Citigroup Switches to 30% Post

Citigroup is switching from virgin to 30% postconsumer recycled copy paper, demonstrating that companies can make very real environmental improvements without adding costs. “We’re especially excited about this because it is a simple, yet effective change, says Tom Murray, Alliance for Environmental Innovation (part of Environmental Defense) the group that helped them make the switch.

This change applies to Citibank, Global Corporate and Investment Bank, and Global Investment Management locations in the US. The recycled paper costs the same or less than the virgin paper the company had been using.

As the world’s largest financial services firm, this small change will result in big benefits: savings of 6,700 tons of wood each year, enough to build 500 average single family homes in the U.S. It will also generate annual savings of 1,000 tons of solid waste, 19 million gallons of wastewater pollution, and 2,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

Environmental Defense (ED) and Citigroup hope that other financial service firms will follow to reduce the environmental impacts of their paper use. Virgin copy paper is still the norm in the paper-heavy financial services industry.

ED helped Citigroup procure recycled paper at a price equivalent to virgin paper and also helped them develop an annual evaluation tool for paper suppliers. It addresses manufacturing impacts, forest management practices, environmental management, and regulatory compliance. They are also working together to reduce overall copy paper use.

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