Recycled Papers

Boise Inc. and South Coast Paper Launch ASPEN(R) Diverse Earth(TM)

admin — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 19:30:27 +0000

BENSENVILLE, Ill., Oct. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Boise Inc.(NYSE: BZ), a leading manufacturer of recycled paper, and South Coast Paper, amajor converter of paper products, announce the introduction of ASPEN(R)Diverse Earth(TM) premium recycled office paper, a Minority BusinessEnterprise (MBE) and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC(TM)) certified productline.

This distinctive product offering helps companies employ sustainable business practices, including making choices that are sensitive to theenvironment, society, and their own economic well-being. Recognizing thevital connection between these three sustainability pillars, Boise Inc. andSouth Coast Paper have collaborated on a product line that offers theexceptional performance customers expect from premium office paper, combinedwith a practical solution to meet their environmental and supplier diversitygoals.

“Together, Boise Inc. and South Coast Paper believe we have a winningproposition for customers who place a high value on the environmental andsocial aspects of sustainability,” said Terry Stepney, Boise brand manager.”ASPEN Diverse Earth combines the strengths of both organizations into asingle brand that provides a two-pronged solution.”

ASPEN Diverse Earth-brand is an MBE-certified premium recycled officepaper, available in 30%, 50% and 100% post-consumer content. It offers thesame hardworking characteristics and brightness as non-recycled paper butrequires less water, energy and chemicals and fewer trees in the manufacturingprocess.

The product’s MBE certification allows customers to meet supplierdiversity commitments for office paper purchases and to demonstrate theirsupport for and use of a broad supplier base.

All grades of ASPEN Diverse Earth are FSC Chain of Custody certified.Chain of Custody certification enables consumers to make informed andenvironmentally responsible choices when selecting wood and other forestproducts.

“ASPEN Diverse Earth is truly a ground-breaking product that will reshapewhat customers expect from the paper industry for their office procurementneeds,” said Kenneth Loyd, president of South Coast Paper. “Until now,corporate customers have not had a choice of paper that delivers on such awide array of sustainability elements.”

Visit www.EcoGreenOffice.com for more information about these fine products.

Technorati Tags: aspen paper, Boise paper, ecogreenoffice, recycled paper

My Boss is Cheap! Justifying the Costs of Using Post-Consumer Recycled Paper

admin — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:31:57 +0000

Bryan Beckett 8-23-08

EcoGreenOffice

You are the green leader of the office. You have created a green task force. You have crafted a green mission statement with a list of eco-strategies. The day comes to present your sustainability plan to management and before you can even say post-consumer, recycled paper, your efforts are clouded by: “it costs to much”. “That will negatively effect the bottom line”. “Going green is great but at what costs”.

Instead of ditching your efforts, now is your time to shine. The use of post-consumer recycled paper can actually GREEN your company’s bottom line!

Consumer Demand is Driving Businesses Toward Social Responsibility

This means that if your business is not on the forefront of making green efforts, it will be left behind and then there will not be a bottom line to even consider. Using post-consumer paper does say a lot about a company especially if you quantify your actions! By putting the tangible on something that is intagible you can create instant positive results and will engage the non-interested ones. Your company can save trees, water, landfill space and limit CO2’s just by using post-consumer paper. It is the easiest way to take action.

Monitor and Reduce Use!

Does every person in your office really need a printer? A few xtra steps to a centralized print station may make people think twice before printing unnecessary documents. Additionally, using post-consumer paper will result in reduced use. This is because it is more opaque than virgin paper which means that it is perfect for double side printing. See if you can collect paper purchasing data from accounting over the last 6 months and make it a challenge not only order post-consumer paper but reduce the amount ordered!

Implement a “Green” Printer Cartridge Program

Using “green” printer cartridges will not only save you 10-20% but they also have eco-benefits that can be quantified as well. Avoid the cheap internet cartridge searches by partnering with a specialized “green” cartridge dealer like EcoGreenOffice. You can get custom pricing with all the guarantees of brand new cartridges. A specialized dealer can usually ensure savings on a printer cartridge program which totally offsets the $.0025 increase/page of post-consumer paper.

These three simple strategies will help you overcome the post-consumer recycled paper barriers. Help management understand the big picture and that in the long run, green practices will green the bottom line! Finally, have fun with your green program and create quantifiable challenges for your co-workers.

