The State of Paper:Project Assessment Criteria for the Alliance for Environmental Innovation and Research on the Paper and Packaging Industry to Inform its New Paper Strategy

This paper: 1) identifies project assessment criteria designed to help the Alliance for Environmental Innovation assess the strategic fit of its initiatives; 2) describes the U.S. pulp and paper industry’s market and non-market environment; and 3) investigates, using the assessment criteria, whether the Alliance should pursue pulp and paper industry transformation using its business partnership model. Research included industry data sets, articles, government reports, and interviews.Eight assessment criteria discussed include environmental results, organizational goals, business case, and funding potential. Market research demonstrates that the U.S. pulp and paper industry employs about 1.1 million people, ranks third in air emissions, and is responsible for over 25 percent of municipal solid waste. Opportunities to reduce environmental impacts, such as responsible fiber sourcing, are discussed. The period 1995-2005 is described as the most challenging decade for the U.S. paper industry due to soft domestic demand and competition from low-cost producers. Corporate response is described including consolidation and timberland sales. Short-term modest improvements are predicted but slow domestic demand growth and difficult competition from an increasingly global market indicate increasing challenges in the long term. Circumstances when organizations might develop explicit project evaluation criteria are discussed, such as when resources must be carefully allocated. Paper and packaging is used as an example of how such criteria might be used for evaluation and assessment. Based on this research, the Alliance should continue focusing on paper and packaging due its in-house expertise and significant climate-related impacts o