The Little Green Book

Sustainability Beyond Reasonable Doubt:The Paper and Paper-BasedPackaging Industry

It’s time to separate myth from reality

Myth No.1 - Buying paper and paper packaging destroys forests

Myth No.2 - Old trees are the best carbon sinks

Myth No.3 - Making paper and paper packaging requires too much energy

Myth No.4 - Paper and paper packaging has a high carbon footprint

Myth No.5 - Paper-based packaging is an unnecessary waste

Myth No.6 - Reuse is better than recycling

Myth No.7 - The industry is doing nothing about illegal logging

Go start a conversation

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When people use more paper, suppliers plant more trees. If we want bigger commercial forests, then we should use more paper not less. Our policies should directly protect important wildlife habitats, not try to reduce our demand for paper.

Edward L. Glaeser, Professor of Economics at Harvard University

“”

It starts here.

It’s time to setthe record straight

It’s time,

to be clear about the truth,

to set the record straight, beyond any reasonable doubt, about our industry and its contribution to environmental sustainability.

9

It’s time for a reality check. It’s time to separate myth from reality. It’s time to know the facts.

Read them. Know them.

Use them.

20.36% - The amount of China land area with forest cover

137% - Increase of China forest land over the last 60 years

18,816km2 - Annual increase in China forest land

620,000km2 - Area of planted forests in China

341 million m3 - Annual quantity of harvested wood (2008)

15.5% - 53 million m3 - Annual quantity used for paper making

China Forest Facts

(Source: China State Forestry Administration 2011 www.forestry.gov.cn)

Buying paper and paper packaging destroys forests

13

Myth No.1It is a fact that paper makes trees and that the demand for paper drives forest growth. That’s just one of the beauties of a renewable resource.

Industries that depend on trees need thriving forests. It’s estimated that there are 25% more trees in the developed world today than there were in 1901.

That’s just not true.

China’s demand for fiber has been significant and is expected to continue growing. China’s fiber production capabilities are currently limited and many paper companies import fiber supply from countries that have greater concentrations on responsibly managed forest resources, which leads to sustainable growth of forest.

In the Asia and the Pacific region as a whole, forests grew by 1.4 million hectares per year over the period 2000-2010. This was primarily due to large-scale afforestation efforts in China, where the forest area increased by 2 million hectares per year in the 1990s and by an average of 3 million hectares per year since 2000.1

1.Source: State of the World’s Forests 2011 by UN Food & Agriculture Organization

Seedlings Seedlings1 to 15 years, thinning 1 out of 5 15 to 25 years, thinning 1 out of 4 50 to 75 years, thinning 1 out of 3 As of 75 years

Paper Pulp • Heating • Particle Panels = 100% Paper Pulp • Heating • Particle Panels = 85%

Sawmill 15% (furniture & construction)

Paper Pulp • Heating • Particle Panels = 50%

Sawmill 50% (furniture & construction)

Paper Pulp • Heating • Particle Panels = 15%

Sawmill 85% (furniture & construction)

Sustainable Forest Management

Usage

Lifecycle

Usage

Think again. Next time you have your friends over for dinner tell them this.

For every tree that is logged in managed forests, three to four trees are replanted. And as young trees grow, they absorb CO2 from the atmosphere.

Common sense might tell you that the bigger and older the tree, the more carbon it absorbs. But you’d be largely wrong. In fact, young forests are much more efficient at absorbing carbon than old forests. Mature trees absorb carbon more slowly the older they get. In addition, as they get older trees start to naturally decompose, which releases carbon and other greenhouse gases back into the atmosphere.

So to maximize the carbon storage that trees can provide, we need young healthy forests where trees are regularly harvested and re-grown. But the benefit doesn’t stop there because, as a wood product, paper also continues to store carbon throughout its lifetime.

Old trees are the best carbon sinks1

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Myth No.2

1.Carbon sink: a reservoir that absorbs or takes up atmospheric carbon; for example, a forest or an ocean

As industries go, paper making is a large scale undertaking and you’d expect it to generate some frightening statistics. It doesn’t. On average it takes 500 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity to produce 200kg of paper, the average amount of paper that each of us consumes each year.

The energy consumed by a typical household leaving its electronic

equipment on stand-by for a year

Does 500 kilowatt-hours sound like a lot? It’s the equivalent to:

Powering one computer continuously for five months

Burning a 60w light bulb continuously for one year

Lets set the record straight.

