Environmental Groups Call For Improved Paper Industry

As leaders from the paper industry gathered for the annual Paper Week meetings in New York City, environmentalists announced that they are uniting around a Common Vision for transforming paper production and consumption.

The Common Vision, first presented at the Canadian Pulp and Paper Conference in Montreal earlier this year, emerged from the NGO Paper Summit in November 2002, with more than 50 fifty environmental groups working on paper, toxics and forestry issues. By articulating action priorities and sharing information about their work, they laid the groundwork for increasing alignment and coordination of campaigns in the future.

The Common Vision sends a unified message to paper producers and consumers about the highest priorities for reducing damage to the Earth: 

*            eliminate excessive and unnecessary paper consumption, 

*           end the use of fiber that threatens endangered forests,

*            maximize post-consumer recycled fiber content in all paper and paper products,

*           source any remaining virgin fiber from independent third party-certified forest managers that employ the most environmentally responsible practices (currently, the Forest Stewardship Council is the certification program that comes closest to meeting this standard),

*            eliminate harmful pulp and paper mill discharges and the use of chlorine and chlorine compounds,

*           end the clearing of natural forest ecosystems and their conversion into plantations.

Since the Summit, 57 environmental groups have signed onto the Common Vision, and agreed to further its goals in their work.

''The Common Vision represents a new level of cooperation among major environmental organizations across North America," said Susan Kinsella, executive director of Conservatree. "Despite having many different approaches to encouraging change, environmental groups are united in the goal of achieving environmentally sustainable paper production and use."