Issue #0739/3 - Non-wood paper could be one way to go to achieve sustainability but paper certification ensures that raw materials only come from sustainable sources. Xerox achieves certification for its paper products and is utilising non-wood sources.
“Chain-of-Custody” certification has been obtained by Xerox, one of the world’s foremost suppliers of office papers, from both the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).
What this means in practice is that Xerox is managing its purchasing programme to ensure that raw materials are only purchasing from specific sources.
These sources must either harvest wood from sources that are themselves certified, or controlled, or from non wood-pulp sources such as reclaimed ‘post-consumer’ recycling. In other words, the source of raw materials must either be sustainable or provide a recycling service for papers already used and discarded.
One example of Xerox’s sustainable approach to paper manufacture is a recent addition to the range, made from eucalyptus pulp. One benefit for the user is that it is cheaper than regular papers.
Eucalyptus is considered to be wood-free, is a fast-growing plant grown on managed and sustainable plantations, thereby reducing dependence on rainforests as a source of pulp. It also produces a whiter finish than regular wood-based paper that is more resistant to yellowing over time. Both of these characteristics are good for the customer and the environment.
Unfortunately, precious little information is available on this particular paper. The only information Xerox appears to have right now is in Dutch!
Cultivating eucalyptus for paper manufacture is not accepted by everyone as being desirable however. Some consider the development of plantations to result in the displacement of settlements, causing “impoverishment, environmental degradation and rural strife”.
At a pragmatic level though, this may have less overall impact than destroying the planet by destroying rain forests.
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