Background
The Treatise on Responsible Paper Use is an
industry-developed agreement which defines shared goals for
improving the environmental impacts associated with the book
industry's average consumption of over one million tons of paper
each year. The Treatise was developed with the perspective and
participation of over 25 stakeholders over a six-month
period—including publishers large and small, book printers,
paper companies, and merchants.
Leadership Council
A Leadership Council is guiding the Treatise
implementation process and will oversee future content
revisions.
The current Council consists of:
Participation by others is welcomed. Purpose: Setting a Standard and Building Collaboration
The Book Industry Treatise is one of the
first sector-wide holistic agreements on paper and publishing.
However its goals are grounded in existing precedents such as:
Given the wide spectrum of perspectives on
the issues, the Treatise is designed to establish shared goals
and standards which can unify varying policies and advance
consistency and collaboration.
Addressing Global Warming and Conserving Resources
Specifically, the Treatise calls for
increasing the industry's average use of recycled fiber from 5%
now to 30% by 2011. When realized, this will conserve 524
million pounds of greenhouse gases-equivalent to keeping 45,818
cars off the road each year. In addition, this shift will save
the equivalent of 4.9 million trees, 2.1 billion gallons of
water, and 264 million pounds of solid waste each year. [Paper
Calculator-Environmental Defense]
Protecting Forests and People
The Treatise also sets goals for ensuring
that identified Endangered Forests in regions such as the
Canadian Boreal, U.S. Southeast and Indonesia are protected,
that conversion of natural forests to plantations does not take
place, and that concerns of local and indigenous communities are
adequately addressed.
Endorsing the Treatise: What Does it Mean?
Endorsing the Treatise is based on good faith
and is non-binding. For paper users and producers, an
endorsement signifies the intent to develop and implement
internal goals and/or policies consistent with the Treatise and
to work in collaboration. For other industry stakeholders [book
sellers, authors, associations, etc.], an endorsement shows
support for the Treatise and its signatories.
What Can the Treatise Accomplish?
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Improved dialog and collaborations between
paper-users and paper producers and suppliers.
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Continued development of infrastructure and
new papers with strong environmental attributes.
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More demand and associated lower costs for
environmentally responsible papers.
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A mechanism for identifying companies that
are committed environmental leaders.
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Risk avoidance [reduces the likelihood of
being targeted by market pressure groups].
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