Technorati Tags: green office, how to green the office, recycled paper

Boise Inc. Joins Chicago Climate Exchange®

admin — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 02:20:19 +0000

Chicago, Ill. (July 24, 2008) – Boise Inc., makers of Aspen 100 paper, has become a member of the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX®), the world’s first and North America’s only voluntary, legally binding integrated greenhouse gas emissions reduction, registry and trading system.

As part of its membership in CCX, Boise Inc. has made a voluntarily but legally-binding commitment to achieve an absolute greenhouse gas emission reduction of six percent below its baseline – a four-year average of the years 1998 to 2001 – by the end of 2010.

CCX operates a cap-and-trade system. Members who beat the targets have surplus allowances to sell or bank, and those who have emissions above the targets must purchase CCX Carbon Financial Instrument contracts to achieve compliance. Third-party verification is provided by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), a leading financial regulator in the United States.

“We welcome Boise Inc. to CCX. As a leader in their field, they bring their experience and know-how to this important issue. CCX and its members look forward to working with them,” said Dr. Richard L. Sandor, CCX’s Chairman and CEO. “Boise’s membership underscores the importance of having a third-party verified, rules-based system such as CCX that can complement and enhance corporate sustainability and greenhouse gas mitigation and management initiatives already underway.”
“We are committed to comprehensive sustainability in our social, environmental, and economic actions,” said Alexander Toeldte, President and CEO, Boise Inc. “Reducing energy use improves our financial performance and supports our stewardship principle of managing our businesses to sustain environmental resources for future generations. Our participation in the Chicago Climate Exchange will allow us to capture greater value from our greenhouse gas reduction efforts. We have already reduced fossil fuel use per ton of production at our paper mills by 28% from 1996 to 2007, and increased our renewable energy use to 64% of total energy consumption during the same period.”

Technorati Tags: aspen 100, Boise paper, green office products, post consumer, recycle paper

The Office Paper No Business Can Function Without

admin — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 16:22:07 +0000

It is the office paper used daily but never discussed. It is the office paper that is absolutely crucial for day-to-day operations. It is the office paper that every employee will come in contact with…

Yes, I am talking about Bathroom Tissue.

We consult with hundreds of businesses every year that are striving to make a positive impact on the environment and incorporating better practices. Maybe it is a lack of education or perception that recycled bathroom tissue is “dirty” or less in quality, but bathroom tissue is often left of of the ‘green up’ list.

Truth be told, some offices have that employee who may use more T.P than copy paper! Sorry for that visual image, but it is a fact. What facts? According to “Bathroom Tissue State of the Category”, T.P is a $4.1 billion dollar industry and each of YOU use an average of 8.6 sheets per, ahem, swipe (sorry again for that).

There is absolutely no reason why an office that is using post-consumer copy paper shouldn’t also be using post-consumer (recycled) T.P.

* Up to 80% post-consumer, 100% recycled

* Comes in 2-ply and is just as soft as non-recycled T.P

* Is process without Chlorine

* Cost effective

We Can’t Use Recycled Paper, it Jams!

admin — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:39:24 +0000

In the 80’s this was certainly the case and sadly that mentality still exists today. But according to ConservaTree, “today’s recycled copier paper is high quality and technically perfected for use in copiers. If the paper jams in a copier, it is not because of the recycled content.”

If paper is jamming in a machine, it is probably because the paper absorbed some moisture. Reams of paper should not be left open for long periods of time as this can effect the quality. Another reason for jamming is simply that the copier has not been maintained. “Sometimes people use paper that’s not formulated for copiers and then wonder why it jams. Use paper qualified as “high-speed” for high speed copiers. The machine may need cleaning or adjusting” (ConservaTree).

It is also important to pay attention to the brand of the recycled paper. While “big box” stores brand are probably fine, the better products are the ones that are FSC certified and made in the USA. The Boise Aspen paper series is an industry leader for quality and is also FSC certified. In fact, the Aspen 30 has a performance certification from Buyers Laboratory passing an 800,000 sheet test. No jamming, curling or double up occured with this test!

