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| PRODUCING 200KG OF PAPER, THE AVERAGE WE EACH USE EVERY YEAR, CREATES BETWEEN 130 - 250KG OF CO2 DEPENDING ON THE SOURCE OF THE ENERGY. THIS IS COMPARABLE TO MANY OTHER SMALL SCALE ACTIVITIES, AND IS ROUGHLY EQUIVALENT TO THE CO2 PRODUCED BY AN ANNUAL FAMILY CAR OVER A DISTANCE OF 600 MILES (6)
The main raw material of paper, trees, is a vast carbon store and the prime absorber of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Comparing the precise carbon footprint of the all paper grades is difficult to pinpoint as it depends on how the paper is made and the source of energy used in production. Nuclear, hydro, biomass and geothermal energy, heavily used by some paper making countries, are all low carbon, while fossil-fuels are carbon intensive.
' A sustainably managed forest can be relatively carbon neutral if logging is balanced with re-growth.'
The Sustainable Procurement of wood & Paper products: An introduction. www.sustainableforestprods.org
The pulp and paper industry has reduced the emissions of CO2 per tonne of paper produced by 42% compared to 1990 and down by 8% overall. (7)
Industry research indicates that mail comprises 0.1% of total household CO2 emissions in Europe. The 14 kg of CO2 emitted is the equivalent of:
- One 70 km car journey
- Five Cheeseburgers
- Nine litres of milk 6.6 minutes of transatlantic flight
EMIP, The Facts Of Our Value Chain, 2008
Definition: A Carbon Footprint is a measure of the impact that human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of CO2 and other greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere, that have arisen through the manufacture and distribution of a product or service.
And in a multimedia world, print & paper may be the sustainable way to communicate.
- 2% of the UK's current energy requirement is demanded by data centers today. Roughly the same as the airline industry. (8)
- One email with a 400k attachment, sent to 20 people, is equivalent to burning a 100w light bulb for 30 minutes. (8)
- Half the UK's energy requirements could be needed to drive laptops and PC's in the next 10 years. (8)
' Globally, individual forestry is estimated to result in the absorption of 1 billion tones of CO2 per annum.'
Australian Paper Industry Association (APIA)
' Reading a newspaper can consume 20% less carbon than viewing news online.'
Swedish Royal Institute for Technology
(7) CEPI Sustainability Report, 2009
(8) BBC , Costing The Earth, Global Warming,
April 2009
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