasing decisions, nearly half said they believe paper production is a major cause of deforestation.

The anti-paper lobby is already strengthening across Europe, with end-users ‘de-papering’ business processes; so, unsurprisingly, the survey found that 69% of media buyers had decided to use other media to reduce paper use, which is starting to have a very real impact on merchants, mills and printers.

Two Sides was developed and launched, as a response to such criticism, by NAPM president and Robert Horne Group managing director Alistair Gough, NAPM director Tim Bowler, consultant Martyn Eustace and Paperlinx Europe’s sustainability director Bob Latham.

Latham says that environmental trends are having “a very real impact” on merchants and printers alike and, while there are examples where the industry could rightly be attacked, he believes the mistake is not to talk about the supply chain as a whole. But more worryingly, Latham believes it is not possible to reverse some of the current trends. “What we can do is limit the damage. We have to work collaboratively and change the customer’s emotional response,” he says.

So how will Two Sides achieve this? Through a coordinated multimedia campaign, the paper industry will target media buyers, agencies, designers and corporates, along with central and local government, to debunk what it regards as the myths surrounding paper.

Anti-paper commentators have argued that paper has a high carbon footprint and is bad for the environment, and that recycled paper is better for the environment than virgin stock. However, the most emotive claim is that making paper accelerates deforestation.

The NAPM has hit back arguing that the opposite is true. Eustace, who worked on the launch as a consultant, claims that paper is unique in that it is an entirely renewable material. In a managed forest, for every tree that is cut down three to four are planted in its place. Indeed, the NAPM estimates there are 25% more trees in the developed world today than there were a hundred years ago, and in Europe, it says, forests are increasing annually by an area equivalent to more than 1.5m football pitches.

The NAPM cites Paper and the Environment by ATS Consulting, which says the main cause of deforestation is agricultural or domestic fuel requirements. It adds that the main constituent of paper is cellulose fibre, which generally comes from trees, but doesn’t automatically equate to the destruction of forests – after all, papermaking depends on trees so it is in the interest of the industry that forests thrive.

Another common misconception is that paper production consumes a large amount of energy. The NAPM says that on average it takes 500 kilowatt-hours of electricity to produce 200kg of paper – the average amount of paper each of us consume each year.

This is said to be the equivalent of powering one computer continuously for five months, or burning a 60W light bulb for a year. Producing 200kg of paper creates between 130-250kg of CO2 depending on the source of energy. However, the paper industry is one of the biggest users of renewable low-carbon energy, the NAPM argues. In fact it says that the carbon used in the manufacture of a daily newspaper is less than the amount produced by powering a PC for 40 minutes.

Environmental concern
The paper industry has a number of certification schemes that prove paper has come from sustainable sources and these accreditations are becoming increasingly stringent, helping ensure the sustainability of the forest.

According to the survey of media buyers, 70% of respondents perceived recycled paper to be better for the environment than virgin paper. However, Two Sides argues that to accurately assess the environmental impact of paper types, it is necessary to consider the full life cycle of a material and not just the source of the fibre. Modern paper mills, with a nuclear, hydroelectric or biofuel energy source, producing virgin stock, may well have a smaller carbon footprint than a mill manufacturing recycled paper with fossil fuel energy source. It is very difficult to directly compare the environmental impact of recycled and virgin paper as they can each have an equally strong environmental argument.

While it sets out to debunk the myths, the launch of Two Sides is as much a call for collaboration, urging firms in the UK’s paper, print and allied trades to get involved with the project. But, in addition to giving their backing to the campaign, the NAPM is also asking the industry for funding, which will be spent on reprints and revisions of the educational booklet that will deliver the campaign’s core messages.

So far, the NAPM has allocated £60,000 to Two Sides, but for the next three years it estimates that it needs to receive £25 for every £1m the UK paper, print and allied trades turn over. It also says that it requires contributions from industry associations as it needs to raise £150,000 per year to sustain the campaign, and adds that merchants can generate £35,000 based on present “NAPM funding formula”.

To be successful the campaign needs the backing of everyone in the print supply chain, in addition to NGOs. Two sides faces an uphill struggle convincing an already sceptical public and customer base that paper does not inevitably have a negative impact of the environment.

Paper is recyclable, biodegradable and renewable, and yet it is still often regarded as an environmentally damaging material. The NAPM’s campaign hopes to change all that, but it will not succeed unless all parties work together.