I recently had the opportunity to make a presentation to attendees of the RISI North American Forest Products Conference about the current upswing in ENGO (environmental non-governmental organization) activist campaigning. Thought I might share the wealth.  Though frequently dismissed as “treehuggers” by many in forest-products-related industries, ENGOs tend to consist of dedicated grassroots members led by some very intelligent, very well-spoken, and very strategic leaders, many of them holding law degrees. They are a force that is not to be trifled with, as the saying goes. Here's why. There are some 450 ENGOs in North America that are focused in one way or another on forests and paper. They can be classified into four broad categories: Policy Influencers; Conservationists; Consumer and Business Educators; and Change Agents. According to a report developed by W. Robert Beer, in calendar 2008 the top 45 of these ENGOs reported combined assets of some $6.75 billion and combined revenues of roughly $2.16 billion. It is interesting to note that revenues for the “Change Agents” were on the rise in 2008, while revenues for the more mainstream “Policy Influencers” and “Conservationists” declined from 2007. Clearly, the activists have momentum. There are several ongoing ENGO campaigns that could impact printers who provide services to brands in the public eye, and all of these focus on the sourcing of paper. Here are some notes on three of the most active. (Note that this discussion is provided for informational purposes, and that this reporter is making no judgments as to the merits of any of the campaigns no on any of the campaign allegations. I simply think it is better to know what may be in the swamp before setting foot in it.)  

ENGOs v Sinar Mas/APP: In recent weeks, there has been a constant stream of press about a campaign being waged by Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, RAN and others over the forest practices in Indonesia of the pulp, palm oil, and banking conglomerate Sinar Mas (which supplies fiber for APPpaper). A variety of damning studies have been released, and these have been responded to through attempts to discredit the research and researchers. The campaigners are hoping that public attention focused on brands that use paper made from Sinar Mas fiber will result in those brands changing their supply source, and, to some extent this is happening. Expect that this campaign will continue on a global scale into the future.

ENGO v KFC: The North Carolina based ENGO, Dogwood Alliance, continues to wage its campaign to change the paper-sourcing practices of fast-food brand KFC. Now roughly six months old, the “Kentucky Fried Forests” campaign is pressing for the Yum! Brands company to shift its sourcing away from International Paper, which Dogwood has condemned for its industrial scale plantation practices in the US South. (Dogwood also is participating in a lawsuit to block the USDA’s granting of permission to ArborGen to conduct field-trials of genetically engineered eucalyptus in seven Southern states.) Expect the Kentucky Fried Forests campaign to escalate over the next 12 months, with higher-profile protests and more heated rhetoric in the press.

ENGO v SFI: ForestEthics, a small but particularly scrappy ENGO based on the West Coast, is waging war on paper procurement on two fronts. On the first, ForestEthics is targeting six financial and insurance companies that are among the country’s largest direct-mailers: American Express, Chase, Bank of America, Capital One, Discover, and Geico. In addition to calling on them to reduce their overall consumption of paper, to use a greater percentage of high-post-consumer recycled paper, and to avoid fiber from threatened forests, ForestEthics also is demanding that they eschew SFI-certified paper. The ENGO, which has filed a complaint with the FTC against SFI, maintains that the certification system is “greenwashing.” According to ForestEthic's AAron Sanger, "SFI is spending millions of dollars to market business as usual environmental destruction as 'green'."

A similar “no-SFI” campaign has been launched within the Fortune 500 community of companies. This engagement began with a letter to Fortune 500 CEOs that says, in part, that “a consumer education campaign is underway that could create negative publicity for any company associated with SFI.”That ForestEthics has begun escalating its campaign against SFI is evident in its recent “Green Grades” report card on the office supply industry that includes “SFI Greenwash” as one of its factors, alongside “Controversial Sources,” “Endangered Forests,” “Recycling & Reduction,” and “FSC Certification.”

What does any of this mean to you as an ink-on-paper printer? Possibly nothing. But if you have among your clients brands that are high profile or that are concerned about staying below the radar screen of environmental activism, its good to be aware of what is transpiring on the battlefield for public opinion about paper. By reading the ENGO’s websites, as well as industry sites and sources, you can stay abreast of the issues, ahead of the game, and can provide valuable counsel to your customers when they inevitably ask that “What should we do?” question. I'm hoping that some of those targeted by the ENGOs will post brief comments.