Seeking Responsible Paper Production Worldwide

It is anticipated that by 2013, the global pulp and paper industry will increase new pulp capacity by 25 million tones, an average of five million tones a year. As pulp and paper production rapidly shifts from North America to other parts of the world, South America, Eastern Europe and China are quickly becoming epicenters of global paper production and infrastructure development.

South America and China are the two key global areas of pulp and paper mill expansion. China has historically relied on agricultural fibres as a paper fiber source. Approximately 20% of papers made in China today contain agricultural residues or fibres. Unfortunately new paper infrastructure being built in China is shifting to wood fibre technology due to the influence of western partners and consultants. This shift in fibre sourcing will heavily impact the world's forests and forest dependent communities and species - especially those in Indonesia, Russia, South America and Canada. In South America, the massive growth of mill capacity is completely reliant on wood fibre. This places additional stresses on the forest ecosystems and communities of the Amazon by increasing the pressure to convert intact forest into plantations.

North American publishers now have an important role to play in ensuring that we do not shift our consumption impacts to other areas of the world.

By working with Markets Initiative, North American publishers and printers can exert coordinated pressure on paper companies to develop socially and environmentally responsible facilities in China and South America.