The European Environmental Paper Network (EEPN) is a civil society movement promoting sustainable practices in the pulp and paper industry. It consists of more than 50 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from 21 countries that are signatories to the Common Vision for Transforming the European Paper Industry. It is led by a steering group of representatives of the signatories (currently Greenpeace, WWF, Luonto-Liitto, Robin Wood, Terra, ARA and Climate for Ideas).

Our objectives are:

• to share information about the pulp and paper industry and their impacts in Europe and beyond, and
• to promote the Common Paper Vision and its implementation by the industry, governments, financers and paper consumers.

The network formed through a collaborative process during 2005 to create our shared vision for a more sustainable paper industry. The vision was launched in Frankfurt in January 2006.

It has 5 pillars:

1. reduce paper consumption
2. reduce reliance on virgin fibre
3. ensure social responsibility
4. source fibre responsibly
5. ensure clean production.

A similar vision and network has developed in North America (see www.environmentalpaper.org), and visioning processes are underway in several regions in the global south, including Indonesia, Australia and Latin America. These evolving coalitions are civil society’s response to the multinational structure of the pulp and paper industry and reflect a growing global concern about the rapid growth of the industry and its impacts on local and indigenous communities, on forests, biodiversity, air, water, landfills and waste streams, and on the global climate.

Any non-governmental organisation that shares our vision is welcome to sign on and become part of this growing network of activism towards more sustainable paper production and consumption. Download our membership request form here.