Paper and
printing

Commentary

Background Global paper demand - the single largest use of wood fibre - has increased five-fold since the 1950s, and is expected to double again over the next 50 years.i Printing is the UK's sixth largest manufacturing industry, but has the lowest take up of environmental policies of any major business sector.ii CFS aims to use an increasing proportion of recycled and totally chlorine-free paper.iii Where virgin paper is used, Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) certified sources will be prioritised. In 2003, CFS devised a list of challenging objectives, which it considers to be both SMART and consistent with The Natural Step. Follow this link for details of SMART objectives. These are to phase out OSPAR chemicals, increase the use of vegetable oil-based inks, and reduce water use by adopting waterless print processes. Details of OSPAR chemicals can be found here.

Context The bank has monitored paper consumption across a broad range of areas since 1997. CIS' accounting systems began in 2000, but were restricted to in-house print operations. As presented below,  all printing activity for CIS is now accounted for, including third-party commissions (such as marketing and sales literature). This has resulted in a substantial increase in CIS' declared paper consumption.

Paper volume - Bank Compared with 2002, paper purchased per customer account has increased substantially (27%) predominantly due to increased cross-sales activity, which now accounts for 226 tonnes of paper. Less acceptably, printer and copier paper use has increased by more than 50 tonnes during 2003 (a 73% increase since 1998); it is evident that measures to reduce the number of printed copies of electronic messages have not succeeded. The planned introduction of double sided print and copy facilities across CFS has not yet contributed to a reduction in paper use; in part, due to a delay in connecting multi-function devices to the network. In 2004, CFS will recommit to this target, and seek to improve access to, and awareness of, facilities such as double sided printing and electronic data storage.
Paper volume - CIS CIS' accounting systems have now been extended to capture total paper use. This results in a significant increase in declared paper consumption and makes year-on-year analysis difficult.

Paper type - Bank The proportion of totally chlorine-free paper used by the bank decreased by 6.7% during 2003. Recycled paper use fell by 5.2%, and use of 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper decreased by 3.9%. These negative developments principally followed from the increased usage of ecologically-poor quality papers in marketing literature. More positively, during 2003, cheque and paying-in books for all products switched to paper with a minimum of 33% recycled content.
Paper type - CIS During 2003, accounting systems were established for the use of totally chlorine-free paper, paper with a recycled content and 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper. There is significant room for improvement in the use of ecologically-sound paper at CIS. This will be addressed as a priority.

Printing 88% of all paper use is associated with external printing contracts, the vast majority of which utilise a lithographic process. In a first for CFS, the 2003 Sustainability Report and the CIS and bank Financial Statements have been printed using vegetable oil-based inks. Research conducted by the bank (in respect of third party printing) and by CIS (in respect of in-house printing) has highlighted a lack of accurate product composition information in records held by printing suppliers. This has caused significant difficulties when seeking to identify the presence of toxic substances. CFS will continue working with ink and varnish producers to identify toxic substances for priority phase-out during 2004.

Toner cartridges There has been a reduction in remanufactured toner cartridge use at the bank. This has resulted from a combination of product failure (toner leakage) and restricted product availability. CFS is working with Cygma Manufacturing Limited, a supplier of remanufactured cartridges, to resolve this issue.  Historically, CIS monitored the purchase of remanufactured toner cartridges only. This year, the accounting system has been extended to capture the total number of toner cartridges purchased. During 2003, purchase of remanufactured toner cartridges at CIS decreased by 12%.

 By comparison, according to their Sustainability Report 2002, at Credit Suisse Group, paper consumption per employee is 191 kg (cf. 314 kg across CFS). The Credit Suisse Group Report does not mention printing.

Sustainability value analysis

• Additional annual cost associated with utilisation of preferred ecologically-sound paper across CFS, £61,000.
• Annualised saving resulting from switch to remanufactured toner cartridges across CFS, £121,400.

Influence and action

Direct mail During a meeting with Elliot Morley MP, UK Environment Minister, in September 2003, CFS expressed support for a new Code of Conduct for Direct Mail. The Code aims to tackle resource use, recycling, and the removal of toxic substances from direct mailings.iv

i Forests For Life (2001). WWF.
ii Green Futures (January/February 2002).
iii www.cfs.co.uk/sustainability2003/paper
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iv www.dma.org.uk/environment
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