Becomes first company in the U.S. to send customer communications on
wheat-straw paper
Company Website:
http://www.sprint.com
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- (Business Wire)
In its latest effort to optimize paper use and reduce environmental
impact, Sprint (NYSE: S) will pilot a new kind of forest friendly paper
for customer mailings in the coming months. The paper, made of
wheat-straw byproduct, is not noticeably different to the naked eye than
wood-derived paper. However, it offers a new, sustainable alternative
and potential longer-term cost savings as additional paper sources and
suppliers are introduced into North America. Sprint’s pilot to use the
wheat-straw paper for mailed customer correspondence is a first in the
U.S.
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“We believe sourcing and procuring opportunities like this only improve
our supply chain,” said Scott Rice, vice president of IT Care and
Billing at Sprint. “We’re known for our mindfulness around
environmentally sustainable business practices, and this is an
innovative approach to using a quality mail product that helps us
diversify our suppliers and helps manage costs.”
In 1998, long-time environmental advocate and two-time Academy Award
nominee Woody Harrelson co-founded and invested in Prairie Paper Inc.
The company spent 15 years in research and development and in 2012
launched the production of its wheat-straw based paper, Step
Forward Paper™. The paper is made of 80 percent wheat-straw waste
and 20 percent Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®)
certified wood fiber. Step Forward requires
65 percent less land area to produce one ton of paper on an annual
basis than virgin tree-based paper and 50 percent less land area than
paper with 30 percent recycled content. Today, Step Forward Copy Paper
is available in the U.S. exclusively through Staples.com and Staples
Advantage.
“Of all the trees cut down in the world, anywhere from 3 billion to 6
billion a year, half of those are used to make paper,” said Harrelson.
“So to redefine the way that paper is made would be a really important
paradigm shift. And that’s what we’ve done here.”1
Sprint has reduced the total weight of printing paper it has purchased
annually by 83 percent since 2007. This effort was achieved by
optimizing the weight and volume of its mailed customer correspondence
and by communicating with and servicing customers online among other
efforts. In 2012, Sprint also launched the ecoEnvelope™ for customers
who chose to continue receiving a paper bill. This inventive two-in-one
reusable envelope reduces paper use and saves more than $500,000
annually. Like Step Forward Paper, it is helping to advance
sustainability throughout the mail industry.
“Sprint’s innovative approach to test-pilot the use of our paper in roll
form will increase demand and showcase how paper made from agricultural
waste fibers can compete on quality and price,” said Jeff Golfman,
co-founder and president of Prairie Paper Inc. “Our goal is to establish
a market that will support our plans to build a pulp and paper mill
facility in North America, which will enable us to produce this paper
with an even smaller environmental and economic footprint.”
Sprint’s award-winning sustainable business practices have been widely
recognized as moving the wireless industry forward. For the fourth
straight year, Frost & Sullivan gave the carrier a Green Excellence
Award. Sprint’s phone buyback, reuse and recycling program has also
received top honors from Compass Intelligence and U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency.
About Sprint
Sprint (NYSE: S) is a communications services company that creates more
and better ways to connect its customers to the things they care about
most. Sprint served more than 57 million connections as of March 31,
2015, and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying
innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a
national carrier in the United States; leading no-contract brands
including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless;
instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a
global Tier 1 Internet backbone. Sprint has been named to the Dow Jones
Sustainability Index (DJSI) North America for the past four years. You
can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com
or www.facebook.com/sprint
and www.twitter.com/sprint.
About Prairie Paper
The industry leader in research, development and commercialization of
tree-free pulp and paper for the past 18.5 years, Prairie Paper Inc. is
led by President Jeff Golfman and Chairman Clayton Manness, who
co-founded the company with Woody Harrelson. Phase one for the company
is the manufacturing and importing of Step Forward Paper™. Phase two
will include constructing a 100 percent tree-free, state-of-the-art
eco-mill in North America, where millions of tons of leftover straw are
readily available. The trademark license code for Prairie Paper Inc. is
FSC® C109753. For more information visit www.stepforwardpaper.com.
1Quote originally appeared in an article
by Triple Pundit
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150611005763/en/
Contacts:
Sprint
Marci VerBrugge-Rhind, 913-794-6319
Marci.j.verbrugge@sprint.com
Source: Sprint
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