WHEREAS the church, as the people of God, is called to be environmentally responsible in caring for creation as God's gift; and

WHEREAS the Annual Conference statement "Creation: Called to Care" challenges us to take seriously our role as stewards of the earth, and to work for the renewal of creation; and

WHEREAS there is widespread interest throughout the denomination in becoming better environmental stewards by conserving God's gift of natural resources; and

WHEREAS this stewardship should extend to the publication of magazines, newsletters, resources, and interpretive materials; and

WHEREAS producing paper form recycled fibers reduces air pollutants by as much as 74 percent and water pollutants by 35 percent, frees up space in our landfills, and saves trees, water, and energy;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Church of the brethren General Board, meeting in Elgin, Ill., March 7-10, 1992, commits itself and urges Brethren congregations, institutions, and members to:

-Reduce our use of paper, by

    · using both sides of a sheet of paper wherever feasible,

    · monitoring the use of printed materials to reduce waste,

    · figuring print runs at a minimum, simultaneously that in so doing, we run the risk of extra cost for reruns;

-Monitor the cost of printing, asking for quotes on recycled paper and virgin fiber paper (derived from wood chips after the pulping process) and be willing to pay slightly more for recycled paper;

-Be extremely judicious about the use of paper that is not easily recyclable;

-Recycle waste paper and arrange regular pickup of recyclable waste paper;

-Strive to use recycled paper that, meets at least minimum Environmental Protection Agency standard (50 percent pre-consumer recycled materials), and that contains at least 10 percent post-consumer waste;

-Indicate the percentage of post-consumer waste on the printed material;

-Join others in urging the Environmental Protection Agency to lay down clear recycling definitions and a stringent standard that would require increasingly higher percentage of post-consumer waste fibers in order for paper stock to be labeled "recycled";

-Use no ink that contains dioxin, chlorinated hydrocarbons, or other toxic chemicals.

FURTHER, the General Board asks its staff to

-Immediately begin purchasing, for general office use, recycled paper with at least 50 percent reclaimed fiber content;

-Give preference to purchasing papers wit the highest post-consumer waste content;

-Immediately begin to purchase recycled paper products for use in rest rooms on General Board properties;

-Diligently avoid purchase of paper products of any kind that have less than 50 percent reclaimed fiber content;

-Carry out a feasibility study for using recycled paper of appropriate grades, weights, and types including uncoated and coated with either glossy or matte finishes, and ink that is least polluting for all printed materials published on behalf of the General Board and begin using such recycled paper immediately where feasible; and

-Present a report on the findings of the feasibility study and specific actions following the study at the October 1992 meeting of the General Board;

-Keep current on new developments on recycled paper and adapt them as they become feasible.

FURTHER the General Board commits itself to continue an educational effort through its staff and in other ways to assist the members and congregations of the Church of the Brethren in addressing the issue of recycled paper.

This resolution was adopted by the Church of the Brethren General Board at its meeting in Elgin, Illinois on March 9, 1992. For further information contact Shantilal P. Bhagat, 1451 Dundee Avenue, Elgin IL 60120, 1-800-323-8039