forest ethics green grades 2011

8/2/2019 Forest Ethics Green Grades 2011

1/6

Green Gr desA+

Class:

Credit Card, Insurance, and Telecom SectorsAmerican Express, AT&T, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase,

Term:ForestEthicsTeaCher: 2011PuPils:

Discover, GEICO, Sprint, State Farm, Travelers, USAA, Verizon

When you apply or a new credit card, shop or car insurance or sign upor a cell phone plan, youre probably looking or a air deal and goodservice. But, one thing youre likely not expecting to get withthe deal is orest destruction.

Unortunately, thats oten what we get. Companies that oercredit card, insurance and mobile communication serviceshave a major impact on North Americas endangered orests.

Forests clean our air and water, provide lie-saving medicine, serve as ahome to innumerable species and sustain human communities. Theyresimply too valuable to waste on unwanted oers that arrive in ourmailboxes and other excessive paper use.

Thisyears Green Grades reporT

CardexaminesThepaperpraCTiCesofadozen forTune 500 CompaniesThaTConsumevasTamounTsofpaper.

ForestEthics analysis reveals that several major companiesall ar short o using best environmental practices in theirpaper buying. Because these companies consume so much paperoreverything rom direct mail solicitations to customer billing to internalcompany communicationstheir environmental ootprint extends deepinto orests. And since these companies represent some o the loggingand paper industrys largest customers, their choices can uniquelyinuence the protectionor destructiono the worlds endangeredorests.

Our analysis also shows some companies improving theirenvironmental leadership on paper issues. By reducingconsumption, maximizing recycled content and utilizing only crediblecertifcation or non-recycled fber, these corporations are positioningthemselves well to respond the increased demand or legitimately greenproducts and services.

Choose your own paper wiselyWhether youre buying paper or a Fortune500 company or your childs frst day o school,environmentally and socially responsible paper usebegins with three essential steps:

1) Minimizing overall paperuse.

2) Maximizing the post-consumer recycled contentin paper.

3) Choosing paper thatis certifed by the ForestStewardship Council (FSC)and ree o fber romendangered orests orother controversial sources.

a rePorT Card on:

sinCeThereleaseof foresTeThiCsand doGwood

allianCesfirsT Green Grades reporT Cardin

2007, someofTheworldsmosTwell-knownoffiCe

supplyreTailersandlarGesTdisTribuTorshave

madebiGenvironmenTalCommiTmenTsThaThelp

proTeCTforesTs.seeThefinalpaGeofThisreporT

forupdaTesonTheoffiCesupplyandserviCes

seCTorsinCelasTyears Green Grades.

ForestEthics ollows the corporate paper trail.Some paper trails lead to orest destruction. Others do not.


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Gr dinG CriTeriaA+

howwe used our red markerTo create this report, ForestEthics reviewed the policies and practices oa dozen large U.S. companies that utilize signicant amounts o paper

or direct mail marketing, internal oce use and communication withcustomers. Twelve companies in the credit card, insurance and telecommunicationssectors received and were asked to respond to a detailed survey about their paperpolicies and practices.

Based on survey results, other data that is publicly available, and each companysresponse to our detailed suggestions or improving its paper practices, we assignedeach company an overall grade based on grades in key categories. The ollowing our

categories* were most heavily weighted in the assignment o grades:

Forest stewardship CounCil (FsC) CertiFiCation

sustainable Forestryinitiative (sFi) Greenwash

reCyCled paper

reduCtion

*In addition, we considered companies responses in the categories of Endangered Forest Policy & Action,

Plantation Conversion & Other Controversial Sources, and Other Forest Ecosystem Conservation Leadership

Glossaryof Terms

Forest stewardship CounCil (FsC) CertiFiCation: Even in 2011, the vast majority o paper is produced using fber coming

directly rom trees. ForestEthics and other leading environmental groups recognize the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) as the only eco-labelthat gives credible assurance that the trees providing fber or paper were grown and harvested using environmentally responsible methods. FSC

standards help maintain a natural diversity o plant and wildlie species, minimize chemicals and water quality impacts, protect endangered areas,

and respect indigenous peoples rights. ForestEthics encourages companies to state a clear preerence or FSC in their paper purchasing policies

and utilize FSC certifed products or paper containing non-recycled fber.

