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Vol.14 / Issue-11 NOVEMBER 2010
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THE ECONOMICS OF SUSTAINABILITY IN THE PAPER INDUSTRY
WHAT IS SUSTAINABILITY ?
Sustainability means meeting the needs and wants of
people of the current generation while leaving equal or better
opportunities for people of future generations to follow.
Thus, sustainability is about sustaining a desirable quality of
life for people - forever.
WHAT IS TO BE SUSTAINED?
The development of resources: natural, human, and
economic so as to bring positive change or progress. This
development is to be sustained -- for all future generations.
PLANNING FOR SUSTAINABILITY
Just because something has been sustained until now, does
not mean it can be sustained forever. The United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held
in Rio in 1992 determined that there were three equally
important interrelated pillars of sustainability dealing with
economic, social and environmental aspects.
The Three Pillars of Sustainability
Scheme of Sustainable Development.
HOW DOES THE PAPER INDUSTRY MEASURE UP?
The forest and paper industry is active in all three areas.
Economic : The forest and paper industry is a major
contributor to the world economy, in that it produces primary
goods valued at approximately $750 billion per year.
Social : It meets an essential societal need by providing
sustainable forest and paper products which also contribute
to the quality of everyday life. It is closely linked to the
development of local communities through the creation of
thousands of small and large companies and millions of
jobs, primarily in rural areas.
Environmental : Thanks to its unique profile the renewability
of its raw material, its strong reliance on, biomass as a
fuel, proactive focus on energy efficiency, its high recycling
rate and its ability to retain carbon, the Paper Industry thus has
today the potential to become the first large scale sustainable
industry.
Through substantial and continual efforts over the last
decades partly through regulation, partly on a voluntary
basis the forest and paper industry has significantly reduced
its impact on the environment. Today, on an average, one
tonne of paper contains about 1.33 metric tonnes of carbon
equivalent CO2.
Looking ahead
The industry is committed to improving its performance in key
areas including:
Continual improvement of sustainable forest management practices,
including conservation of biodiversity and wildlife habitat.
Increasing public reports of company compliance on their
environmental performance.
Increasing energy efficiency and thus reducing greenhouse gas
emissions.
Continued adoption of recognised credible environmental management
systems.
Better communication and dialogue with various stakeholders,
including environmental non-governmental organisations.
Sustainable Forestry Management (SFM)
Countries around the world have taken initiatives to devise
codes and standards for sustainable forestry leading to a
framework for the mutual recognition of SFM certification systems
Examples include:
Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), Forest Stewardship Council (FSC),
American Tree Farm System (ATFS), Canadian Standards Association
(CSA),
Pan-European Forest Certification (PEFC), and many others.
FSC Certification is now considered the most reliable indicator
of sustainable forestry because:
- standards include input from all stakeholders
- independent system
- requires independent third party certification
- chain of Custody Certification front to end user
Since the first certification introduced by FSC in 1993, today
SFM certified forest areas account for almost 8% of worlds total
forest cover.
WHAT ELSE IS CONTRIBUTING TO SUSTAINABILITY IN THE
PAPER INDUSTRY:
Clean Development Mechanism
CDM adopted by many mills has helped them gain profits through
CERs.
BILT Graphic Paper Products, JK Paper and ITC-PSPD are all nominated as finalists in different categories
for the Annual PPI Awards to be presented by RISI, in a ceremony at Brussels on November, 16
th
. The
categories are : Environmental Strategy ; Efficiency Improvement and Mill Manager of the Year.
INDUSTRY
NEWS
Website: http : // www.wirefabrik.com
Over the last two decades, Carbon dioxide emissions have
been recorded to decline even upto 37% per tonne of product
a result of greater energy efficiency, use of lower carbon
emitting fuels, and most importantly, greater use of biomass as
a fuel.
Recycling
Recycling is an economic and technical reality for the
forest and paper industry and hence has become one of the
worlds best recyclers. Globally, the consumption of
recovered fibres amounts to nearly 46% of all fibres used for
paper production.
Improved Water Quality
While processed water and additives are reused to ensure
lower effluent volumes, the overall water consumption has
reduced by one third.
Social or Agri-forestry
Social forestry practiced by Indian Paper Mills such as ITC,
JK Paper and Star Paper has provided sustainable livelihood to
farmers in addition to creating a green cover for carbon
sequestration, ground water recharge, regeneration of bio-mass
and nurturing of depleted soils.
Is going Green a step towards sustainability?
Green development prioritizes only on environmental
sustainability and may overlook economic and cultural
considerations. Always having promoted the recycling culture
the Green Activists are now beginning to see the wisdom of
wood as a sustainable, replenishable material that takes carbon
out of the atmosphere.
For example green innovations in energy can sometimes
result in valuable energy sources being poorly used. A
standalone turbine using biomass to produce electricity might
have an overall energy efficiency of only 18-20%, but if that
same turbine is integrated with say, a paper mill to allow
waste heat to be more effectively used and to gain other
benefits, the overall efficiency can reach 70%. Simply
assuming that biofuels or power from biomass is inherently
desirable is unjustified if much of the potential is being
wasted.
SUSTAINABILITY : Is it good economics?
Economic viability happens when the consumer perceives
value in the product. For paper the value proposition lies in
the following precepts :
Post-consumer waste ( PCW) Waste is a terrible thing to waste.

