Paper Use
Our paper policy in a nutshell is to reduce, reuse, recycle...
- We use as little paper as possible – we read all emails on screen, only print documents when really necessary, and provide most of our resources and information virtually.
Reducing consumption is a key issue - we reduce consumer demand which reduces production and saves tress, energy, and pollution. Reducing consumption also reduces paper waste and recycling needs.
- What paper we do use is “ocean friendly” – "ocean friendly" paper means more than just recycled, it means recycled paper composed primarily of, oftentimes 100%, post-consumer waste (PCW), and paper that is unbleached or bleached in a chlorine-free process.
Unfortunately most paper labeled “recycled” on the market is actually mainly composed of woods chips and mill scraps; the U.S. Environmental Projection Agency (EPA), for example, only requires paper to contain 30% of PCW to be labeled "recycled". To be beneficial to the forests, landfills, and the environment, however, recycled paper should be composed of 90% - 100% PCW.
Compared to copy paper made from 100% virgin forest fiber, a copy paper made from 100% PCW recycled content reduces:
- total energy consumption by 44%
- net greenhouse gas emissions by 38%
- particulate emissions by 41%
- wastewater by 50%
- solid waste by 49%
- wood use by 100%
(Source: Environmental Defense Paper Calculator and The Green Line Paper Company).
The Ocean Project purchases our paper from The Green Line Paper Company that specializes in green office products and provides 100% PCW and 100% chlorine-free office paper.
- We reuse what we use and recycle what we reuse - Despite all the awareness about recycling, still only about 50% of paper in the US is recycled. At The Ocean Project we do our part; we reuse one-sided paper received or generated by our office to print any in-house documents and recycle all paper that passes through the office.
- For printing our Seas the Day calendars and bookmarks we use Hemlock, a Forest Stewardship Council certified environmentally and socially responsible company based in Canada. By choosing a Canadian based company versus a more distant company we save on transportation related global warming pollution. We invite you to read about Hemlock’s environmental commitment.
Reusing, Recycling, and Composting
We love to find cool ways to reuse as much as possible that passes through our office. For example, we reuse the packaging that came with our Seas the Day products as padding when shipping product orders, and donate the boxes to local schools and artists for re-use in art projects, etc.
We are also active recyclers; in addition to paper waste, we recycle any drink bottles, food cans, and wrappers. We avoid much food waste by bringing packed lunches and using mugs for our water, coffee, and tea.
We also compost leftover food scraps, tea bags and the like that are eventually used as an organic fertilizer in the spring!
Carbon-Light Commuting
We are an office of caring commuters – for the most part we either bike, bus, or carpool to the office and do the same to get around outside office hours. The office just invested in a couple of second-hand bicycles to make sure our summer interns have an option to be caring commuters as well. We also have carbon-less tele-commutes from home occasionally.
Energy Efficiency
We do as much as possible to reduce our electricity and heating needs. We:
- Only turn on lights if we need them and turn them off when leaving the room.
- Power down our computers, monitors, and other office machinery when they’re not in use.
- Insulate our windows in the winter to keep cold air out and heating needs down.
- Take advantage of our slightly below grade office location and use only fans during summer months to keep cool.
- Make do with small energy efficient space heaters to keep us at a comfortable 60 degrees in the winter.
Conscious Consuming
We also take consuming consciously seriously; between the team we plant some of our own food, eat a vegetarian diet, and despite frequent shrimp cravings only stick to sustainable seafood choices. |
