Forest Use

Publication Paper from spruces and pines

Transparency of the origin as an important prerequisite for safeguarding ecological and social standards

Renewable raw materials: Publication paper for newspapers and magazines is made from the fiber of spruces and pines. These conifers used for our publication paper grow in the green belt of the Northern hemisphere – nurtured by water, nutrients and the sun‘s energy.

Printed products such as papers, magazines and catalogues are collected after their use as used paper and then utilized as the raw material for new publication paper for newspapers, for example. In Germany, approximately 80 percent of publication paper (this includes newspapers and magazines) is re-used. Thus a large part of the wood fiber is used several times.

One spruce yields more than 37,000 pages of publication paper

A model calculation shows that using the fiber gained from an average spruce originating from Swedish forestry (aged between 30 and 60 years) will produce a total of 37,440 pages of newspaper (weight of the paper: 42.5 g per m2, format 40 x 57 cm). 13,440 pages are produced from the fresh wood fiber alone and a further 24,000 pages are the result of the use of recycled paper.

Project Reports

"From Russia with Transparency" (2006)

This report documents the first phase of a cooperation between the paper manufacturer Stora Enso with the publishing houses Time Inc. (New York), Random House Group (London) and Axel Springer (Berlin) as well as the non-governmental organization “Transparency International”. One of the main priorities is the promotion of sustainability as well as the fight against corruption in the cross-border timber trade for the manufacture of printing paper.

pdf (1,2 MB)

"Tracing Russian Wood Imports" (2002)

In a joint project, Axel Springer, together with the Finnish paper manufacturer UPM-Kymmene and Otto Versand (mail order), has made the wood chain transparent from the forest in Russia to the paper mill in Finland. The project report "Tracing Russian Wood Imports" shows how imports of wood from Russia are ecologically audited. Critical voices from the Russian forestry administration and the environmental organization Greenpeace Russia are also given space here.

pdf (152 KB)

"Ökologische Verbesserungen in der Papierkette" (Ecological improvements in the Paper Chain, 1998)

This report describes the background, goals and realization of the cooperation between Otto Versand and Axel Springer with 8,900 Norwegian family-owned forestry enterprises and the paper manufacturer Norske Skog (in German).

pdf (74 KB)

Forestry Standards of Axel Springer

Since 1995 six clear and comprehensible sustainability indicators have been considered when purchasing printing paper

The suppliers of paper to Axel Springer AG are selected, in addition to criteria of product quality, reliable supply and competitive prices, according to ecological and social criteria. Six Forestry Standards were agreed as criteria in 1995:

Sustainability: Harvesting more timber than will re-grow is prohibited.

Biodiversity: Forestry shall not endanger animal or plant specis

Control: The paper manufacturer must perform eco-controls as a purchaser of timber.

Training: The paper manufacturer must ensure that the necessary ecological knowledge is conveyed to personnel (for example, forest workers).

Indigenous population: The paper manufacturer must take the indigenous people (for example, the Sami in Northern Scandinavia) into consideration.

Information: The paper manufacturer must keep the public informed of the advances made in environmental protection – and also of the problems encountered.

Ecological certification labels

In order to be able to guarantee good ecological quality for timber or paper clients, respectively, two ecological certification labels for wood products have been established in Europe – after considerable debate. In the meantime, they have become relatively similar. Axel Springer AG supports certification of forests and the development of talks about mutual recognition of FSC and PEFC.