Amazon.com ranks dead last in a survey of the sustainability of paper sourcing practices among major retailers and office supply companies.
The survey, released annually by the Dogwood Alliance and ForestEthics, rates companies on the a series of environmental criteria, including strong policy commitments on the traceability of their paper, avoiding products from endangered forests, recycling and reducing waste, and using products sourced under credible certification standards. Amazon.com flunks nearly every test posed by the environmental groups, earning an “F+” overall. Costco, Walmart, and xpedx also ranked near the bottom of the list.
Ranking atop the chart was FedEx Office, followed by Office Depot and Staples. All three have phased out paper products from questionable suppliers like Asia Pulp & Paper, a firm repeatedly linked by green groups to egregious logging practices in the rainforests of Indonesia, and generally carry Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified products, a certification standard that undergoes third party verification unlike the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), a certification scheme much maligned by environmental groups, including Dogwood Alliance and ForestEthics.
OfficeMax, United Stationers, Unisource, PaperlinX/Spicers, and Target rate in the middle of the assessed companies.
The report is available at Green Grades 2010.