b'ENVIRONMENT| LEGAL SECTOR| 2019SUSTAINABILITY INSIGHTPAPER USE 2019 AusLSA Member PerformanceWith the evolution of modern technology including automatedThe trend in paper use by Australian Law firms shows continuing paper mills, digital printing and the mechanised harvesting ofreductions. These reductions are driven by several innovations, wood, paper has become less expensive, contributing to increasedincluding the increased uptake of electronic filing, online levels of consumption and waste. Modern paper mills currentlylodgement and litigation processes, electronic communication and produce about 410,000,000 tons of paper and paperboardbehaviour change among employees. globally per year. According to the Pulp & Paper Industry StrategyThe consumption of paper per employee has decreased by group, Australians consume around four million tonnes of paperseventeen percent this year and amounts to 175 tonnes of paper and paperboard each yearequal to almost 200 kilograms persaved across the reporting members. Of the sixteen hundred person.tonnes of paper consumed by AusLSA members, only seventeen The production and use of pulp and paper harms the environmentpercent was made from recycled paper, however this was an in many ways;improvement of three percent over last year. logging releases carbon in the atmosphere (each hectare ofPaper use by law firms is often influenced by the requirements mountain ash logged in Australia releases over 1,000 tonnes ofand relationships they have with a wide range of stakeholders greenhouse gases),including; customers, barristers, other lawyers, courts and paper production uses four percent of global energy (theregulators. It is not currently possible, even for those firms with the worlds fifth largest consumer),best paperless processes and employee behaviours, to unilaterally the paper production is a water intensive process,eliminate paper from their practice. The most paper efficient firms paper mills add to air, water and land pollution including;in this report, however, set a challenge to the legal profession by organochlorines, chlorine oxides and persistent organicdemonstrating that there are viable alternatives to most paper use. pollutants such as dioxins and furans,As the consumption of paper is showing a significant downward paper recycling requires de-inking which produces a wastetrend, which is a result of these alternatives becoming more sludge and,common.discarded paper is a major component of landfill, accounting for about thirty-five percent by weight of municipal solid waste While the environmental impact of paper use and production is significant, the rise in environmental awareness is causing a trend towards improved sustainability in the pulp and paper industry, including more sustainable paper options and reductions in paper.PAPER USERECYCLED PAPERkg per employee Paper recycling recovers waste paper and manufactures it into new paper products. Recycling paper involves breaking it into reusable cellulose fibres by mixing it with water and de-inking it. 108 111 There are three categories of paper feedstocks used to make 104 97 recycled paper:78 Mill broke is paper trimmings and other paper scrap from the manufacture of paperPre-consumer waste is obtained from printers offcuts and run errors, so it has never been used by consumers, and Post-consumer waste is paper and card that has been 28.78 186.96 previously used by consumers.2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Paper made from post-consumer waste makes the greatest contribution towards removing paper from the waste stream. In Australia, recycled paper often includes virgin fibre from plantations or native forests to improve quality. To be sure youre 2019 PAPER CONSUMPTIONmaximising the environmental benefits of recycled paper, it is Per employee for all firms generally best to choose paper products with the highest post-consumer content possible.83KGAdvantages of recycled paper compared with virgin pulpAVERAGE thirty-six percent less energy consumption forty-four percent fewer greenhouse gasesthirty-eight percent less waste papereighty-two percent less solid waste than virgin fibre paper.thirty-five percent less water pollution and seventy-four percent less air pollution26KG195KG MINIMUM MAXIMUM48'