Judith Hann: Help save the world with paper

From a speech by the former 'Tomorrow's World' presenter to the Institute of Directors, London

As a science broadcaster I have seen many innovations and it's nearly always the simple ideas that succeed. So I am pleased to be able to present Toptree to you today – a simple idea with an important environmental message.

Toptree is all about paper, which we are using in increasing quantities, despite e-mail and our dreams of a paperless office. Businesses, schools and public services are consuming vast quantities of paper. During 2000 in the UK we used a staggering 12.9 million tonnes of paper and board. This represents a 37 per cent increase in consumption between 1990 and 2002. This is having a significant impact on the natural world.

In the business world it is not always possible to reduce the amount of paper consumed. CFH, the UK's most innovative producer of business forms and documents, has identified that high-volume users often cannot use recycled paper; the recycling process weakens the the paper, making it unsuitable for some uses. This is where Toptree fills the gap.

All Toptree products will be sourced from responsibly managed forests overseas. The Toptree brand will indicate that you are using a genuine Toptree product, making a positive environmental statement.

For every 40,000 sheets of A4 paper sold Toptree will plant a tree with the Woodland Trust.

In the last 80 years, half of the UK's ancient woodland – that is woodland that can be dated back to the 17th century at least – has been destroyed. Toptree is a real alternative to the problems linked to high-volume paper usage.