[GreenYes] Re: [GreenYes]Not-so-green magazines

[David Biddle <Dbiddle@no.address>]

on 3/2/07 1:08 PM, Joshua Martin at joshua@no.address wrote:

> 
> It's an interesting observation David.  You may be aware that most all
> the non-profit organizations working on advocacy around paper issues
> have developed and reached consensus on a document called the "Common
> Vision for the Transformation  of the Paper Industry" which I think is
> relevant to your question.  It can be found at www.environmentalpaper.org,
> the website of the Environmental Paper Network (EPN).   It consists of
> four pillars, Reducing Consumption, Maximizing Use of Recycled
> Content, Responsible Fiber Sourcing (better forestry, avoiding
> endangered forests), and Cleaner Production.  Conservatree, Co-op
> America, and ForestEthics serve on the Steering Committee of the EPN,
> which is a network of over 100 organizations primarily in North
> America and Europe.
> 
> The Common Vision is a long-term "roadmap" to a holistic solution, and
> using recycled fiber is certainly still at the very top of priorities
> for all these organizations.  Generally, the consensus message has
> been to the effect of, "first, include as much post-consumer recycled
> content as you possibly can, and second, if you absolutely must at
> this time use some virgin fiber, ensure it is from credible,
> sustainably-managed sources and not from endangered forests."  (of
> course before steps 1 and 2 is step 0: use less)
> 
> So in direct response to your observation and figuring, I think
> advocacy around paper production/consumption is still really strong on
> advocating recycling and use of recycled fiber, however, that advocacy
> has become more sophisticated in achieving global progress and
> environmental benefits, and in avoiding unintended consequences,
> through working in alliance with a broad community.
> 
> Joshua Martin
> Network Coordinator
> Environmental Paper Network
> 
> 
> 
> On Feb 28, 7:06 am, David Biddle <Dbid...@no.address> wrote:
>> > This article is interesting and continuing a trend. There is one use of the
>> > word ³recycling² in it and that is to name ³a nonprofit called the National
>> > Recycling Coalition.² The author mostly speaks nebulously about
>> ³sustainable
>> > forestry practices.²
>> >
>> > Now, I went to the Coop America site and found a wealth of information on
>> > the need for using recycled paper, but it¹s just not clear to me whether >>
all
>> > the big magazines cited in the Fortune article are using recycled content
>> or
>> > just using ³environmentally responsible² paper. I also went to the Forest
>> > Ethics site (http://www.forestethics.org), and while they certainly
>> directly
>> > offer information on recycled-content paper, much of their work is centered
>> > on sustaining the forestry industries and making them more responsible. I¹m
>> > not complaining here, just trying to figure out where recycling is going in
>> > the whole mix. Seems like it¹s getting lost a bit.
>> >
>> > Db
>> > --
>> > David Biddle, Executive Director
>> > <http://www.blueolives.blogspot.com>
>> > Greater Philadelphia Commercial Recycling Council
>> > P.O. Box 4037
>> > Philadelphia, PA 19118
>> >
>> > 215-247-3090(desk)215-432-8225(cell)
>> >
>> > <http://www.gpcrc.com>
>> >
>> > Read In Business magazine to learn about sustainable
>> > businesses in communities across North America!
>> > Go to: <http://www.jgpress.com/inbusine.htm>
>> >
>> > on 2/27/07 3:32 PM, Gary Liss at g...@no.address wrote:
>> >
>> >
>> >
>>> > > This is a great article highlighting an opportunity for Zero Waste
>>> communities
>>> > > to get involved.  If you're interested in helping with the campaign to
get
>>> > > magazines to really go Green, contact:
>>> > > * Coop America Magazine Paper Project, go
>>> > > 
>>> to:http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/woodwise/publishers/magazines/ind...
>>> > > or contact Frank Locantore, WoodWise Program Director, 1612 K St NW, >>>
Suite
>>> > > 600, Washington, DC 20006,(800) 58-GREEN, <f...@no.address>
>>> > > * Susan Kinsella, Executive Director, Conservatree, Phone -415/561-6526,
>>> > > E-mail Fax - 509/756-6987, s...@no.address, skype
>>> > > 
>>> -susanekinsella,">http://www.conservatree.org<http://www.conservatree.org/>
>>> <http://www.conservatree.org>
>>> > > They can highlight how you could make a difference with this campaign.
