Sustainability Issues

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), Washington, D.C., was formed in 1993, but the organization’s roots date back much further and include such predecessors as the American Paper Institute and the National Forest Products Association and their predecessors, the American Paper Makers Association and the National Paperboard Association.

According to the AF&PA Web site, www.afandpa.org, the organization has “emerged as the leading voice for the forest products industry. When any matter of major concern relating to the industry surfaces at the state, national or international level, AF&PA is an active presence on behalf of industry interests and its advice and counsel are both sought and respected.”

Donna Harman, as president and CEO of the AF&PA, is often the person advocating to policymakers on behalf of the U.S. forest products industry. According to the AF&PA, “As the industry’s voice on public policy at all levels of government, Harman works with AF&PA’s 165 members to advance policies that promote a strong and sustainable U.S. forest products industry in the global marketplace.”

Harman, who has a bachelor’s degree in public affairs from Anderson University, Anderson, Ind., and a law degree from American University, Washington, responded to Recycling Today’s questions about the forest products industry’s sustainability efforts, the controversy related to the black liquor tax credit and the challenges the industry faces in the years to come.

Recycling Today (RT): How are AF&PA and its members working to increase the nation’s paper recycling rate?

Donna Harman (DH): Paper recovery is one of our nation’s great environmental success stories. Thanks in part to incremental recovery goals set and achieved by the paper industry, recovery has increased from 33.5 percent (29.1 million tons) in 1990 to a record-high 57.4 percent (51.8 million tons) in 2008. That’s an average of 340 pounds for each man, woman and child in the United States. The industry’s current goal is 60 percent recovery by 2012.

Efforts to promote increased paper recovery with targeted audiences include partnerships with organizations such as Scholastic and Keep America Beautiful; the annual AF&PA Recycling Awards, which recognize outstanding business, community and school recycling programs; and an array of materials, resources and case studies that can be found on www.paperrecycles.org. 

RT: Why does the AF&PA feel the distinction between pre- and post-consumer recovered fiber is no longer meaningful and should not be used?

DH: All paper that would otherwise end up in landfills needs to be recycled, and the U.S. is the only country where a distinction is made between pre- and post-consumer recovered fiber.

A distinction might have made sense 20 years ago when overall recycling rates were low and consumers needed encouragement to recycle. But now recycling rates are high, all of the pre-consumer waste is being utilized and pre-consumer fiber is only a very small percentage of the overall amount of recovered fiber. Therefore, it is really a distinction without a difference and it is confusing to consumers, and we believe the distinction should be eliminated.

RT: You’ve taken some policy positions regarding recycling, including the recognition of recycling projects as eligible carbon offset projects in a cap-and-trade system. What progress has the AF&PA made in working with legislators on this issue?

DH: Paper recycling reuses a renewable resource that sequesters carbon. Recycling also helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions through avoided methane emissions. AF&PA member companies’ use of recovered fiber results in avoided emissions of more than 20 million metric tons of CO2 (carbon dioxide) equivalents each year.

AF&PA is an active participant in the Recycling Roundtable, which was instrumental in the inclusion of a provision in the (John) Kerry–(Barbara) Boxer Bill that provides funds for recycling infrastructure improvement projects. We are also supportive of Sen. (Debbie) Stabenow’s proposed bill that lists recycling as an eligible offset project type.

RT: From a sustainability standpoint, what other initiatives have the paper industry embarked on and what is the AF&PA urging its members to do in this area?

DH: In the forest products industry, sustainability means that we strive to ensure our resources will be as plentiful and available to future generations as they are today, to preserve and grow the economic contributions of the industry and its businesses and to foster the wellbeing of the communities where we live and work.

Sustainable practices such as forest management, efficient manufacturing, energy generation and conservation and fiber recovery and recycling define our dedication to protecting our environment and meeting our economic and societal commitments. These sustainable practices are the foundation of our industry.

We have also recently launched an effort to promote the renewability, recyclability and sustainability of paper-based packaging.

