aper brings great benefits to society through education, hygiene, art and liter ature. It is a valuable resource yet, like many other commodities, it is overused and frequently misused, particularly in industrialised countries. In order to re duce the negative impacts that the life cycle of paper has on the environment, it is imperative that society uses paper more efficiently and ensures it comes from responsible sources. In particular, the life cycle of paper causes such significant carbon emissions that paper efficiency should be a central part of all organisa tions’ climate change policies and action plans.