New Calculator Can Measure Environmental Impact of Paper Use
New York -- November 29, 2005 -- A new Web-based Paper Calculator launched today by Environmental Defense lets organizations measure the impact of their paper use on the environment and determine how they can reduce that impact through better purchasing decisions.
Developed by Environmental Defense, the Paper Calculator provides users, including businesses, with U.S. average wood consumption, energy use, and other environmental impacts of different paper types across their full lifecycle. For each of 13 major grades of paper and paperboard, it allows users to compare the relative environmental impacts of papers made with different levels of recycled content, and to see how using less paper or changing other specifications can reduce environmental impacts. The Paper Calculator helps users to measure the environmental benefits of better paper choices and enables companies, communities, schools, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and other organizations to understand and improve their daily paper use.
Paper-making is a resource-intensive process, and paper use is growing -- U.S. office paper use now stands at more than 5 million tons per year. The production, use and disposal of all this paper requires over 17.3 million tons of wood and generates nearly 5.7 million tons of solid waste.
"Using less paper and switching to recycled paper conserves wood, water and energy, and helps reduce pollution and waste," explains Environmental Defense project manager Tom Murray. "The new Paper Calculator shows these benefits in a clear and comprehensive format."
A number of leading companies have used the Paper Calculator to measure the benefits of better paper choices. Here's what some of them are saying:
"The Paper Calculator is a valuable resource for Staples and our customers who are interested in understanding the environmental impacts of their paper-purchasing decisions. The updated Paper Calculator will help Staples measure our continued progress in reducing pollution and natural resource use through our efforts to increase the post-consumer recycled content in the products we sell."