sustainable Forestryinitiative (sFi) Greenwash:The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) was created by the timber industry

to greenwash business-as-usual logging and other controversial and unsustainable practices. SFIs inadequate orest management standards have

resulted in the certifcation o logging that threatens wildlie, creates large clearcuts, and relies on widespread toxic chemical use. Companies

wishing to demonstrate their environmental credibility are advised to avoid the SFI logo and nameand the greenwashing o orest destruction it

represents. The same goes or the Programme or the Endorsement o Forest Certifcation (PEFC), which endorses the SFI.

reCyCled paper:Post-consumer recycled (PCR) paper embodies a range o environmental benefts. First among them: avoiding impacts onorest ecosystems. PCR paper also requires less energy and water in the production phase. And fnding new lie or old fbers keeps used paper out

o the landfll where it would release methane (a greenhouse gas 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide) as it decomposed. ForestEthics urges

companies to maximize the percentage o post-consumer fber in all types and grades o paper they use, utilizing at least 30% PCR or all paper

including printing and writing papers.

reduCtion:Reducing overall paper consumption is the cornerstone o any environmentally responsible paper policy, and is the most efcientand eective way or a company to reduce its environmental ootprint associated with paper. O course, reducing paper consumption also helps

companies reduce costs. Leading companies like Sprint have set aggressive goals to reduce paper consumption using a variety o techniquesrom

lessening their reliance on paper-intensive direct mail marketing to shrinking the size and weight o the papers they use.

What it really comes down to is:

How orest-riendly are acompanys paper practices?


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overall Gr des

ComPany

name

overall

GradeTeaChers noTes

sPrinT AEvery class has its star pupil, and Sprint is the clear sustainable paper leaderin this group. With a robust paper reduction goal and a strengthened FSCpreerence, its top grade is well-earned.

Bankof

ameriCa

C+

Bank o Americas paper policy shows respect or endangered orests. Itspaper reduction target is solid. Clariying its FSC preerence and droppingSFIs greenwash certifcation label would bring it up a notch

CaPiTal

one C+Capital Ones paper policy eatures an FSC preerence and shuns paperrom valuable intact orests. But dropping SFI rom its policy and setting ameasurable paper reduction goal would help do more or orests.

aT&T C+With a new paper policy in the works,AT&T has already committed to makean FSC purchase preerence and avoid SFI greenwash. Good steps or thetelecom giant.

usaa C+We understand United Services Automobile Association (USAA) istaking steps to avoid promoting the SFI. It is also boosting FSC use in directmail paper, but more is needed on paper reduction and recycled content.

disCover

CDiscover just adopted its frst paper procurement policyand it has a clearpreerence or FSC. Now Discover should add detailed goals or other key

criteria, such as recycled fber and reduction.

sTaTe farm C-State Farm is embracing an FSC preerence and dropping SFI rom its roadatlas. Now it can be a good neighbor to orests by raising the bar orrecycled paper and reducing consumption in its upcoming paper policy revision.

verizon C-Verizon has some positive paper reduction practices and has steered clearo SFI greenwash. It can advance beyond average by setting measurabletargets around FSC and recycled content.

ameriCan

exPress

D+

While American Express uses a air amount o FSC paper, the companyutilizes an embarrassingly small percentage o recycled fber and lacks trans-parency in its paper policies and goals.

Chase D+Financial giant Chase uses a gargantuan amount o paper, mostly or junkmail. Though they use some FSC paper, Chase should go on a paperconsumption diet and avoid the SFI greenwash trap.

GEICO FGEICOs amous gecko may be green, but the companys paper practices areanything but. This notorious junk mailer ailed to return our survey and hasno apparent paper policy. Its acting like a cave man on paper.

Travelers FTravelers, one o Americas major insurance companies, appears to behiding behind its giant red umbrella. Simple math: No survey response + publicsilence on its paper practices = Failure. What did orests ever do to them?

A+

This years Green Grades Report Card examines the paper practices o a dozen Fortune 500 companiesthat consume vast amounts o paper. Here youll fnd which major companies are taking responsibilityor their orest impactand which companies are lagging behind.

GOLDSTAR

Needswork...

FLUNK!

More

effortrequired.

Ugh.

Stillroom toimprove..

