Two Sides sends open letter to Minister Diane Finley in Response to Anti-Paper Environmental Claims Made by the Government of Canada

1. FOR APPROVAL ONLY CONTACT: Two Sides NorthAmerica,Inc.
T: 1-855-896-7433 (toll-free)
E: info@twosidesna.org
Two Sides sends open letter to Minister Diane Finley in Response to Anti-Paper
Environmental Claims Made by the Government of Canada
The letter below was sent to Minister Diane Finley (Public Works and Government Services) requesting that the
Government of Canadastop theuse of terms such as “savingtrees” or “goinggreen” in communicationsrelated
to switching from paper-basedtoelectronictransactions, due to the misleadingnature of these terms,their
non-compliance withCanadian marketing guidelines,andtheirnegative impact on millionsofpeople who
work in the graphic communicationsindustry throughout North America.
May 6, 2015
Office of the Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada
The Honourable Diane Finley
Place du Portage, Phase III, Room 18A1
11 Laurier Street
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 0S5
Re: Misleading EnvironmentalClaims Related to Federal Direct Deposit Payments
DearMinister Finley,
I read with disappointment a recent Globe and Mail article published April 1st, 2015 titled “Direct deposit payments: A
government pitch that makes sense” encouraging people to switch from cheques to direct deposit for government
payments. In this article it is stated that “Ottawa argues in its pitch that about 32,600 trees will ultimately be saved
by direct deposits.” The source of this information is a Government of Canada infographic (attached below) which
also mentions “100% reduction in CO2 emissions.”
Two Sides and its membership of over 140 North American companies disagree with such misleading environmental
messages related to print and paper products as they are damaging to the print and paper industries who are such an
important part of Canada’s history.

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Today, there are over 800,000 mail-related jobs in Canada, almost 5% of all jobs in the country. Revenues from this
sector are estimated at $88 billion, or 5% of total GDP in Canada.1These jobs areheld by Canadians in many
organizations who make daily efforts to be responsible corporate citizens by continuously reducing their
environmental impacts and ensuring the responsible manufacture of print and paper products that we all benefit
from. The “go paperless – save trees” message is not well received and questioned by many people2, especially
those who work in this value chain.
Your claims do not meet guidance published by the Competition Bureau of Canada and the Canadian Standards
Association3 which state: “A self-declared environmental claim shall be specific as to the environmental aspect or
environmental improvement which is claimed. An environmental claim that is vague or non-specific or which broadly
implies that a product is environmentally beneficial or environmentally benign shall not be used. It is therefore not
possible to use terms like environmentally safe, environmentally friendly, non-polluting, green, nature friendly or
ozone friendly.” In addition, claims must be factual, verifiable and supported by credible scientific evidence.
Trees and working forests are a renewable resource that provides numerous social, environmental and economic
benefits to Canada. The nation’s forest cover has remained stable over the last two decades and less than 0.5% of the
forest resource is harvested each year.4 In addition Canada has the most third-party certified forests in the world (for
sustainable management) – 150 million hectares, or 41% of all global certified forests. Finally, most trees in Canada
are used to make lumber, not pulp and paper.5
The claim “100% reduction in CO2 emissions” is also false and misleading since it does not consider the life cycle and
environmental impacts of our growing electronic infra-structure and the energy required to power it, nor does it
consider the fact that well-managed forests and forest products have significant advantages over non-renewable
materials such as electronics when it comes to mitigating climate change and recycling.
The direct impact of electronic products and services replacing paper is far from negligible, and the trade-offs
between the two depends on how often we use the different technologies and how we dispose of the products.6
Both electronic and print media are important, and both have environmental impacts that must be taken into
consideration. In fact, electronic communication has a significant and growing carbon footprint due to the energy
requirements of a vast worldwide network of servers necessary to store information for immediate access.7
Electronic media also relies on significant amounts of fossil-fuel energy and non-renewable rawmaterials for
processing and manufacturing.8 With electronic waste becoming the fastest growing waste stream in the world, and
its related environmental and health concerns in many countries,9 promoting electronic communications as the sole
environmental choice is unfounded.
In addition please consider the facts below:
 Avoiding the use of wood is not the way to protect forests for the long term. While saving trees and protecting
forests is a widely shared goal, avoiding the use of wood is not necessarily the way to get there. It is precisely the
areas of the world that consume the least wood that continue to experience the greatest forest loss. Continued
use of paper and other wood products may be a key factor in maintaining a forested landscape for future
generations. This realization is reflected in today’s third-party forest certification systems that aim to offer a
market-based system for supporting the sustainable growth, harvesting, and consumption of forest products.10
 In the long term, a sustainable forest management strategyaimed at maintaining or increasing forest carbon
stocks, while producing an annual sustained yield of timber, fiber or energy from the forest, will generate the
largest sustained [climate change] mitigation benefit.11

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Far from causing deforestation, the demand for sustainably sourced paper promotes responsibly managed forests. In
areas of Canada with a high occurrence of privately-owned forest, the income landowners receive for trees grown on
their land is an important incentive to maintain, sustainably manage and renew this valuable resource. This is
especially important in areas facing economic pressure to convert forestland to non-forest uses.12 The fact is our
working forests are an essential part of our environment and our economy.
We live in an increasingly digital world where electronic and paper-based communication will coexist. Each has
environmental impacts, and consumers deserve an honest portrayal.
Sincerely,
Philippe Riebel
President, Two Sides North America, Inc.
About Two Sides
Two Sides is an independent, non-profit organization created to promote the responsible production, use and
sustainability of print and paper. Two Sides is active globally in North America, Europe, Australia, South Africa, Brazil
and Colombia. Our members span the entire print and paper value chain, including forestry, pulp, paper, inks and
chemicals, pre-press, press, finishing, publishing, printing, envelopes and postal operators. For more information
about Two Sides North America, please contact us at 1-855-896-7433 or info@twosidesna.org. Visit the Two Sides
website at www.twosidesna.org and follow Two Sides on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.

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GovernmentofCanada Infographic
Source: http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/recgen/dd/prom-ch-eng.html
1EMA and RobustionTechnologies, 2014
2Toluna andTwo Sides US Consumer Survey, 2013
3CanadianStandards Association, 2008
4 Natural Resources Canada, 2014
5 Forest Products Association ofCanada, 2012
6Arnfalk, P., 2010
7Gartner Consulting, 2007
8Kruhr, R. and Williams, E. , 2004 ; Computer Aid International, 2010 ; Jinglei, Y. et al., 2010
9U.S. EPA, 2011 ; Hoanget al. 2010 ;UNEP, 2005
10 Dovetail Partners, 2014
11InternationalPanel on Climate Change, 2007
12UN FAO, 1995 ; WWF, 2010 ; WBCSD andNCASI, 2005