Eco training at The Paper Mill Store

We have just completed our 2008 sales meeting, bringing in our folks from around the country from our sister company CTI Paper USA. As both companies, CTI Paper USA and The Paper Mill Store have increased our mutual commitments to sustainable design and business practices we had the opportunity to share ideas and communicate some of our newest initiatives over the last two days.

As a group we just completed our Safe Forestry Initiative (SFI) audit this past Friday. So we hope to have our SFI Chain of Custody certificate in the coming weeks. Part of SFI and FSC for that matter require that we educate all of our employees on these processes and that everyone have a good understanding of the benefits and procedures.

The group developed a new paper as an addition to Aspire Petallics, Aspire Petallics Pearl. A stunning sheet which is SFI certified and is manufactured Carbon Neutral through offsetting 100% of the carbon produced in its manufacture. As well, we now have recycled options in Aspire Petallics with 30% Post Consumer Waste (PCW) in our 98 lb cover Beargrass and all our 80 lb text weights except for Beargrass text.

Some of you may know that we have a paper crafting division in the company. Some new big eco initiatives will be announce from these folks during the upcoming CHA show. As the founder of the group I'm really pleased that our team has adopted these important eco initiatives with such enthusiasm and support.

Yellowstone...A Business Case for Sustainability

I had the great opportunity to spend New Years eve in Yellowstone to watch the passing of 2007. The park in the winter is spectacular, but then again it always is.

While hiking around Old Faithful through the Upper Geyser Basin I was contemplating how wonderful this place is and how the foresight of our government played a great role in preserving this area for future generations.

With a little research I discovered that while the government was ultimately supportive, it was largely the railroad companies that supported and promoted the creation of the world's first national park as an opportunity to haul more than freight and to profit from delivering tourists to the park. Specifically it was the Union Pacific (UP) and Central Pacific (CP) railroads which transported the survey teams, free of charge into to Yellowstone around 1870. The Hayden valley of Yellowstone bears the name of the chief surveyor, Ferdinand V. Hayden. The railroads used this survey to lobby congress to declare this area a national park. In a blinding 1 1/2 year effort congress passed a law designating Yellowstone as a national park in 1872.


Sustainable Eco Tourism was born with the foundation of Yellowstone National Park largely out of the desire to make a profit. Subsequent parks were established with the same motivation. Notably Glacier National Park with its extensive Chalet system and Waterton Park just north of the USA / Canada border linking Americans deprived of whiskey during the prohibition of the 1920's/30's to a source of fun, natural beauty and yes legal whiskey.

Sustainable business practices can relate to all businesses and plays an important role in our moving forward as a "sustainable" society. There is nothing wrong with profit and everything right with profit, especially when profit helps us support ourselves and a cleaner environment.

Carbon Neutral Shipping is Free to Our Customers

I'm very pleased to announce that as of January 1, 2008 The Paper Mill Store .com has begun shipping all of its outbound shipments in a carbon neutral manner. What this means is that we now calculate the carbon footprint associated with our out bound product shipping and purchase carbon offsets to lessen the impact of the carbon produced through our shipping. We do not charge extra for this service, this is just one more step we are taking to run our company in a more sustainable and responsible manner. We are now purchasing carbon offsets through the Carbon Fund to reduce the impact of our shipping process. Now when you buy paper and envelopes from us you can know that the carbon produced through the delivery of your purchases is being offset by a credible and verifiable organization.

For more than a year now we have been running our company using wind power purchased through Renewable Energy Credits and verified by Green-e. All the electrical power in our offices in Sun Prairie Wisconsin and in our distribution center in Neenah Wisconsin are 100% powered using renewable energy credits.