For many years, the environmental spotlight has been on print. The take up of FSC and PEFC certification has helped, as have offsetting schemes such as Carbon Balanced Paper, and now we have the ability to provide the carbon emission figures associated with the production and delivery of paper and print.
However, the common misconception that paper is responsible for mass deforestation remains, which means we’ve either been getting the wrong messages out or not completing the story at all. For me, I think it’s the latter.
Most people know paper is made from trees. Aside from that, the knowledge relating to forestry for paper production is minimal, allowing myths and facts inevitably to merge into misinformation.
Forestry practices are as old as time, but that’s not to say mistakes have not been made along the way. The Forestry Commission has only been in existence since 1919 after the UK’s forestry stock had drastically depleted due to the agricultural, industrial and transport revolutions, rocketing population levels and a number of wars. Print, notably, didn’t contribute to this forestry low point.
The UK is just over 100 years into its restorative programme, whereas other countries blessed with large forestry areas learnt about harvesting and regeneration much sooner, and long before the introduction of the FSC and PEFC schemes.
Today, commercial tree management starts at the nursery, where saplings are cultivated using the latest in science and technology so that they flourish into strong, healthy and resistant tree stocks.
Forest management involves regular coppicing and thinning (also serving as raw materials for pulp manufacture) enabling trees to receive the maximum amount of light to grow tall and straight. Furthermore, certified forest management schemes also require provisions to ensure native wildlife and biodiversity also flourish.
Trees grow through the absorption of atmospheric carbon — a process that stops at maturity. This is when they are harvested (with the stored carbon still retained) and saplings replanted.
Paper accounts for less than 14% of the world’s commercially harvested forestry. Paper pulp comes from the top third to a quarter of a tree, whereas the main part of a harvested tree is converted for timber. Eucalyptus trees are an exception in that they reach maturity within 10-12 years, with the original sapling able to regenerate up to three times. Grown only in specific parts of the world, the entire Eucalyptus tree will be used for paper manufacture.
Commercial forestry is growing in Europe and America, and with the implementation of the EUDR this year, paper (as with all other timber products) will be traceable to its exact geolocations.
So, paper is made from a traceable, sustainable, natural, renewable and managed resource. Hug a tree and celebrate the printed word.
About us
Denmaur has been one of the established names in the print and publishing sectors since 1983. Today, Denmaur Paper Media has become one of the leading specialist paper suppliers in the UK, offering a comprehensive range of innovative and sustainable products to suit traditional and modern print processes.
Email: ddoogan@denmaur.com
LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/danny-doogan-b795195a
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