Which office papers should be procured from an ecological point of view? Are there FSC papers that have a similar low environmental impact as the best recycled paper? We examined these questions for the FOEN by means of life cycle assessment. We examined various recycled and virgin fiber papers (FSC certified) in detail, whereby we also determined data for the pulps used directly from the manufacturers for all papers. The evaluation method used was the method of ecological scarcity 06 established in Switzerland, which reflects the framework conditions of Swiss environmental policy. We have extended this method with a differentiated forest assessment to account for the different forms of forest management (eg semi-natural forest compared to an FSC-certified monoculture plantation). The result within the federal administration serves as the basis for a substantive discussion on paper issues and for a reflection of current paper purchases with regard to their environmental impact.
