LEAD STORY: Reducing Wood Demand More Crucial Than Ever

FEATURE STORY: Shaking Up the Recycled Paper Market

NEWS BRIEFS
a) The Feds Progress on Green Purchasing
b) Taking Things Apart Becomes Growing Industry
c) Calculating Forest Destruction in Building Products
d) Consuming Mahogany
e) Computer Screens Become Writable
f) Portland Families Conserve Wood in Homes
g) Bush Advocates Buying Recycled
h) Greening the Holidays
i) UK Burns Wood for Power
j) Growing Demand for Wood and Ag Fibers

CAMPAIGNS & EVENTS
green building

RESOURCES & ANNOUNCEMENTS
sustainable design

LEAD STORY
Reducing Wood Demand More Crucial Than Ever

The need to focus on reducing consumer demand for wood products and shifting the markets toward more environmentally benign alternatives such as recycled paper, was underscored recently by President Bush's move to rewrite logging rules for forests in the Pacific Northwest. According to Reuters News Service's November 28, 2002 article, "Bush Pacific NW Timber Plan Draws Fire From Greens," Bush's proposal would overhaul a Clinton-era plan that protected nearly 24 million acres of forests in Washington, Oregon and California -- home to salmon streams. It would remove the mandate that loggers are required to consider the impact of tree removal on endangered fish habitat or area species when a timber sale is proposed. Since forest protections are subject to the whims of new administrations, the safest route for protecting forests is to greatly reduce society's consumption of virgin wood products.

FEATURE STORY
Shaking Up the Recycled Paper Market

November was a promising month for the recycled paper market. Responding to a campaign waged by Forest Ethics, Dogwood Alliance and other environmental organizations, Staples pledged to eliminate its consumption of paper products made from endangered forests and implement other initiatives to "green" its paper supplies. The $11 billion office supply retailer will phase out products made from endangered forests, achieve a minimum average of 30 percent post consumer recycled content across all of its paper products and create an environmental position at the executive level to ensure the company's progress on this commitment. The current average for Staples' 1,100 U.S. stores is less than 10 percent post consumer recycled content, according to "Staples to Phase Out Paper That Puts Forests At Risk" by Chris Reidy in The Boston Globe, November 13, 2002.

Staples Vice Chairman, Joe Vassalluzo, stated that the move would have no negative impact on earnings, calling it "a significant moment for Staples" that is "the right thing to do." The new policy comes on the heels of a campaign that held more than 600 demonstrations at Staples stores throughout the country, organized a massive letter writing campaign to Staples executives and enlisted the rock band R.E.M. to star in a public service announcement supporting the cause. The forest protection policy will be supplemented with a promotion of recycled content products, chain-wide recycling initiatives, energy conservation programs and educational initiatives for customers and employees, according to Reuters News Service's November 15, 2002 article, "Staples Says to Sell Environmental-Friendly Products." As Staples takes the lead among office supply stores for its "green" policies, other chains are expected to follow suit.

A coalition of environmental groups also hosted an Environmental Paper Summit in November which brought together non-profit organizations to discuss ways that they can work together to reduce the environmental impacts of paper production and consumption. The meeting is resulting in a common vision statement that lays out the minimum goals for environmentally and socially sustainable paper production and consumption systems. For more information on this process, see www.conservatree.org.

But, not all news was positive for recycled paper in November. Environmental Defense released a report titled, "Does Your Catalog Care?" revealing that catalog companies continue to overwhelmingly choose virgin over recycled paper. The report found that even companies such as L.L. Bean and Orvis which cater to nature enthusiasts use virgin paper. Of the 74 catalogs surveyed, including Pottery Barn, J.Crew, Williams-Sonoma, J.C. Penney, Bloomingdale's, Spiegel, Eddie Bauer, Lands' End and Victoria's Secret, only Norm Thompson Outfitters, Omaha Steaks and Disney reported using recycled paper throughout the body of their catalogs. The issue is particularly problematic considering the sheer volume of catalogs published and mailed in the United States. In 2001, 17 billion catalogs were mailed to consumers totaling approximately 59 catalogs for every person in the United States. The report states that recycled paper is widely available, competitively priced and offers comparable performance characteristics to virgin alternatives.

NEWS BRIEFS

a) The Feds Progress on Green Purchasing
The White House, specifically the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) and the White House Task Force on Recycling, recently released its fiscal year 2000 and 2001 report to Congress reviewing federal agencies' implementation of the "buy recycled" program established in the 1976 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The report highlights the "green" purchasing activities of the six highest procuring federal agencies plus the Postal Service which voluntarily supplied data, accounting for nearly 90 percent of federal purchasing. The seven agencies together spent more than $397 million on recycled content paper in 2000 and more than $442 million on recycled paper in 2001. Recycled paper accounted for approximately 84 percent of total agency purchases of paper and paper products. The report also noted that the OFPP and the Task Force will be working with USDA and EPA in implementing the "buy biobased" mandate contained in the 2002 Farm Bill. Stimulating the market for agricultural products can help to reduce the market share of wood-based products.

b) Taking Things Apart Becomes Growing Industry
The deconstruction industry, which systematically disassembles facilities in order to reuse and recycle building materials, is on the rise reports In Business magazine in "Deconstruction Industry Grows in the Restoration Economy," September/October 2002 by Marnie McPhee. Deconstructions increased from 50 units in 2000-2001 to 250 units in 2001-2002. Since materials sales average approximately $10,000 per unit, the industry wide sales for 2001-2002 total approximately $2.5 million. An estimated 80-90 percent of construction and demolition (C&D) waste is either reusable or recyclable and C&D waste accounts for more than 25 percent of total waste volumes. Wood materials recovered in these operations include dimensional lumber, windows and doors.

