Paper: a renewable and sustainable resource?
2
Paper has always played an important role in our
lives and contributes to the spread of literacy
and democracy worldwide. It is also a renewable
resource, and paper that is manufactured and
consumed responsibly has many advantages
over other, non-renewable materials. However, it
is not without certain problems. Worldwide, we
use 1 million tonnes of paper each day and our
paper consumption only continues to grow.
come from sources that have yet to be made sustainable, or
from illegal logging or plantations which are endangering the
last remaining ecologically significant forests.
DID YOU KNOW THAT.
If we want to use paper responsibly, we should choose 100%
recycled paper or paper that has an FSC-label. The FSC-label
(Forest Stewardship Council) guarantees that the paper has
been manufactured using only wood from sustainably managed
forests.
• B
elgium is among the countries with the highest per capita
paper consumption in the world?
In some regions, the expanding production and
exploitation of pulpwood poses a threat to the
last remaining natural forests, and to all who
depend on them, including precious fauna and
flora as well as people. What impact does paper
have on the environment? And what can we do
about it ourselves?
• e
ach year, an area 4 times the size of Belgium is lost due to
deforestation?
These are the questions that this article, created
with the support of the WWF, aims to answer.
Paper and forests
Paper consumption does not necessarily have to lead to deforestation, on the condition that the fibres used come from wellmanaged forests and as long as the paper is used responsibly.
The demand for agriculture, livestock and firewood causes 80%
of the deforestation worldwide. The remaining 20% is due to
commercial exploitation in carpentry, furniture building and
paper manufacturing. Some of these wood fibres come from
sustainably managed forests. However, even in Europe, others
DID YOU KNOW THAT...
• t he leading cause of deforestation is the conversion of
forests for large-scale agriculture, such as soy and palm oil
plantations?
• c urrently 170 million ha. of forest (13%) has been awarded
the FSC label, which means that it is responsibly managed?
What can you do as
a consumer?
Using paper responsibly is not only a question of looking at the origin of the fibres used
to make the paper (recycled or FSC) but
also of avoiding using it wastefully. Europeans use 4 times more
paper than the international average. Therefore, wasting paper
is a matter that urgently needs to be addressed, if we are to
allow other regions the chance for development and education,
which will be accompanied by an increase in paper consumption on their part.
• a ll of us together use 1 million tonnes of paper per day and
that paper consumption has quadrupled since 1960?
• p
aper can be recycled up to 5 times without loss of quality,
and cardboard even up to 7 times?
• in Belgium 60% of the raw materials for paper and cardboard manufacturing come from recycled fibres?
The Belgian paper sector
Like any economic activity, paper manufacturing has a environmental impact. The aim is to keep that impact as low as possible. The Belgian paper sector, jointly with the European sector,
has made significant progress in terms of using recycled fibres,
reducing CO2 emissions and increasing energy efficiency.
However, it is important for other paper manufacturing countries to take such measures as well. After all, 33% of the pulp
used in the Belgian paper sector comes from outside of Europe,
as does 4% of the paper consumed in Belgium. Moreover, increasing amounts of semi-manufactured goods (unprinted paper,
packaging materials, etc.) or finished paper products such as
books are being imported from beyond Europe’s borders.
Paper: a renewable and sustainable resource?
3
WWF and bpost
DID YOU KNOW THAT...
• t he complete economic chain related to the paper industry
represents 60,000 jobs in Belgium?
• n
early 80% of Belgians read all of the post they receive, and
that despite the increasing popularity of the Internet and
mobile telephony, the post still scores highest in terms of
appreciation, even among young people?
• t he widespread use of computers has not led to a decrease
in paper use and that across the globe, more and more paper
is being used, which means greater consumption of wood
fibres, water, energy and chemical products?
• t hat the digital media also consume energy and non-renewable resources.
• t hat both the paper industry and the IT-sector need to keep
their environmental footprint as small as possible?
WWF and bpost have been collaborating since 2009 to reduce
bpost’s CO2 emissions and to promote the responsible use of
paper. This collaboration is having an impact, as demonstrated
by some of the key results shown below:
• O
ur CO2-emissions are decreasing. The first success: at the
end of 2012, bpost had already reduced its CO2-emissions by
32% compared to 2007.
• W
e are reducing our energy consumption. At the end of
2012, bpost had reduced it by 15% compared to 2005. At
that’s only the beginning!
• W
e are recycling more and generating less waste. By the end
of 2012, bpost had shrunk its volume of waste by 10% (compared to 2009).
• W
e are only using paper from sustainable sources (recycled or
with an FSC label). That is currently already the case for 99%
of the paper we purchase. What’s more, 100% of our postage
stamps are printed on FSC-paper.
Together for
a responsible use
of paper !
Our partners
www.fsc.be
www.wwf.be
What can you do yourself?
• Use 100% recycled paper. Or use paper with an FSC label that
is made from natural fibres derived from sustainably managed
forests.
• Reduce the weight of your paper: by choosing paper with
a weight (grammage) of 80g/m2 instead of 100g/m2 your
consumption is reduced by 20%.
• Print everything double-sided, and if you need to print large
documents, print 2 pages on a single sheet.
• Sort your used paper so that it can be recycled
E.R.: Christian du Jardin, Centre Monnaie, 1000 Bruxelles