“One's philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes.”

– Eleanor Roosevelt

A year-end expression of PCC’s pro-sustainability philosophy was the choice to discontinue the insertion of PCC Cooks catalogs in mailed copies of our member newspaper, the Sound Consumer. A happy outcome of offering PCC Cooks class schedules and reservations online is that 60 percent of classes are now booked via PccCooks.com, making the mailing of printed catalogs to member households three times annually unjustifiable in terms of cost and waste.

PCC Cooks catalogs haven’t disappeared completely. We’re still printing some for distribution through our stores and to those without Internet access. But when you consider that the reduction in printed copies will save an estimated 105 trees, 46,800 gallons of water, 96 million BTUs’ of energy, 3,000 pounds of solid waste and 5,400 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions this year, it’s easy to be excited about the impact just one change can make.

Saving paper at PCC
The savings from printing fewer PCC Cooks catalogs begs the question: What else can we do to reduce paper use and waste? The prospect of eliminating paper from PCC’s operations is as daunting as doing without plastic; it would be tough to run a grocery store without either.

PCC sells newspapers, calendars, greeting cards, and books made from paper. Hundreds of products are boxed in cardboard, thousands of transactions are printed on receipt tape, and consumer information is offered in brochures and the Sound Consumer. In all of these forms, we contribute to the 700 pounds of paper the average American consumes each year. Proactive steps we’ve taken, in addition to reducing the print run of PCC Cooks catalogs, include the installation of check stand equipment that prints double-sided receipts, programming our document printers to print on both sides; and making a wealth of product information available online. More than 50 percent of our customers are doing their part by bringing reusable shopping bags, greatly reducing the number of paper bags supplied at check out.

Paper is still needed for several important customer publications and communications, and business recordkeeping. Cost, quality and quantity are factors, as are the characteristics and availability of paper required for a given print job. In making a decision, we sometimes find ourselves in a special kind of paper chase; with so many options and issues to consider, compromise is often the best choice we can make.

The forest and the trees
Consider the debate regarding which is preferable — paper made from recycled content or paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Compared with virgin paper, recycled content paper uses fewer trees and less energy to produce, and contains both pre- and post-consumer waste paper that would otherwise be burned, or dumped in landfills where the decaying process creates greenhouse gases. However, there is no regulatory oversight regarding paper labeled as “recycled,” and the amount of recycled content can vary widely among manufacturers.

Production of FSC-certified paper involves new trees and a great deal of energy, while contributing to pollution. However the FSC, as an independent non-government organization, sets standards and awards certification to forests — and products from them — that are sustainably managed. For FSC-certified paper buyers, three classifications of FSC-certified paper affect cost and availability: FSC Pure (no recycled content, all content from an FSC-certified forest), Recycled FSC-certified (at least 85 percent of the wood fiber content from post-consumer sources), and FSC Mixed (a blend of FSC Pure, Recycled and/or Controlled fiber … any wood fiber that is neither FSC Pure or recycled.)

Less is more
For most needs, PCC sources Recycled FSC-certified or FSC Mixed paper. When neither is available in the quality, quantity, weight, finish or color needed, or if the cost is prohibitive, we buy recycled paper of the highest post-consumer content possible. But our first question is always: How little paper can we use without undermining the purpose of the print job? As is the case with all resources, making do with less is the most sustainable choice of all.