Over the last several decades, we have significantly reduced our environmental footprint  and are committed to continuous improvement in our environmental performance. U.S. forests and forest products store enough carbon each year to offset approximately 10 percent of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from all sources, and the EPA estimates that the amount of carbon stored annually in U.S. forest products equates to removing more than 100 million tons of carbon dioxide from the air every year. We promote sustainable forest management and have made it a condition of AF&PA membership. Because of these efforts there are 12 million more acres of forestland in the U.S. than there were 25 years ago.

Furthermore, between 1975 and 2006, AF&PA member pulp and paper facilities decreased the volume of discharged water per ton of production by 53 percent. Member pulp and paper facilities also reduced their emissions of key air pollutants per ton of production by an average of 62 percent over the same time period. Since 1995, member pulp and paper mills reduced their waste generation by 21 percent. AF&PA member companies have reduced their greenhouse gas emissions per ton of product by 14 percent since 2000. These are all strong accomplishments, but accomplishments upon which we look forward to building.

RT: AF&PA advocates for allowing paper companies to issue tax-exempt bonds to finance recycling facilities. How likely is it that this form of financing will be embraced in the future?

DH: AF&PA maintains a lead role in the Tax Exempt Bond Coalition in an effort to secure the use of these bonds for recycling facilities, per Congress’s original intent. The long-awaited updated regulations issued by the Treasury Department in September moved closer to positions advocated by AF&PA, but several important issues remain to be clarified.

RT:  How does AF&PA respond to criticisms from recyclers concerning the paper industry’s use of the black liquor alternative energy credit? Are there other, similar credits available to the paper industry that may favor recycled-content use in mills?

DH: The Alternative Fuel Mixture Tax Credit brought attention to the fact that the forest products industry is a long-time leader in generating and using renewable energy. We actually produce more renewable energy than all the solar, wind and geothermal energy combined—28.5 million megawatts hours annually, or enough to power 2.7 million homes. As an industry, the issue has given us an opportunity to educate policymakers and stakeholders on how we are a part of the solution to climate change.

The nearly 1 million men and women working in our industry represent some of the original “green” jobs that President Obama and others have expressed interest in saving or creating.

Demand for recovered fiber remained consistent with other grades during this time, suggesting little or no impact.
(For the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. arguments against this tax credit, please see “ISRI Opposes Black Liquor Tax Incentives”.)

RT: What are the foremost issues facing paper producers heading into the next decade and how can the AF&PA work to address these issues?

DH:  We are concerned about the increasing role of government in markets of all kinds. Our industry is capable of competing with anyone in the world as long as we have a level playing field. However, regulatory initiatives that increase the costs of manufacturing in the U.S. and government efforts to direct the flow of fiber recycled to uses that aren’t supported by economics concern us.

Paper products companies are energy-intensive, trade-exposed manufacturers. Energy costs under a cap-and-trade system will inevitably go up, and our member companies cannot pass on increased energy costs to consumers in a market where some international competitors would not face increased costs. Without adequate consideration for the cost impact of climate change policies, we run the risk of seeing more manufacturing facilities close in the U.S. Ironically, this would actually lead to more products being made in countries without carbon-reduction requirements and to increases in global carbon emissions.

As President Obama and Congress seek to expand the use of renewable fuels, we will continue to seek equal treatment for the renewable, carbon-neutral energy generated and used by the forest products industry. We will continue to advocate for policies that promote sustainable forest management and biomass supply because a healthy and abundant supply of wood is essential to the future of our industry.

Finally, the paper industry has achieved great strides in paper recovery, resulting in significantly less paper going to landfills. However, interfering with this marketplace success by placing additional pressures on producers, such as arbitrarily dictating which type of product should use recovered fiber and at what levels, would be counterproductive from both an economic and environmental perspective. Mandates that prevent recovered paper from going to its highest-value end uses as dictated by market forces would raise the cost of fiber to mills, making them less competitive in the marketplace.

Donna Harman is CEO and president of the American Forest & Paper Association. She can be contacted at donna_harman@afandpa.org.