Purchasing recycled-content paper and paper products has far-reaching environmental benefits and will encourage suppliers to increase their capabilities in providing these products at competitive prices.  To support campus sustainability procurement efforts, units can:

1. Purchase and source paper and paper products that contain 30% or higher post-consumer recycled content.
2. Give preference in purchasing decisions to paper and paper products with post-consumer recycled content verified by an independent, third-party organization, such as the FSC or an equivalent certification system. 
3. Give preference in purchasing decisions to paper and paper products that also contain other recovered materials or rapidly renewable products (e.g. pre-consumer recycled content, agricultural residues, bamboo, etc.) after maximizing post-consumer recycled content. 
4. Give preference in purchasing decisions to paper and paper products produced by sustainable forestry practices verified by an independent, third-party organization, such as the FSC or an equivalent certification system, after maximizing post-consumer recycled content.

Examples of where products cannot be used to meet the specified requirements or where doing so would constitute undue economic or practical hardship include, but are not limited to, cases where:

• Copying or printing equipment in use has been demonstrated to be incompatible with commercially available recycled paper;
• Appropriate recycled paper is not available (e.g., non-standard colors or thickness); or
• The cost of recycled content paper is excessive compared to non-recycled content products.  If the premium for recycled content is 10% or less, this can be presumed not to be a hardship.

Preference may also be given to paper and paper products containing other recovered materials or rapidly renewable products, either alone or in combination with post-consumer recycled paper content, provided the products are at least as environmentally friendly as 30% recycled paper content paper and paper products.

Certification systems equivalent to the FSC may be considered if their performance-based forest management and chain of custody standards meet or exceed FSC’s standards; their governance and funding mechanisms are fully balanced, transparent, and independent; and they are widely accepted by environmental and social stakeholders.

The Environmental Paper Network provides tools and resources to help assess the many aspects of environmentally responsible paper (http://environmentalpaper.org/buy-responsibly/ecopaper-toolkit-purchasers/). The Paper Steps: http://environmentalpaper.org/paper-steps/ is helpful in understanding the components of paper and paper that meets the level of “Environmentally Improved Paper.”