Paper Usage
Our aspiration is to align our paper purchasing with our stewardship ethic, and work with our paper suppliers and the industry to help accelerate the adoption of sustainable forestry practices. In 2006 we worked with a stakeholder group representing the paper industry, non-profits and others to develop our responsible paper purchasing policy and action plan. The program has six parts and the report shows our annual results in each section.
2007 Estimated Paper Usage
Paper Usage (Tons)
Highlights
Our most important goal is to know the fiber sources of all the paper we purchase. Although it is difficult, we attempt to follow the "chain of custody" from the forest to our point of purchase. In 2007 we reduced the "unknown" from 20 percent in 2006 to only 10.8 percent. Our best assurance that the chain of custody is trustworthy is to purchase paper products certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)©. This percentage increased to 16.8 percent.
Challenges
Our total tonnage of paper purchased increased by 16.7 percent in 2007 compared to 2006. Often renewable paper can be a better materials choice so increased use is not necessarily a downside. However, we want to understand what is driving the increase and be confident we're making the best choices.
One increase came from the need to purchase a large quantity of shipping boxes to stock our new distribution center. However, our largest increase came from using more paper in our direct mail and catalog operations.
Looking Forward
As we look ahead, we plan to increase our purchase of responsibly harvested and processed paper. This means that we will work closely with our suppliers to assure the paper's chain of custody and the paper's source.
We are also working closely with the Paper Working Group, organized by the non-profit organization Metafore as an early adopter of the Environmental Paper Assessment Tool, or EPAT, which helps businesses like ours make more environmentally responsible choices when it comes to purchasing paper.
A: Paper efficiency metrics
The first section of our paper policy requires that we track the use of paper relative to our annual sales growth. Our objective is to ensure that company decision makers are accountable for making conscious choices about our use of paper. While we believe that paper from well-managed sources is a renewable natural rescore and is therefore often a better choice than a non-renewable material, we still need to be intentional about our decisions.
One of the most important ways we address this issue is in the management of our direct mail efforts. We send members and customer catalogs and other printed materials - such as our annual member dividend statement. We actively minimize unwanted mailings, including efforts to eliminate list duplication, incorrect addresses, etc. We are also a participant with Catalog Choice, which is endorsed by the National Wildlife Federation and Natural Resources Defense Council. The free consumer service helps minimize unwanted mailings.
Other efforts include testing innovative lighter weight paper options that deliver the same look, feel and print efficiency has heavier paper, but actually weigh less due to the way the paper is made. In addition to aligning with our commitment to efficient paper use, these efforts directly drive financial performance because of postage and production costs.
Paper Efficiency
B. Chain of Custody
The first step in securing quality sources of fiber is to work with suppliers that can track the origin of the fiber back to the forest. This is difficult because the paper industry considers paper fiber and pulp as commodities. As a result, they are frequently blended together. Having a clear "chain of custody" is a new requirement for many industry participants. FSC certification assures that not only is the chain of custody known, but it is audited and verified by a third party.
Chain of Custody Goals
C: Sources of Fiber
Once the chain of custody can be established, we can use our purchasing preference to avoid unsustainable harvesting and sources. It may seem counterintuitive at first, but learning that fiber comes from an unwanted source can be a good step. Having the transparency and the trust of our suppliers to identify possibly unwanted fiber is a necessary part of working with the supply chain to support changes.
Source of Fiber Goals
D: Environmental Performance
Beyond the methods and locations of harvesting, the paper, pulp, printing and processing industries can represent many environmental challenges. In order to encourage beyond compliance performance within the supply chain, we are partnering with the Paper Working Group and Metafore as an early adopter for the Environmentally Preferred Paper Assessment (EPAT) tool. In 2007 we worked with EPAT 1.0 and provided feedback regarding improvements. In 2008 we will deploy EPAT 2.0.
E: Commitment to Recycling
As part of our waste reduction efforts and our commitment to sustainable paper, we aspire to recycle at least 75 percent of all the paper used in our operations by 2009. In 2007 we started to develop methods of capturing data. Currently we recover about 80 percent of all waste (by weight) with a majority of our recycling being corrugated cardboard. In the coming year we hope to have better metrics in place to report more clearly on this goal.
F: Reporting: Our paper policy requires that we make public an annual report with the above sections.
Methodology
Defining Chain of Custody
Chain of Custody — The linked set of companies or entities that have held legal ownership or physical control of a given paper product between the point of harvest and the point of purchase by REI.
Known, but not certified — The chain of custody will be deemed "known" if each supplier from fiber source to REI is under contractual obligation and is able to disclose proof of their source including purchase agreements, inventory records, etc., sufficient to demonstrate that the product purchased by REI can be followed through each step of the supply chain back to the source. In addition, this chain of documentation is subject to audit by REI or its designated auditor. A certificate of conformance should accompany each delivery of material from the supplier attesting to the source. Chain of custody certification under certification programs such as those recognized by Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes will be sufficient to meet this requirement.
Certified — The chain of custody will be deemed "certified" if each party in the supply chain has received certification by FSC or a system deemed equivalent.
Definitions:
Undesirable — Paper and wood fiber that is the product of illegal logging or is obtained from controversial sources in areas that: contribute to human rights violations, drive armed conflict from timber operations, actively convert natural forests to plantations or non-forest uses, or use timber from genetically modified trees or sourced from high conservation value forests (HCVF), unless the source is certified under a credible certification program such as FSC.
Acceptable — Acceptable sources of fiber are those that are not undesirable sources, although they have not been formally certified.
Certified — Sources that have received certification by FSC are automatically considered to come from acceptable sources.
