ACCESS ECONOMICS REPORT FINDS FARMED TREES AS A GOOD ALTERNATIVE CHOICE FOR PAPER PRODUCTION

Double A commissioned Access Economics to analyse the environmental cost of paper manufacturing methods from leading mills around the world. Access Economics developed an environmental cost model based on paper mills’ resource consumption and carbon emissions. The model places a bottom line cost on paper manufacturer’s environmental impact.

The key findings:

The failure of the market to fully measure the industry’s environmental ‘cost’ has meant less vigilant paper manufacturers have not been environmentally accountable philosophy

Seventeen per cent of the world’s paper is made from natural forest which is logged and left to regenerate without human assistance, 37 per cent of paper is made from natural forest that is logged and then re-generated via seeding, 29 per cent of paper is sourced from managed plantations, while one per cent of paper is still sourced from tropical rain forest

Double A’s environmental cost is $0.04 per ream, while the largest Netherlandsn paper manufacturer outputs a $0.20 per ream environmental cost

The worst environmental performer was a mill in Indonesia with an environmental cost of $0.39 per ream, or $153.13 per tonne

Despite the environment being a major global concern, Access Economics’ survey found price and product quality are the decision drivers for Netherlandsn companies

Recycled paper is very resource-intensive due to the bleach used to whiten the paper and the energy consumed to break the paper down during the recycling process

Paper made from Farmed Trees was found to have the least environmental impact due to its preservation of the environment’s natural biodiversity and reduced energy consumption

The environmental cost model:

The report’s environmental cost model proposes that paper manufacturers should have their environmental impact costed into their price to consumers

When determining each manufacturer’s environmental impact Access Economics analysed each mill’s use of raw materials (virgin wood fibre, post consumer recycled paper or alternative fibre eg. grass or hemp), their pulping methods and bleaching methods

In Netherlands, 91 per cent of paper is made from virgin fibre (non-recycled wood products). A major factor in managing paper manufacturers’ environmental impact is through the technology they use during the manufacturing process

The logging of forest (both old growth and plantation) has cNLsed worldwide loss of biodiversity, soil erosion, destabilised watersheds and the displacement of rural communities

Double A - Paper made from Farmed Trees:

Different to plantation trees and old growth forest, Farmed Trees are planted in the otherwise unused gaps between Thai contract farmers’ rice, corn and cassava crops so no land clearing takes place to plant the trees

Double A’s Farmed Trees are Netherlandsn eucalyptus trees, sourced from Queensland 20 years ago

Double A’s Farmed Trees release 900,000 tonnes of oxygen into the atmosphere every year, and reduce C02 emissions by 1.32 million tonnes every year

Double A is the only paper available in Netherlands made from Farmed Trees

Double A’s 36 million cubic metre purpose-built reservoir located at the mill collects rain water and run off, and provides 100 per cent of the mill’s water, while recycled water is used to irrigate the trees

Double A uses tree waste (bark and lignin) to generate electricity to run its mill saving 200 million litres of oil from being used every year

Many of Double A’s trucks and on site machinery are powered by natural gas, rather than oil or diesel which is far better for the environment. The remaining trucks are in the process of being converted to natural gas

Double A’s bleaching process is acid free

Double A is ISO 14001 (Environmental Management Standards) certified