'Globe and Mail' Commits to Responsible Paper Procurement

By: E&P Staff The Globe and Mail has announced a procurement policy for newsprint and other papers that requires its suppliers to be environmentally responsible.

"The Globe's policy commits to practices that will eliminate the use of papers derived from high-conservation-value forests, supporting key environmental and climate impacts in the newspaper publishing sector," Globe and Mail Publisher and CEO Phillip Crawley said in announcing the policy. "We're proud to be at the forefront in our industry in helping to safeguard and protect the world and Canada's forests and climate."

The policy commits the national newspaper paper to reduce its use of fiber from ancient and endangered forests (such as Canadian boreal forests, temperate rainforests of North and South America, and tropical rainforests of Indonesia and the Amazon), progressively maximize recycled content in all its papers by working with suppliers to establish interval benchmarks for post-consumer recycled content, support a preference for virgin wood fiber certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, encourage suppliers to eliminate production of persistent organic pollutants or chlorine bleach, explore use of non-wood agricultural residues, and implement and expand internal processes that reduce paper use and maximize paper recycling.

A division of CTVglobemedia, which owns broadcaster CTV Inc., the Globe and Mail has established an internal "green team" of staffers from various departments to help implement all elements of this policy.

"Now, more than ever, newspapers need to show environmental leadership and innovation," Canopy founder and Executive Director Nicole Rycroft said in a statement. "As the first major North American daily national newspaper to develop an Ancient Forest Friendly policy, The Globe is showing how it's done."

North American environmental publishing advocate Canopy (formerly Markets Initiative) works to safeguard forests, species and the climate by reducing the carbon footprints and biodiversity impacts of the publishing, printing and paper industries.