"No wood from virgin forests"

One in five trees is cut down to produce paper. To protect wood as a natural resource from depletion, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) awards a special label for products manufactured using wood from sustainable forests. For this reason, Volkswagen chose to print the Sustainability Report 2007 on FSC certified paper. Joachim Erb, manager of the printing company Medialogik, explains what this means for his company and our forests.

The FSC certificate is awarded to paper originating from responsibly managed forests. Why did you apply for the certificate in 2003?

For personal reasons: a relative of mine who studied forestry gave me the idea. We had several conversations with FSC and WWF in Germany. Then it became clear: the FSC certification is a rigorous but credible tool for ensuring "safe" material production. FSC certified forests represent a compromise between economic, social and ecological interests and are an example of sustainable business for both the environment and people. The common term "sustainability" often used in this context originally comes from the field of forestry, where it was used as early as the 16th century. In 2003 we were the second printing company in Germany with this certificate. At that time, there were no wholesale dealers and material procurement was extremely difficult. We had to buy the material in small quantities directly from paper factories from all over Europe and transport it to us. The situation has improved considerably. There are now approx.150 printers and wholesale dealers with a FSC certificate in Germany.

How is compliance with the FSC standard guaranteed?

Independent certification companies monitor compliance with FSC standards in annual audits. They carry out checks to ensure that the material flow in our structure is secured and recorded. Our preliminary suppliers are monitored independently from us. If all companies in the process chain have a valid certificate, the products are entitled to hold the FSC label.

Why is the FSC label not yet standard for all products in the printing industry? Is it due to the costs of certified paper?

A large proportion of the raw material used in the pulp industry comes from plantation cultivation. Because forestry is a slow process, it takes years before a harvested plantation field becomes an ecologically valuable forest area again as stipulated in the FSC protocol. As a result, the certified products are not as readily available as material of comparable quality without the certificate. The costs for these products are therefore usually higher. Added to this are the administrative costs. There are, however, also paper factories, which can offer their FSC material at the same price. Despite the relatively high costs, the development over the past two years has been extremely positive. It is highly likely that the FSC label will be unavoidable in the future for environmentally-sensitive products.

The Volkswagen sustainability report holds the "FSC MIX" label. What does this label mean?

"MIX" means that a certain percentage of the print substrate comes from FSC certified forests and the remaining pulp originates from monitored forests. This rules out the use of wood from virgin forests and guarantees that the foresters work in accordance with social and operational safety standards. This means that even if the FSC percentage is relatively low, it is certain that no wood from virgin forests is used.

What other certificates are used in the paper sector? What to these symbols stand for?

The "Blaue Engel" is Germany's most well known label. Unfortunately, the "Blaue Engel" does not completely rule out the use of wood from virgin forests in production. For example, cheap printing paper used for newspapers could be imported from virgin woodlands in Belarus, flow directly into the recycling process without printing, and emerge with the environmental label when the recycling process is complete. FSC International has a recycling label which rules out the use of "pre-consumer material" of this kind. However, the FSC recycling label does not enjoy the same status in Germany as the established "Blaue Engel" label.

The PEFC standard (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes) is a standard established by the wood industry and monitored by independent certification authorities in the same way as FSC. This standard differs from the FSC certification, however, in that it is not monitored by a social, environmental and economic board and does not include the input of environmental organizations.

What are the prospects of the printing and paper industry becoming more sustainable in the future? What direction should the development of the sector take?

There are, of course, factors, which the FSC cannot influence directly. Printing inks free from mineral oil, green electricity, demand-orientated production possibilities, reduction of waste and CO2 emissions are further ways of making the printing industry more sustainable in the future. Paper is a major information source and looks set to remain so way into the future. The most effective form of environmental protection is probably to consider long and hard from an environmental point of view whether a piece of information really needs to be printed. As the manager of a printing company I am torn between two sides in this respect. Or to stick with the forest theme: sawing on the branch you are sitting on holds a number of risks!


Press information on the "papervision“ initiative of the environmental associations