REPORT SUMMARY (Page 1)

ACCESS ECONOMICS REPORT FINDS FARMED TREES AS A GOOD ALTERNATIVE CHOICE FOR PAPER PRODUCTION

Double A commissioned Access Economics to analyse the environmental cost of paper manufacturing methods from leading mills around the world. Access Economics developed an environmental cost model based on paper mills’ resource consumption and carbon emissions. The model places a bottom line cost on paper manufacturer’s environmental impact.

The key findings:

The failure of the market to fully measure the industry’s environmental ‘cost’ has meant less vigilant paper manufacturers have not been environmentally accountable philosophy

Seventeen per cent of the world’s paper is made from natural forest which is logged and left to regenerate without human assistance, 37 per cent of paper is made from natural forest that is logged and then re-generated via seeding, 29 per cent of paper is sourced from managed plantations, while one per cent of paper is still sourced from tropical rain forest

Double A’s environmental cost is $0.04 per ream, while the largest Australian paper manufacturer outputs a $0.20 per ream environmental cost

The worst environmental performer was a mill in Indonesia with an environmental cost of $0.39 per ream, or $153.13 per tonne

Despite the environment being a major global concern, Access Economics’ survey found price and product quality are the decision drivers for Australian companies

Recycled paper is very resource-intensive due to the bleach used to whiten the paper and the energy consumed to break the paper down during the recycling process

Paper made from Farmed Trees was found to have the least environmental impact due to its preservation of the environment’s natural biodiversity and reduced energy consumption

The environmental cost model:

The report’s environmental cost model proposes that paper manufacturers should have their environmental impact costed into their price to consumers

When determining each manufacturer’s environmental impact Access Economics analysed each mill’s use of raw materials (virgin wood fibre, post consumer recycled paper or alternative fibre eg. grass or hemp), their pulping methods and bleaching methods

In Australia, 91 per cent of paper is made from virgin fibre (non-recycled wood products)

A major factor in managing paper manufacturers’ environmental impact is through the technology they use during the manufacturing process

The logging of forest (both old growth and plantation) has caused worldwide loss of biodiversity, soil erosion, destabilised watersheds and the displacement of rural communities