FSC certification pulp sourced from sustainable forestry.

Processed chlorine free (PCF) Environmentally friendly bleaching.

Competitive pricing Costs are comparative / cheaper to paper made
from virgin pulp.

Consumer decisions made today, will drive paper mills designs to a
sustainable future.

Environmental commitment from all players mill, distributor, printer, user,
government - to create a partnership with shared values.
Ms JK Rowling, author of the very popular Harry Potter books
ordered her publisher to use only environmentally responsible
paper for her last series. The Environmental Defence Fund could
estimate the following savings from this action:
29,640 Trees
633,557 Kgs of solid waste
47,007,044 Litres of water
20,248 BTUs of electricity
1,215,443 Kgs of Green House Gases.
Paper mill of the future
The following developments are foreseen
Will be designed to rely on a large percentage of post -
consumer waste / agri by- products / pulp from agri-forestry.
Use only certified sustainable virgin fibres.
Cleaner chemistry, chlorine free bleaching.
Located near urban centres.
Mimicing natural systems (nature does not produce any waste).
CONCLUSION
Saving and promoting Forestry is only one of the many
responsible acts for sustainable living. Just consumption driven
growth cannot be sustainable. Waste or excessive consumption
must be curbed in industry as well as in daily living. For example
only 1% of total water available on this earth is potable. This 1%
has been and can be sufficient for the human race if waste can be
avoided.

QUOTABLE
QUOTE
Its not the load that breaks you down, its the way you carry it - Lena Home
SCRABBLE What does R E A C H stand for ? ( Hint : A regulation covering the use of chemicals in industry)
First correct answer will win a Parker Vector Roller Pen (Maximum two prizes for one person in a year).
Post / Fax / Email your answers to EDITOR-W&F SNIPPETS by 20
th
November, 2010.
WINNER
OCT10
Mr.Osman Tamer, Middle East Paper Co., Process Manager PM3, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Correct Answer: S F I : SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY INITIATIVE
?QUIZ
Place following chemicals in the correct blank spaces to match the subject :-
(a) Hydrogen peroxide (b) Sodium hydrosulfite
1. Oxidative Bleaching : __________ 2. Reductive Bleaching : ___________ 3. Neutral Bleaching :_____________
Post / Fax / Email your answers to EDITOR-W&F SNIPPETS by 20th November, 2010.
WINNER
OCT10
Mr.Babu Kambadkone, Production Manager, Gayatri Paper Mills Ltd, South Africa
Quiz: Choose the right option from the bracket :-
Retention of fibres and fillers in a papermaking slurry improves when the zeta potential figure is :
(a) near zero (b) highly negative (c) highly positive
Answer : a) near zero
Prizes
1. Best / first correct answer received will win one-year subscription to IPPTA Journal (Maximum one prize for one person in a year).
2. Best of the 12 monthly winners in a year, will win one-year subscription to Paper 360
0
Magazine, USA.

Husband and wife have a tiff. Wife calls up her mother to complain and says Ma, Im coming to stay with you for a
week. That will teach him a lesson. Mother replies Baby, if you really want to punish him, then Im coming over to
your place for a month.
Marital Lessons
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Wires & Fabriks (S.A) Ltd,
JAIPUR-302012, India.
Phone: 0141-2341722 Fax: +91-141-2340078
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