>> >
>>> > > Gary
>> >
>>>> > >> From: "Eric Lombardi" <e...@no.address>
>>>> > >> To: "'Greenyes'" <GreenYes@no.address>
>>>> > >> Subject: [GreenYes] FW: [PaperNet] Not-so-green magazines
>>>> > >> Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 13:00:37 -0700
>> >
>>>> > >> -----Original Message-----
>>>> > >> From: papernetwork@no.address [
>>>> mailto:papernetwork@no.address
>>>> > >> <mailto:papernetwork@no.address> ]
>>>> > >> On Behalf Of Conrad MacKerron
>>>> > >> Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 4:55 PM
>>>> > >> To: papernetwork@no.address
>>>> > >> Subject: [PaperNet] Not-so-green magazines
>> >
>>> > > Not-so-green magazines
>>> > > Some glossies cover the environment, but cover up their own practices,
>>> says
>>> > > Fortune's Marc Gunther.
>> >
>>> > > By Marc Gunther, Fortune senior writer
>>> > > February 22 2007: 9:34 AM EST
>> >
>>> > >http://money.cnn.com/2007/02/21/magazines/fortune/pluggedin_Gunther_g....
>>> > > fortune/index.htm?section=money_topstories
>> >
>>> > > NEW YORK (Fortune) -- The New Yorker won awards for its stories about
>>> > > climate change and Vanity Fair publishes a "green" issue, but just try
to
>>> > > find parent company Conde Nast's environmental policy. You can't.
>> >
>>> > > Newsweek ran a cover on "The Greening of America," but its owner, The
>>> > > Washington Post Co., won't identify the magazine's paper suppliers or
say
>>> > > where its paper comes from. Maybe The Post's Bob Woodward should
>>> > > investigate.
>> >
>>> > > As for Hearst, which publishes Oprah's magazine and Cosmopolitan, the
>>> > > privately held firm is developing an environmental policy to govern its
>>> > > paper buying. But the company won't provide details.
>> >
>>> > > "The magazine industry's hypocrisy runs deep," asserts Todd Paglia,
>>> > > executive director of Forest Ethics, an environmental group that
>>> protects
>>> > > forests by holding companies accountable for their paper buying.
>> >
>>> > > "Conde Nast," Paglia goes on, "is seemingly unaware of the strangeness
of
>>> > > doing a high-profile series in The New Yorker on climate change, while
>>> > > exacerbating the problem by using environmentally irresponsible paper."
>>> > > Conde Nast did not return emails or calls seeking comment.
>> >
>>> > > The reluctance of publishers to talk about their environmental impact
>>> > > suggests that they aren't paying attention - or that they want to avoid
it.
>>> > > That makes a project undertaken by a group of paper users - including
the
>>> > > Time Inc. division of Time Warner (Charts), the German publisher Axel
>>> > > Springer, Random House UK, which is a unit of Bertelsmann, and packaging
>>> > > firm Tetra Pak - all the more unusual.
>> >
>>> > > Those companies are all big customers of Stora Enso (Charts), a
>>> > > Finnish-Swedish paper, packaging and forest products giant based in
>>> London.
>>> > > With Stora Enso, they formed a partnership to track their supply chain
>>> into
>>> > > the heart of Russia's forests to try to insure that it is harvested in a
>>> > > sustainable way.
>> >
>>> > > Ordinarily, I try not to write about Time Inc., which publishes Fortune
and
>>> > > CNNMoney.com. This story is an exception because the company's
>>> environmental
>>> > > practices deserve recognition.
>> >
>>> > > Time Inc. joined with Nike (Charts), Staples (Charts), Hewlett Packard
>>> > > (Charts) and the nonprofit group Metafore in 2003 to form the Paper
>>> Working
>>> > > Group to promote environmentally preferable paper. It worked with
>>> > > environmental groups to measure its greenhouse gas emissions, and set
>>> > > reduction targets. It discloses its paper suppliers and bought about 70
>>> > > percent of its paper from sources certified as sustainable during 2006,
up
>>> > > from 25 percent four years earlier.
>> >
>>> > > As the world's largest magazine publisher, Time Inc. acted partly to >>>
avoid
>>> > > becoming a target. (In 1994, Greenpeace activists protested the
>>> company's
>>> > > forestry practices by climbing the Time & Life Building in New York.)
But
>>> > > its work also has been driven by the passion of David Refkin, a
>>> Bronx-born
>>> > > accountant who joined the company in 1982, took charge of its paper
>>> buying
>>> > > in the late 1980s and is now its director of sustainable development.
>> >
>>> > > Cleaning up the supply chain
