Reducing and Compounding
Reducing paper consumption and improving production efficiency is a system-wide improvement that yields the highest benefits. This principle is clearly evident below in an excerpt drawn from Paper Cuts: Recovering the Paper Landscape (Worldwatch Paper 149. Page 54, Abramovitz and Mattoon, 1999)

The rule of “compounding arithmetic” as explained in Natural Capitalism states that if a process has 10 steps, and you can save 20 percent at each step, the net savings is 89%. The highest gains are made by reducing consumption because the impact of that savings is multiplied back through the entire chain of production, from the mills to the forests.

Applying the principle of compounding arithmetic to the paper production and consumption cycle can yield significant environmental benefits. If industrial countries trimmed consumption by one third and production efficiency increased by 5 percent and recycled paper as a fiber source expanded to 60 percent (from today’s 38%) and nonwoods as a fiber source doubled, total global consumption would fall, developing-country consumption could rise, and 56 percent of the wood fiber now used for papermaking could be saved.

Opportunities Abound
There are many ways to reduce consumption and improve efficiency. Fortunately, there is a direct correlation between improving efficiency/consumption and cost savings.

Reducing consumption can take place at any level…from a manufacturer that uses improved fiber utilization technologies to a large corporation that achieves a goal of 50% paper reduction. It also involves taking steps to ensure the recovery of paper. Regardless of the company, public agency, or individual, doing more with less yields the greatest environmental benefits.