The FSC chain of custody (CoC) tracks FSC certified material through the production process – from the forest to the consumer, including all successive stages of processing, transformation, manufacturing and distribution.
We decided to follow the chain of custody to trace our magazine back from paper to regional forest, to the extent we could. What we learned—to our great satisfaction—is that this Augsburg Now is mostly a local Minnesota product, and totally a regional product. Thus, we are glad to know that since transportation of the wood and paper has been kept within the region, large amounts of carbon emissions into the environment have been avoided.
The paper—made in Cloquet
The recycled paper in this issue is called “Flo.” It’s manufactured by Sappi Fine Paper North America, part of a global pulp and paper group, with manufacturing operations on four continents and sales in more than 100 countries. We learned that the “Flo” paper used in our magazine was manufactured at Sappi’s mill in Cloquet, Minn., just over two hours north of Minneapolis.
The trees—grown mostly in Minnesota
We also learned that 55 to 65% of the wood pulp Sappi’s Cloquet mill receives to manufacture “Flo” comes from nearby Minnesota forests, with the rest from within the Great Lakes region.
The magazine—printed “green” in the Twin Cities
Augsburg Now takes its final shape at Print Craft, Inc., a printing company in the Twin Cities northern suburbs.
As an FSC-certified printer, Print Craft is committed to the FSC principles in the wood and paper industry that promote environmental, economic, and social sustainability of the world’s forests. Print Craft must document all its FSC-certified jobs to ensure they are kept separate from those that do not follow the FSC chain of custody.
With the inks they use in printing, Print Craft also strives to reduce the amount of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), which contribute to air pollution. The company that supplies Print Craft’s inks have reduced the percentages of VOCs over the past decades by 10-15% They’ve also increased the amount of renewable, agricultural-based oils in their inks, now reaching 30%, and replacing petroleum-based inks.
Electricity used—also a Minnesota connection
Even the electricity used in our offices to write and design Augsburg Now is offset by Augsburg’s purchase of wind energy through the Xcel Windsource program, helping to increase wind energy production in Minnesota. In fact, Augsburg is one of the largest purchasers in the state, thanks to an initiative launched by our students. Read more