>>> > > Refkin, 49, has tracked the company's paper to the woods of Maine,
>>> Wisconsin
>>> > > and Michigan, in an effort to promote sustainable forestry. "I once went
to
>>> > > Iron Mountain, Mich., to have breakfast with 375 loggers," he says. >>>
"They
>>> > > wanted to have me for breakfast."
>> >
>>> > > Over the years, he has become an environmentalist. He is the board
>>> president
>>> > > of a nonprofit called the National Recycling Coalition and even nudged a
>>> > > friend who operates a Vermont ski resort to buy electricity from wind.
"If
>>> > > you're in a business that depends on the weather," he reasons, "you
>>> ought to
>>> > > buy green power."
>> >
>>> > > Refkin turned his attention to Russia because Stora Enso, a Time Inc.
>>> > > supplier, imports wood from Russia. The partners in a project called >>>
"From
>>> > > Russia With Transparency" identified two logging companies in Russia,
and
>>> > > worked with them to improve their environmental practices so that they
can
>>> > > obtain certification from the Forest Stewardship Council, an independent
>>> > > body. (One company, Russkiy Les, expects to be certified this year.) The
>>> > > group also tackled worker safety and corruption, both serious issues in
>>> > > Russia.
>> >
>>> > > Americans, Germans, Brits, Finns, Swedes and Russians collaborated on
the
>>> > > project. "How many wars have been fought between those countries?"
>>> Refkin
>>> > > mused. "The culture challenges were enormous." The American and European
>>> > > buyers had to be careful not to push around the Russian suppliers.
>> >
>>> > > Two nonprofit groups, Transparency International and the Karelian
>>> Research
>>> > > Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, monitored the project. A
>>> detailed
>>> > > report on the project, as well as a video, can be found at
>>> > >www.tikhvinproject.ru/<http://www.tikhvinproject.ru/> .
>> >
>>> > > Why should publishers go to the trouble of cleaning up their supply
>>> chain?
>>> > > Florian Nehm, sustainability officer for Axel Springer, which publishes
>>> > > magazines and newspapers, said companies should be concerned not just
>>> about
>>> > > the visible quality of paper but its "invisible" quality as well - its
>>> > > environmental and social impact.
>> >
>>> > > "There are 3,000 journalists working for Axel Springer," Nehm says. >>>
"They
>>> > > criticize everything and everyone, and they can only do that with
>>> > > credibility if the company that they work for has adequate standards of
its
>>> > > own."
>> >
>>> > > That should be a wake-up call to other publishers. Those who ignore
>>> > > environmental issues may be putting their reputations at risk.
>> >
>>> > > Publishers will be happy to hear that Forest Ethics - which ran a
>>> successful
>>> > > campaign against the Victoria's Secret catalog and its parent company,
>>> > > Limited Brands (Charts), last year - says it will remain focused on
>>> > > catalogs, not magazines, for now. But Paglia says the group intends to
>>> look
>>> > > at magazines and their paper, perhaps as soon as next year.
>> >
>>> > > ___________________
>> >
>>> > > Conrad MacKerron
>>> > > Director, Corporate Social Responsibility Program
>>> > > As You Sow Foundation
>>> > > 311 California St., San Francisco, CA 94104
>>> > > Phone:415-391-3212, ext. 31
>>> > > Web:www.asyousow.org<http://www.asyousow.org/>
>> >
>>> > > Gary Liss
>>> > >916-652-7850
>>> > > Fax: 916-652-0485
>>> > >www.garyliss.com<http://www.garyliss.com/>
>> >
>> > --
>> > David Biddle, Executive Director
>> > <http://www.blueolives.blogspot.com>
>> > Greater Philadelphia Commercial Recycling Council
>> > P.O. Box 4037
>> > Philadelphia, PA 19118
>> >
>> > 215-247-3090(desk)215-432-8225(cell)
>> >
>> > <http://www.gpcrc.com>
>> >
>> > Read In Business magazine to learn about sustainable
>> > businesses in communities across North America!
>> > Go to: <http://www.jgpress.com/inbusine.htm>
> 
> 
> > 
> 


-- 
David Biddle, Executive Director
<http://www.blueolives.blogspot.com>
Greater Philadelphia Commercial Recycling Council
P.O. Box 4037
Philadelphia, PA 19118

215-247-3090 (desk)
215-432-8225 (cell)

<http://www.gpcrc.com>

Read In Business magazine to learn about sustainable
businesses in communities across North America!
Go to: <http://www.jgpress.com/inbusine.htm>



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