Antalis has announced the Green Star System, an innovative, easy to understand, environmental classification system that incorporates fundamental information on the origin of the fibre and the manufacturing process. Antalis also launched its ‘Did you know video?’ to counter common misconceptions about paper’s environmental impact.
Paper sourcing and usage is an integral part of a comprehensive Corporate and Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy. By implementing a responsible paper sourcing and usage policy focused on recycled paper or paper produced from sustainable virgin fibre, enterprises can demonstrate their commitment to conducting business responsibly and encourage the development of sustainable forestry. To support companies in their efforts to integrate paper into their CSR policies, Antalis, Europe’s leading paper merchant, has developed its Green Connection Initiative with the Green Star System (GSS) at its core. The GSS attributes a number of stars to each paper product according to its environmental credentials allowing customers to make informed, responsible choices.
The Antalis Green Connection is completely aligned with its parent company Sequana’s global CSR strategy, which has three key objectives:
• Ensure responsible sourcing of the products Antalis sells.
• Ensure Antalis commits to environmental excellence in its everyday business.
• Support Antalis customers in their commitment to green paper and printing.
Hotels, restaurant and theatre reviews and household products are commonly ranked by
consumers on a star-based system. Antalis therefore chose this universally-recognised point of reference as the indicator of the different levels of eco-responsibility for its Green Star System, ranking papers from zero to five green stars. Even those unfamiliar with the growing number of ecological certifications can easily understand the system and identify the most environmentally friendly products.
While the GSS is designed to be accessible to everyone and to simplify the intelligent choice of products with a lower environmental impact, its definition is based on exhaustive information and stringent requirements regarding the origin of the wood fibres and the paper manufacturing process.
• Origin of the fibre: for a product to be eco responsible the wood fibres must either be FSC®/PEFC™ certified or at least 50% recycled from post-consumer waste with the remaining in line with FSC® or PEFC™ standards.
• Manufacturing process: for a product to be defined as eco-responsible, the mills that produce the paper must carry either ISO 14001 certification (based on a framework for the development of an environmental management system and the supporting audit programme) or the EU Ecolabel (lifecycle based approach).
Did you know?
• Paper can be recycled up to seven times without losing any of its original quality.
• A page displayed on a screen for three minutes consumes more energy that the printed equivalent.
• An electronic invoice sent by email releases 242g of CO2, the equivalent of the production and dispatch of 15 paper invoices.
