Can Paper Be Eco-friendly? This Label Says Yes

Forests are key to the survival of human, animal, and plant life around the world. According to the United Nations Climate Summit’s Declaration on Forests, forests support approximately 80 percent of the planet’s biodiversity, helping provide clean air and combatting climate change by absorbing carbon in the atmosphere. Today more than 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their food, water, fuel, medicines, and livelihoods.

Yet each year, an average of 32 million acres of forest disappear due to deforestation, drought, manmade actions, and other natural occurrences. Reducing this loss takes a concerted effort by individuals, businesses, and governments.

HP has joined with International Paper, Kimberly-Clark, McDonald’s, Procter & Gamble, and Williams-Sonoma, Inc., on a new campaign designed to encourage consumers to purchase products bearing the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) label. This label signifies that the forest a product comes from was managed responsibly.

According to FSC, because all of the companies share a commitment to responsible forest management, they were willing to collaborate on the initiative. “These companies know that to meet customer expectations about sustainability, sometimes you have to put competition aside and do what’s right for the planet,” said Corey Brinkema, president of the FSC US. “We also know that forest conservation can be good for the bottom line, especially when it demonstrates good corporate citizenship.”

A Commitment to Sustainable Forestry
Like the other companies supporting this campaign, HP already sells FSC-certified products. In 2015, HP achieved its public forestry goal of using at least 50 percent FSC-certified fiber in HP brand paper products.

And in June 2016, HP announced a commitment to achieve zero deforestation by 2020. This means that all HP brand paper and paper-based product packaging will be derived from certified and recycled sources by 2020, with a preference for virgin fiber from certified sources of the FSC.

HP explores innovative ways to address its packaging needs by reducing packaging material use in each new product, designing packaging for reuse, replacing hard-to-recycle materials, and increasing the use of recycled content. For example, in 2015, Hewlett-Packard Company continued to collaborate with North American suppliers on a recycled pallet program, avoiding the use of 665,000 new pallets and saving 30.7 million board feet of lumber since 2012.

“Climate change is the most challenging environmental issue of our lifetime,” said Nate Hurst, HP’s Chief Sustainability & Social Impact Officer. “HP is committed to being an environmental steward; therefore, we continue to measure and reduce the impact of our products, operations, and supply chain activities.”