It’s true that making paper requires energy. However, thanks to technical advances and a commitment to continuous improvement, the papermaking industry has significantly reduced its energy needs over the course of the last twenty years.

In Europe, for example, the forest based sector is the least fossil fuel1 intensive of any manufacturing sector and the paper industry is the largest single consumer and producer of renewable bio-energy.The most recent statistics show that 52% of all primary energy used in the global paper industry derives from biomass which comes in the form of bark, wood chips,and sawdust from lumber mills.Biomass is recognized by most international environmental organizations as carbon neutral and as an energy source that reduces dependence on fossil fuels.2

1.Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons, primarily coal, fuel oil or natural gas, formed from the remains of dead plants and animals.

2.Source:www.paperonline.org

Making paper and paper packaging requires too much energy

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Myth No.3

Carbon Footprint1 (Source: Bilan Carbon database - v6.1, June 2010)

It’s time to be more honest with ourselves. Carbon footprints are everywhere. Deciding on our own is a lifestyle choice. But it’s better to be fully aware of all the facts in order to make the best choices.1.A carbon footprint is a measure of the impact our activities have on the environment, and in particular climate change.

2.CEPI: Confederation of European Paper Industries

CO

2 k

g/to

nne

(=C

*44/

12)

PAPER DAIRY GLASS FISH METALS CHEMICALS MEAT

27,000

21,000

18,000

15,000

12,000

9,000

1,500

1,000Corrugated

Paper

FlatAverage

Average CEPI2 fine papers

HIGH

LOWMilk (cow)

PAPERPACKAGING

Aluminum

BeefInsecticide

FOOTPRINT

FOOTPRINT

Just about everything has a carbon footprint. So let’s compare shoe size, shall we?

Producing 200kg of paper, the average we each use every year, creates between 130 - 250kg of CO2 depending on the source of energy. That’s comparable to the CO2 produced by an average family car over a distance of 960km. In fact an article in the Times Online last January highlighted a study by a Harvard University Physicist which revealed that a complex on-line Google search lasting several minutes can generate an estimated 5-10g of CO2. Bear in mind that boiling the kettle for a cup of tea generates 15g of CO2.

1

Even your steak dinner tonight has a footprint! Beef and veal have the biggest carbon footprint of all meats - the production of 1kg of beef releases greenhouse gases with a warming potential equivalent to 36.4kg of carbon dioxide.2 And let’s not forget methane, another greenhouse gas. Flatulent farm animals are responsible for 14% of all methane emissions - that’s a yeti-sized footprint.

Could you imagine living in a society that told you to “consider the environment before you Google search” or “eating steak damages the environment” - that sounds too much like Big Brother, right! and yet most e-mails in circulation today load you with environmental guilt if you contemplate pressing the print button.

Paper and paper packaging has a high carbon footprint

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Myth No.4

Source: 1.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article5489134.ece 2.www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/jul/19/climatechange.

Virgin fiber-based carton board is the most sustainable, most environmentally sound packaging application…

PricewaterhouseCoopersCEO’s Perspectives 2010

ProductLife Cycle

“”

Packaging isn’t everything, but it ranks right up there with oxygen.

The fact is that paper-based packages and containers are part of our everyday lives, so it can be easy to forget what makes them unique.

So let us refresh your memory for you.

Unlike other packaging options, paper-based packages are made from trees, a completely renewable source. Practically speaking, because paper-based packaging is 100% recyclable and about 80% of corrugated packaging is collected and recycled, it is beyond any reasonable doubt the most sustainable and responsible choice for business and consumers alike. Or, as we like to say in the industry, paper-based packaging leads to waste prevention.

So Use after Use after Use and then repeat...

Paper-based packaging is an unnecessary waste

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Myth No.5

Schoeller Arca Systems Press Release, 24 September 2007

The Myth Even low cost returnable plastic packagingis much more sustainable than one-way cardboard...“ ”

The benefits of recycling are widely known.We make efforts to reuse our products and therefore conserve our valuable natural resources. Some might conclude that recovered fiber in our paper is environmentally superior to virgin fiber, which is obtained directly from responsibly managed forests. However,when we examine the facts, we find that virgin fiber is an indispensible material in sustainable paper manufacturing.