The rePorT Card


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sPrinT

ComPany Gr desA+

ABeyond its already strong policy and impressive transparencyaround paper practices,Sprint is now committing itsel to:1) shiting its billing statements paper rom SFI to FSC; 2) phasingout use o the SFI logo on billing envelopes; and 3) amending itspaper procurement policy to avoid fber rom endangered orestsand setting a goal o purchasing 90% FSC paper by 2012, and100% by 2017. Sprint has embraced paper sustainability, and is atrue leader in this class.

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ConTenTreduCTion

A+ A- B+ A+

PerformanCe indexThese individual report cards show the grades we assigned to each company in our four key criteria and give more

information on whether or not they have adopted forest-friendly paper policies and practices.

Bankof ameriCa C+Bank o Americas paper policy requires avoidance o papersourced rom high conservation value orests or orests convertedto plantations. Thats good. And, the bank is pursuing aggressivenumerical goals or paper reduction that give it an edge over creditcard competitors like Capital One. But because Bank o Americahas not stated a clear preerence or FSC and continues to misleadconsumers by putting the controversial SFI certifcation on the samelevel with FSC, it is losing an opportunity to strengthen its brand.

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sfi

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D+ C B- A-

CaPiTal one C+Among the fnancial institutions in this survey,Capital One hasa very clear opportunity to become the best perormer. Thatsbecause the companys paper policy states a clear purchasingpreerence or FSC certifed paper, respects high conservationvalue orests and articulates a decent near-term recycled paper

goal o 10% PCR paper by the end o 2011. But Capital One stillneeds to add numeric metrics to its paper reduction goal anddelete any endorsement o the SFI in its policies or materials.

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sfi

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ConTenTreduCTion

A- C- B C-

aT&T C+Although AT&T is playing catch up, the company plans to launcha new paper procurement policy by October 2011. Even beorethat policy is fnalized, AT&T has made some key environmentalcommitments: the company will give purchasing preerence toFSC certifed products or all new paper purchases and will avoid

using the SFI logo and name in its materials. I AT&T enhances itspolicy with measureable, time-bound goals or recycled contentand reduction, it could be a leader.

fsC

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sfi

Greenwash

reCyCled

ConTenTreduCTion

B+ A- C- C

usaa C+United Services Automobile Association (USAA) is still

working to fnalize company-wide paper purchasing guidelines.But we understand this insurance company is taking importantsteps to avoid promoting the SFI. And the company is makingsome advances with its direct mail paper by setting a minimumgoal o 10% post-consumer recycled fber (with a target omigrating toward 30%) and committing to convert to 100%FSC-certifed paper.

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C+ A- C D+

disCover CDiscover is one o the most improved pupils in the class.

Beore this year, Discover didnt have a paper policy to guide itsactions. It now has a policy that gives preerence to FSC-certifedpaper while avoiding the SFI greenwash trap. But Discover shouldimprove urther by setting measurable, time-bound goals ormaximizing recycled content and reducing paper consumption.

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sfi

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B A D- D-


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ComPany Gr desA+

sTaTe farm C-With 81 million policies in its portolio,State Farm is aninsurance goliath. Not surprisingly, they also use mountains opaper or internal operations and direct mail. State Farm iscurrently revising its vague current paper policy, and this newpolicy will state a preerence or FSC. They also deserve creditor shiting their promotional road atlas rom SFI to FSC. Nextchallenge: improve on recycled and reduction.

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sfi

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reCyCled

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reduCTion

B B- D D

verizon C-Currently the second largest telecom company in the U.S.,Verizon is in the process o developing a public policy on paperprocurement which should be fnalized by the end o 2011. As itstands, the company gets good marks or steering clear o SFIgreenwash. The companys new policy should build on its currentuse o FSC paper by making an explicit FSC preerence, and bysetting a deadline or achieving its existing recycled paper goals.

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reduCTion

D+ B C C-

ameriCan exPressD+Like its rival Chase, American Express has contributed to arecent resurgence in credit card junk mail. While American Expressuses a respectable amount o FSC-certifed paper in its direct mailpieces, it has no preerence or purchasing recycled paper contentand utilizes an embarrassingly small percentage o recycled fber.The company also lacks transparency because it doesnt makepublic its paper policies or goals.

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B C- F+ D

Chase D+Chase is one o the most underperorming pupils in this class.The company reported that its paper use spiked to 114,234 metrictons in 2010an increase mostly attributable to an upsurge in

junk mail. It also makes green claims based on the aulty SFIprogram. Until it gets a handle on its paper use and comes cleanabout its fber sourcing, Chase will continue to lag behind itscompetitors.

