News Release - June 17, 2014

120 social and environmental NGOs align for worldwide improvement in the industry

Today, an international network of more than one hundred twenty organizations on five continents is unveiling a powerful new Global Paper Vision that will unite the myriad of [KP1] voices currently challenging the paper industry to adopt more sustainable practices.  This blueprint for change addresses the priorities for social responsibility and environmental conservation in response to a projected doubling of global paper consumption in the next thirty years¹ and the industry’s influence on biodiversity, forest health, global warming, air and water quality, and local communities.

“The Global Paper Vision is the unification of an influential global movement,” said Joshua Martin, Director of the Environmental Paper Network. “From today forward, we are all going to be asking at every level, all over the world ‘what’s in your paper?’ and challenging the industry and consumers to commit to ambitious and bold actions that protect people and the planet.”

The signatories of the Vision are NGO member organizations of the Environmental Paper Network, and are known collectively for their successful efforts moving the marketplace to more sustainable products, securing improved forestry practices by the world’s largest paper companies, and accelerating the transformation of the entire industry over the past decade.  The new single Vision harmonizes several regional vision statements for industry reform around the world into a more coordinated effort to match the globalized supply chain for paper products and raw materials.    

The new Global Paper Vision identifies seven common goals among the organizations, or key objectives for change: reducing consumption; maximizing recycled content; ensuring social responsibility; sourcing fiber responsibly; reducing greenhouse gas emissions; ensuring clean production; and ensuring transparency.

"Paper use has social, environmental, and human rights implications and this vision points at ways to improve them all," said Saskia Ozinga of FERN, based in the UK.

“Jikalahari realized one of the underlying causes of deforestation in Indonesia comes from activities of timber plantations to fulfill the demand of world's pulp and paper, and that is why we need a Global Paper Vision,” said Woro Supartinah of Jikalahari in Riau Province, the province experiencing the most deforestation in Indonesia in the last two decades. “In many cases pulp and paper industry expansion has been associated with social conflict, forest-fires, lost livelihood of local and forest dependent people, loss of biodiversity, violations of law, corruption and modern slavery. With this Global Paper Vision we hope to join a worldwide movement to make a change in the way forest dependent people have been treated and in the way the forest has been managed.”

“By following the guidance of the Global Paper Vision, paper users can drive the market toward better paper products, which helps to reduce global warming pollution, save forests, conserve water and energy, and divert usable materials from incinerators and landfills. The Global Paper Vision is a powerful tool which unifies strategies for greener, healthier production and consumption of paper products,” stated Darby Hoover, Senior Resource Specialist, Natural Resources Defense Council

Collectively the signatories commit to developing collaboration and dialogue between NGOs, industry and other institutions; encouraging governments to develop legislative, fiscal and operational measures consistent with the vision; encouraging only responsible investment in the industry; articulating and implementing responsible procurement and purchasing guidance; monitoring the progress of all stakeholders towards this vision; and campaigning to end socially and environmentally damaging activities by the pulp and paper industry.

The Environmental Paper Network will serve as a hub to facilitate collaboration and dialogue, identify and implement collective actions, host shared resources including guidance for responsible paper purchasing, and monitor progress towards the Vision through publications such as the State of the Industry Report. 

To read the complete Global Paper Vision visit: www.environmentalpaper.org/Vision.

Signatories can be found at www.environmentalpaper.org/members

The Environmental Paper Network is an international collaborative project of more than 120 organizations working for social and environmental transformation in the production and consumption of pulp and paper. Regional network leadership is provided by committees in North America (environmentalpaper.org), Europe (environmentalpaper.eu) and China (environmentalpaper.cn).

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Contacts:

Joshua Martin, +1-828-242-4238 (North America)

Mandy Haggith +44-(0)1571 844020 (Europe)