It seems that the carbon footprint of everything we use, from transportation to every-day products, is increasingly coming under scrutiny. With rising concern about extreme weather events all around the world that are symptomatic of climate change, not to mention shrinking glaciers and rising sea levels, it’s only natural that we increase our awareness of the impact of the choices we make.

If your business relies on the use of paper, it’s useful to you and your customers to understand the carbon footprint of your paper. Paper suppliers that furnish data to EPAT can provide not only the overall carbon footprint (greenhouse gas or GHG emissions), but also to break it down into the three scopes of GHG:

Scope 1 emissions cover emissions from sources that an organization owns or controls directly. The most common emissions from a paper mill are due to combustion of fuels on site to produce steam for drying paper. Paper mills often have access to wood waste such as bark and sawdust, which are considered renewable energy sources and their CO2 emissions are not considered to be GHG because the carbon has been stored in trees for a very short length of time on the geological scale, whereas fossil fuel combustion adds carbon to the atmosphere that has been stored underground for millions of years.

Scope 2 emissions come from purchased energy. In a paper mill this is typically electricity or steam. The carbon footprint of electricity generation in the area where the paper mill is located has a large effect on Scope 2 emissions.

Scope 3 emissions represent all other emissions up and down the value chain. Examples from upstream of a paper mill would be the energy used to harvest wood, produce chemicals, and transport raw materials to the mill. Examples downstream would include transportation to the customer as well as emissions from usage and final disposal. Since some of this relies on assumptions, Scope 3 emissions can only be approximated.

EPAT also gives paper suppliers the opportunity to describe their GHG reduction efforts. This not only allows customers to understand better the actions of paper suppliers toward this goal but could open the door to collaborative efforts. For example, transportation by rail typically has lower GHG emissions than transportation by truck, but this requires larger orders or strategic use of conveniently located warehouses.

We all need to get on board with GHG reduction to save our planet from global warming. EPAT members share over 25 key environmental performance indicators between paper suppliers and customers that allow benchmarking of supplier performance. Information on carbon footprint is just one important aspect.

www.epat.org