Welcome
to the Listening Study!
Questions
about environmental printing and writing papers have
proliferated over the past 15 years or more. Arguments
about some of the issues have been intense and often
contentious. On some issues, industry and environmentalists
have become deadlocked and purchasers have become confused
or uncertain about the "right" answers to
guide them in their paper choices. In too many cases,
this has resulted in no progress at all.
What
if, instead, there were a place for everyone to discuss
these issues in a respectful, thoughtful, candid and
objective way? What if each of us were able to step
back, take a deep breath, and listen . . . .
Get a better idea of the whole, multi-faceted complexity
of each issue. Hear what's behind each argument and
understand better why each side holds fast to it.
What
if paper purchasers and environmental paper advocates
could get the benefit of the latest know-how from paper
and equipment manufacturers, printers and other paper
experts - conversations many otherwise have little access
to? What if purchasers and industry representatives
could see the in-depth research and thinking behind
many of the environmental arguments? What if all of
us had a place where we could truly "listen"
to each other without feeling that that jeopardized
our own position?
That
is the purpose of the Listening Study. Questions of
environmental impacts, technology and production are
too big, too complex, and have too many effects on the
larger society to be decided by only one side of an
argument. Rather, and epecially with arguments as rancorous
as many have been within environmental paper issues,
each side generally has a piece of the truth. Success
only results from finding a way to put those pieces
together.
In
order to see what each of these pieces of the truth
is, in order to start putting them together, in order
to find a way to resolve them, we need to lay out all
the different aspects and arguments, with value and
respect for each, so that all of us are on the same
- very large - page. Then we can begin to make sense
of it all and find a way through.
This
website represents an ongoing discussion, with reports
frequently updated, divided into the following categories:
Market
Factors - Paper industry data, distribution,
pricing issues, environmental purchasing campaigns,
performance requirements
Recycled
Content Issues - Recycled content issues,
recovered fiber collection, deinking, impact on forests,
packaging, performance
Chlorine
Free Paper Issues - Types of bleaching
systems and comparisons, environmental and health issues,
terminology, performance
Tree
Free Paper Issues - Comparison of alternative
fibers with environmental impacts, agricultural residues
and on-purpose crops, pulping, application to papermaking,
price issues, recyclability
Sustainable
Forest Issues - Sustainable forestry, old
growth, use in papermaking, benefits of tree fibers,
general and regional impacts of forestry, genetic engineering,
labeling and certification, plantations
Interaction
Between Issues - Optimal content standards,
precedence of environmental attributes, recyclability,
evaluation, certification, labeling, environmental production
processes, investment impacts on decision-making
Conclusions,
Next Steps, Recommendations - When do we
know enough to act, globalization, financial risks and
investments, needed actions
Bibliography
- Listing of all reports, publications, films,
and videos referenced in the Listening Study
We
want and welcome comments, feedback, arguments, observations,
studies, tests, and other information from all concerned
with these issues. Please Join
the Discussion!
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