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TREE-FREE EXERCISE BOOKS LAUNCHED BY LEADING EDUCATION SUPPLIER

The Consortium‘s new eco-friendly ‘BE-Books‘ are produced from crushed sugarcane fibres

Leading education supplier The Consortium is revolutionising the traditional school exercise book with the launch of a tree-free alternative made entirely of sugarcane.

The new BE-Books are sourced from developing countries by suppliers working with the Wiltshire-based company in line with the universally accepted principles of the UN Global Compact.

The Consortium is one of 4,000 companies worldwide that have signed up to the strategic policy initiative as demonstration of their commitment to aligning their operations and strategies in ways that can help ensure that markets, commerce, technology and finance advance in ways that benefit economies and societies everywhere.

BE-Books are produced from the crushed cane fibres, called bagasse, the sugarcane waste that remains after sugar crystals are harvested from the plant.

Melanie Teal, Chief Executive of The Consortium, said: “Typically, sugarcane takes 12 months to reach maturity, normally standing two to six metres tall, with the time varying widely throughout the world from six months to 24 months depending on where it‘s grown.

“Where it differs from many crops is that it re-grows from the roots, so the plant lasts for many cycles. And when it is harvested, most of the waste is used in the boilers which power the harvesting process, with the remainder being used to make paper.”

Using agricultural crops rather than wood also has the added advantage of reducing deforestation, which goes some way to protecting fragile ecosystems that would otherwise break down as a result of logging in forested areas.

Melanie Teal continues: “Exercise books are a fundamental part of school life, so product quality is really important to us too. Our BE-Books are of an exceptional standard at 80gsm. The cover is the same as our general range, and because of the ease with which bagasse can be chemically pulped, it requires less bleaching chemicals to achieve a bright, white sheet of paper, which is another reason to buy.”

In addition to the environmental benefits, the fact that they are priced from 38p per book means that they cost the same as The Consortium‘s general paper books.

“In this instance it costs no more to buy eco-friendly ‘green‘ product as ‘normal‘ wood-based paper product,” says Melanie Teal.

“The Consortium is the first supplier to source this product and with sustainability becoming increasingly important in the classroom, we think that once schools have tried these exercise books, there‘ll be no going back.”

ENDS    30th June 2009

For further information please contact Neil Fraser, Sturgess Van Damme, on 01275 349011 or email neil@sturgessvandamme.co.uk