c) Calculating Forest Destruction in Building Products
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Building and Fire Research Laboratory with support from the U.S. EPA Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program have released the newest version of their software tool that compares the environmental preferability of various building products. The new software titled Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability (BEES) 3.0 now incorporates 12 additional environmental impacts into its calculations, including habitat alteration. While this indicator is currently very limited, NIST is working to refine and extend it to the full life cycle, starting with raw materials acquisition impacts including forest destruction. For more information on the software, see www.bfrl.nist.gov/oae/software/bees.html.

d) Consuming Mahogany
The exorbitant and destructive consumption of a particular tree species, such as mahogany, illustrates society's excessive consumption of wood overall. While mahogany conservation has received particular attention in recent years, it may be losing ground under the Bush administration, according to the Mercury News November 2, 2002 article, "U.S. Retreating on Mahogany Limit" by Seth Borenstein. The Bush administration had announced that its position was "neutral" and "undecided" on tightening the trade in big leaf mahogany from Latin America under the worldwide Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. Environmentalists view this move as a huge step backward on mahogany which is particularly plagued by illegal logging. The United States is the largest importer of mahogany, consuming 3.5 million cubic feet in 2000, largely for furniture. The United Nations states that the slow-growing species, which takes 60 years to mature and grows up to 500 feet tall, is losing its already small habitat by 1 percent each year.

e) Computer Screens Become Writable
The latest installation of the electronic paper saga -- the Tablet PC was recently -- released by Microsoft, reported the New York Times on November 7, 2002 in "Tablets Mightier Than the Keyboard?" by David Pogue. It is the latest iteration of an idea that would enable computer users to write directly on the screen of a PC with a plastic-tipped pen. Other companies, including Compaq, Acer, Toshiba and Fujitsu are producing and selling similar models. While previous attempts at this technology have been a flop, largely due to problems with handwriting recognition, computer manufacturers are hedging their bets this time around by combining the writable screen with the addition of a keyboard. The keyboards are either detachable or the monitor can be rotated so that the keyboard can be folded underneath. Although the technology still has a long way to go to replace paper, some newer innovations should make it more useful. For instance, Windows Journal displays a photorealistic picture of lined writing paper to be written. After taking notes, the user can cut and paste blocks of words around, delete them and format them in bold or colors. The hand-written document can also be searched for words, even ones that have been written sideways in the margin or upside-down. Despite these advances, many obstacles still exist should users want to share their handwritten notes with others.

f) Portland Families Conserve Wood in Homes
The City of Portland's Green Building Division - G/Rated has been consistently advancing green building techniques. Their Fall/Winter newsletter Green City, details case studies of families undertaking green building renovation or construction. One example includes a kitchen that was renovated by maintaining existing cabinet cases and used salvaged wood for doors and drawers. Another example minimizes a new house's square footage (1600 square feet compared to the average 2150 square feet used in new home construction), thereby minimizing the amount of materials used. These case studies included other "forest-friendly" features such as wheat-based medium density fiberboard and certified wood flooring.

g) Bush Advocates Buying Recycled
President Bush released a proclamation on November 14, 2002 which establishes America Recycles Day on November 15. Among the many recycling issues touched on in the proclamation, the statement called for a greater procurement of recycled products. In addition to highlighting government "buy recycled" efforts, the proclamation encouraged American consumers to also purchase recycled products, thereby contributing to a recycling and reuse industry that provides approximately 1.4 million jobs in the United States.

h) Greening the Holidays
For those individuals that must consume for the holidays, California's Department of Conservation has released a Green Holiday Guide at http://www.bottlesandcans.com/. The nationally circulated guide provides photos, suppliers and other information on easy-to-find environmentally conscious gifts. The guide includes a wide variety of products made from recycled materials. A copy of the guide is available at www.bottlesandcans.com.

i) UK Burns Wood for Power
The United Kingdom utility company, Powergen announced that it is applying for permission to test the burning of wood or vegetable material mixed with coal in one of its power stations from November 2002 to March 2003, reported Reuters News Service on November 21, 2002 in "UK Powergen to Burn Wood at Coal Power Plant." The burning of the wood would actually allow the utility to claim valuable green certificates, because the wood is perceived as a renewable energy source. Any attempts to use wood as an industrial fuel source will lead to increased consumption of wood and increased pressure on forests.

j) Growing Demand for Wood and Ag Fibers
Demand for both wood and other natural fiber biocomposites is continuing to see phenomenal growth in demand, according to a new Principia Partners study, reported AgFiber Technology News in its November 25, 2002 issue. Demand for these products in Western Europe and North America will reach 1.3 billion pounds, valued at approximately $900 million, by the end of this year -- an increase of nearly 20 percent over 2001. While wood is a huge component of this market, flax, hemp and kenaf are also significant. For more information on agricultural fibers, see www.agfibertechnology.com.

CAMPAIGNS & EVENTS

Registration is open for Greenprints 2003 in Atlanta, GA put on by Southface Energy Institute. For more information, see www.greenprints.org.

RESOURCES & ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Oak Hill Fund, one of the foundations created after the break up of the W. Alton Jones Foundation, is seeking grant applicants for its Sustainable Affordable Design Program.