Recycling is the only way to ensure a sustainable solution

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Myth No.6In fact, it would be expensive and impossible to sustainably depend completely on recovered fiber. Today, demand for recovered fiber worldwide, especially in Asia, is far outstripping supply, and that increases prices for this raw material.Also, 10 tons of old paper may yield only 8 tons of usable pulp1 and because of this, there may not be enough recovered fiber to keep up with the increasing demand for paper. To continue this sustainable production cycle,fresh fiber will be continually necessary in the system. In many cases, recovered fiber is shipped up to five times farther than virgin fiber to finally arrive at the mill. That longer distance costs more and could also result in higher CO2 emissions. Also, depending on what products will be using the recovered fiber it could require additional chemicals and resources to de-ink the paper and make recovered fibers usable again.As you can see, recycling is part of the sustainability equation but it does not completely solve our quest for sustainable living. Virgin fiber from well-managed forests, a renewable resource, is necessary to meet our demand for paper and achieving real sustainability.1.http://www.tappi.org/paperu/all_about_paper/earth_answers/recycle10.html

In China, companies like International Paper are engaging in technical innovations, product portfolio optimizations, and responsible environmental management. These initiatives are allowing improvements in the amount of water and energy needed to produce our products.They have also helped reduce the volume of wastewater and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) to below national and even international standards. For instance,the top 100 paper companies in China produce 56% of the country’s overall output while their COD discharge accounts for only 10% of the total released by the industry.1

In many industries, there are outdated technologies and processes that consume an enormous amount of energy and water. In the paper-making industry, some companies may not have the proper pollution control technologies or proper treatment installations to promote environmental protection, and use straw pulp as raw material to drive down costs. For instance, one ton of pulp made from responsibly harvested wood fiber, needs less than 30 tons of water and releases 30-50kg of COD; whereas a ton of pulp made from straw needs 200 tons of water and discharges as much as 350 kg of COD.2

Therefore, as a consumer, buying paper made by responsible companies is supporting sound environmental practices.

Manufacturing companies do not care about the environment

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Myth No.7

2.Source: China Daily, November 1, 2005

1.Source: “Analysis of Development of China’s Paper-making Industry during the ‘Golden Ten Years’ ”by Dong, Wenhai, 2010

Let’s stop keeping it a best-kept secret.

Surprised?

Forestry, paper and packaging are among the most sustainable industries in existence. CEO Perspectives 2008 PricewaterhouseCoopers

“”

It’s time to respond to the mass of misleading information about our industry.

Now is the time for clarity. A time to overcome the conventional wisdom and dogma about our sector.

Everyone has the right to know.

But changing public perception takes time so we need to speak with a common voice.

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Go tell your customers.Go tell your colleagues.

Go tell your mother-in-law.Don’t wait for an invitation. Start the conversation today…

That timeis NOW!

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9 Top Facts For Your Next Cocktail Party

Paper production is not a major cause of deforestation, but actually saves forests

For every tree logged in managed forests, 3-4 are replanted

Forest certification promotes wood from managed forests

The increase of forest cover in Asia is 210,410km from 2000 to 2010

Reading a newspaper can consume 25% less carbon than viewing news online1

Paper fibres can be recycled up to six times

Paper is truly sustainable, with waste fully recoverable ready for recycling into new paper

80% of corrugated packaging is collected and recycled

The paper industry has eight representatives in the UN’s list of the world’s 100 most sustainable companies, more than any other industry

2

1.Source: Center for Sustainable Communications, Royal Institute of Technology KTH, Sweden,2007

...or find out more on-line at

www.paperonline.org

www.twosides.info

Are you interested in knowing more?

Why not read

The Little Book of Commonsense as well, It’s all about paper, the real sustainable choice.

Order your copy today atwww.internationalpaper.com/asia/sustainability

The increase of forest cover in Asia is 210,410km from 2000 to 2010

The paper used to make “The Little Green Book” comes from responsibly managed forests certified by FSC. Please feel free to use paper because when paper is used, a whole lot more trees are planted.

For more detailed information on forestry certification please go to www.fsc.org

43-45F, K. Wah Center1010 Huaihai Zhong RoadShanghai, PRCTEL +86 (0)21 6113 3200 FAX +86 (0)21 6113 3201 www.internationalpaper.com/asia

2012 International Paper©