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D D- D D+

GEICO FGEICO is one o the largest auto insurers in the U.S., and also

a major purveyor o junk mail. But because GEICO has no publiclyavailable inormation about its paper policies and practices andchose not to participate in the Green Grades survey, itsimpossible to ascertain its true perormance. This company haslots o studying to do to take responsibility or its orest impacts.

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F F F F

Travelers FAlready a commercial insurance giant (with more than 30,000

employees and 2010 revenues o around $25 billion),Travelershas recently been working to expand its share o the personalinsurance market. And increased junk mail has been a marketingtool o choice. Yet Travelers did not complete its Green Gradessurvey, and the companys website is silent when it comes topaper policies and practices.

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sfi

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reCyCled

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F F F F

PerformanCe indexThese individual report cards show the grades we assigned to each company in our four key criteria and give more

information on whether or not they have adopted forest-friendly paper policies and practices.


6/6

CrashCourseonsfi Greenwash

We all know that greenwash is a drag on the planetand on the green marketplace. In terms o paper, whatsone o the most common orms o greenwash? The

Sustainable Forestry Initiatives (SFI) phony eco-label.The SFIs misleading logo displays a comorting green treesymbol and proclaims that the program is Good or ourorests. But what does the SFI program reallyrepresent?

Lack of independence SFI was created by, and is currentlycontrolled and unded by, the paper and timber industry.

Weak standards SFI certifes logging practices that havebeen associated with landslides, clear-cutting, widespread toxicchemical use and impacts on endangered species.

Inadequate auditing Compared to Forest StewardshipCouncil inspections, SFIs on-the-ground auditing eorts are anemic

There is a movement brewing among leading U.S.companies to protect their brands rom the riskassociated with SFIs greenwash. Recently, severalcompaniesincluding Allstate, Aetna, Symantec and UnitedStationersmade new commitments and actions either to avoidSFI-labeled products or to stop using the SFI eco-label onbranded paper products or company publications.

Some companies in this Green Grades report do not make anyenvironmental claims using the SFI name or logo. Others, such

as Sprint, State Farm and USAA, are taking important steps toremove the SFI logo and name rom company communications,materials or policies.

Bank o America, Chase and othercompanies that continue to makeenvironmental claims with the SFIs nameor logo should take notegreenwashwill hurt your green grade, and it hurts ourorests even more.

exTr CrediTA+

FedEx/FedEx Ofce implemented its paper recycling program, helpedensure the FSC remains the most credible certifcation system, and adopted a

low-carbon uel policy that should help conserve threatened orests.

Ofce Depot launched a 100% Post-Consumer Recycled (PCR) copy paper,hit 71% FSC content in U.S. marketing papers, removed the SFI greenwash labelrom private brand packaging, is assessing papers carbon ootprint, and is help-ing to ensure the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement (CBFA) will reach its goals.

PaperlinX fnalized its paper sourcing policy, is implementing a newsustainability questionnaire and chain o custody system, and agreed to help

ensure the CBFA will reach its goals.

Staples moved its private brand 30% PCR copy paper to FSC sources, raised itscatalogs FSC content, encourages landowner certifcation and climate mitigation

via Carbon Canopy, and is helping to ensure the CBFA will reach its goals.

Unisource expanded its FSC and recycled paper lines, oers a bagassecopy paper, and is helping to ensure the CBFA will reach its goals. A

subsidiary tripled its FSC paper sales.

United Stationers is shiting more sourcing to FSC, including or privatebrands, is expanding its paper policy and FSC preerence to cover sister

companies, and is helping to ensure the CBFA will reach its goals.

Meanwhile,Amazon, Costco, OceMax,Target, Walmart, and xpedxmade ar less progress.

UPS is new to Green Grades. They do not yet have an environmental paperpolicy, and are not addressing the orest impacts o transportation uel choices.

offiCe suPPly seCTor uPdaTe

proGresssinCeour2010 Green Grades reporT Card

ForestEthics and Dogwood Alliance continue to engage major oce

companies that sell and use copy paper, packaging, and other orestproducts. Their perormance varies, and all still need to address

serious concerns fagged in our 2010 Green Grades report. Over thepast several months weve also seen some positive actions, including:

You can make a orest-riendly paper choice by avoiding the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) label.
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forest ethics green grades 2011

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