Pro-Paper Initiative Two Sides now also active in Germany

The pulp and paper industry is an industry with a long tradition and great importance. In Germany alone, almost 22,630 million tonnes (2016) of paper, cardboard and paperboard are produced each year. This puts Germany in 4th place in the worldwide ranking. Many consumers know that paper does not enjoy an unrestricted good reputation because of prejudices such as “paper destroys the forests” or “digital is more environmentally friendly than paper”. The Two Sides initiative, which is now also active in Germany, has set itself the goal of eliminating these and other prejudices and myths.

In total, just over 400 million tonnes of paper, cardboard and paperboard are produced annually worldwide for a wide variety of purposes. Even though more and more people are consuming media digitally, products made from cellulose still play a decisive role in people’s daily lives and in the global economy. Again and again, however, paper comes into disrepute. “The expression of letters is bad for the environment”, “unnecessarily much forest is cleared” or “for the environment is digitally better than paper” – these are only some prejudices. Two Sides has been dealing with these since 2008 and has analysed the extent to which the myths anchored in people’s minds apply on the basis of empirical and evident data.

Mythos Nr. 1

The area of European forests is shrinking

The fact is that the area of European forests is growing by around 1,500 football pitches every day. Between 2005 and 2015, European forests grew by 44,000 square kilometres. This is an area larger than Switzerland and corresponds on average to around 1500 football pitches every day.[1]

Mythos Nr. 2

Wood plantations are bad for the environment

The fact is: that responsibly managed wood plantations make a significant contribution to meeting the global demand for forest products.

Forests also play a very important role in preserving biodiversity. The area of protected forests grew by about half a million hectares annually between 2000 and 2010. Half of these forests are protected to preserve biodiversity.[2]

Mythos Nr. 3

Paper is bad for the environment

The fact is: that paper is one of the few truly sustainable products. Paper is based on wood, a natural and renewable material. When trees grow, they absorb CO2 from the atmosphere. In addition, paper as a wood product is able to store this carbon during its lifetime.

Mythos Nr. 4

Only use recycled paper

The fact is that fresh fibers from sustainable forestry are the basis of paper recycling. Without fresh fibers, the paper cycle cannot be kept alive. Recycled fibers lose quality after every recycling. The paper industry therefore needs fresh fibers from responsibly managed forests in order to maintain the recycling cycle in the long term.

Mythos Nr. 5

Electronic communication is more environmentally friendly than printing and paper

The fact is that this is not necessarily true and requires closer scrutiny. Electronic media also have a negative impact on the environment. The extraction of rare raw materials for mobile phones and computers, for example. If the cloud were regarded as a country, it would have the sixth highest electricity demand of all countries and this demand is expected to grow by 63% by 2020[3].

Every year, the electronics industry, one of the world’s largest and fastest growing industries, generates up to 41 million tons of electrical waste from products such as computers and smartphones. [4]

[1] Quelle: FAO Daten, 2005-2015

2 Quelle: EEA, The European Environment, State and Outlook, 2015

3 Greenpeace 2014

4 Quelle: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), 2015

About Two Sides

Two Sides was founded in 2008 by members of the graphic arts industry. They wanted to create a forum for the industry, exchange experiences, improve standards and increase customer satisfaction. Currently Two Sides has about 100 members worldwide. In a world full of finite resources, Two Sides has set itself the goal of highlighting the qualities of print and paper products. Because they are renewable and recyclable and available for generations to come. Two Sides is also convinced that print and paper is an effective and powerful instrument for marketing and communication – yesterday, today and tomorrow!

Picture credits: Two Sides

Pictures for download:

Love Paper – Forest Growth – Football – DE

Love Paper – Forest Growth – Tennis – DE

Love_Paper_The paper recycling champion – DE

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