A few facts about recycled paper

admin — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 05:00:59 +0000

Jessica Scott

GREEN MATTERS

Many offices are attempting to reduce paper use to help lessen their environmental impact. It is now common for companies to have paperless meetings, where the agenda and meeting materials are all on computer or overhead screen; and many e-mails that land in our inbox have a footnote that reads: “Think of the environment before printing this e-mail.”

But along with reducing paper use, the type of paper used is equally important.

When recycled paper first came on the market 15 to 20 years ago, it was grainy, off-white in colour, and had a shorter life.

Fortunately, recycled paper has come a long way since then and is now equivalent to virgin paper in terms of finish, opacity, whiteness and grams per square metre (a measure of the weight of the paper).

And in terms of the production cycle, using recycled fibres (the individual strands of paper that make up the pulp) to make useable pulp consumes less energy and water, than using fibres directly from a tree when manufacturing virgin paper (about 60 to 70 per cent less energy, and 55 per cent less water).

The fibre composition is what is taken into consideration when you read the percentage of recycled content on a package of paper.

For example, “paper is 80 per cent recycled” means that 80 per cent of the fibre comes from recycled content, and 20 per cent comes from virgin fibres.

Pre-consumer pulp is made up of production waste and generally does not require de-inking - the process in which printing ink is removed from recycled paper in order for it to be reused in the production of new paper.

But pre-consumer pulp is limited in supply. That is why the term ‘post-consumer’ is most often seen - this means that recycled pulp consists of paper from offices and homes after use.

These post-consumer paper products that are recovered for recycling reduces the amount of virgin trees needed to produce paper and cardboard products.

And purchasing products made from post-consumer recycled materials supports the markets for materials recovered by recycling services across the globe.

Higher-grade papers generally require some virgin pulp to achieve comparable quality levels as the quality of fibre degrades each time it passes through the recycling process.

Bleaching is the process of whitening recycled paper, which uses different chemicals including chlorine.

When you are deciding what kind of recycled paper to purchase, try to buy paper that is chlorine-free and acid-free, which means it has a lower environmental impact in terms of toxins used in the manufacturing process.

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an independent, non-government, non-profit organization established to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests.

FSC is the only forest certification system that is supported by all major environmental groups.

So when you buy FSC certified paper that means that the paper company complies with the highest social and environmental standards in the market.

Make sure to keep in mind that when you are recycling your paper, but not purchasing recycled content paper, you are only doing half the job.

Buying recycled paper is a small but important investment that both businesses and individuals can make to help reduce our environmental impact.

Along with using recycled paper, avoid printing when unnecessary, print double-sided when printing and copying, reuse single-sided paper as scratch pads, and be sure recycling bins are visible and near all printers and copiers.

Technorati Tags: fsc certified, recycled paper

Benefits of Using Post-Consumer Paper

admin — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 06:00:59 +0000

Recycled paper requires less energy, fewer chemicals, less water to
manufacture, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and takes material
out of the waste stream.

Post-consumer fiber content 30% 50% 100%

% less energy used 13% 22% 43%

% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions 11% 19% 37%

% less water used 14% 23% 46%

% reduction in solid waste 15% 25% 49%

% fewer trees used 30% 50% 100%

Technorati Tags: aspen 100, recycled paper

BOISE CASCADE EARNS FSC CERTIFICATION

admin — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 05:00:59 +0000

BOISE, Idaho – Boise Cascade, LLC announced today that Boise’s mills in International Falls, Minnesota, and Jackson, Alabama, have earned Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Chain-of-Custody Certification from the Rainforest Alliance’s SmartWood program. “Adding FSC certification further demonstrates our commitment to sustainable business practices,” said Alexander Toeldte, Executive Vice President, Boise Paper, Packaging & Newsprint. Boise’s Alabama and Minnesota paper mills went through a rigorous audit process this summer to add the FSC certification to the mills which have long been Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) certified. Certification allows Boise to use the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal and FSC labels and trademarks on products manufactured at these mills that meet FSC requirements. Chain-of-Custody certification assures consumers and forest product companies that the fiber they buy comes from well managed forests. Chain-of-Custody certification through the Rainforest Alliance tracks fiber certified to the FSC standard from the source to point of sale. The Rainforest Alliance works to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior. You can learn more at www.rainforest-alliance.org.

Boise is the manufacturer of Aspen 100, 50 and 30 percent post consumer papers.

Technorati Tags: aspen 100, fsc certification, recycled paper