Gruner + Jahr places great emphasis on the sustainable use of paper. The manufacturing of paper used by the company must meet the highest environmental standards. Crucial aspects are: only logging from sustainable forest cultivation, environmentally sound chemical pulp and paper manufacture, as well as using ecologically harmless print colors and paper recycling.

For paper used by Gruner + Jahr, the company insists on the following fundamental principles:

	paper manufactured from chlorine-free bleached cellulose
	paper containing high proportions of wastepaper
	ecologically compatible, certified forest management
	manufacturing processes which are efficient in the use of resources and energy
	paper-saving procedures

Approx. 98,5% of paper used at G+J is already certified (FSC®-C021803/PEFC). Other important factors are:

As early as 1991, Gruner + Jahr was the first major German publishing house to print one of its products, the ART magazine, on totally chlorine-free paper. Ever since 1993, Gruner + Jahr have been printing all their German magazines on paper containing totally chlorine-free bleached cellulose.

GEO magazine was printed on paper containing 25 percent wastepaper (33 percent today) as early as 1994. In its newspaper sector, Gruner + Jahr uses papers with a wastepaper proportion of up to 100 percent.

In 1993, Gruner + Jahr and other publishing houses committed themselves to the optimization of recycling used graphic paper, and the outcome has been a great success. In 1992, 54 percent of graphic papers were recycled in Germany, but today's percentage lies above 80 percent.

Over the last few years, Gruner + Jahr has also managed to recycle a higher proportion of printing and press papers. With high quality magazines, however, there are limits when it comes to using recycled paper. The decision to use a certain paper is determined by many factors, and - taking into account the ecological and economical point balance - the use of recycled paper is not always reasonable. Criteria include the paper quality needed for a certain magazine, as well as the print method and the availability of the paper. In accordance with these general conditions, the current proportion of wastepaper among the papers used for magazines ranges from 15 percent (for example STERN) to 33 percent (for example GEO).

Since 1993, Gruner + Jahr has been campaigning against the depletion of primeval forests. No wood from forests worthy of conservation should be used for manufacturing papers supplied to G+J. Together with the other German publishing houses and paper manufacturers, certification criteria for ecological forest management were set up. Within the scope of the VDZ environmental working group, Gruner + Jahr supports and encourages the communication and regional reconcilement processes between economical, ecological, and social interest groups with regard to questions determining the need to protect forests.

A comprehensive guide to basic conditions for paper manufacture are published in the German Pulp and Paper Association´s (VDZ/VDP) brochure "Printing products and Ecology" (www.vdz.de).