Join BAAP’s Campaign to Publicize and Demand the Government Implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted unanimously by all 193 member states of the United Nations on September 25, 2015, including the U.S., as the Agenda for all countries to prioritize and achieve cooperatively by 2030, to ensure that all human beings can fulfill their potential in dignity and equality and in a healthy environment.
The 2030 Agenda is consistent with the principles, values and goals BAAP has advocated for since our inception in our Constitution. BAAP endorses these goals and promotes them to make them known to our volunteers, supporters and friends of labor throughout the area.
The March 4, 2025 official rejection and denunciation of the SDGs by the U.S. government does not deter BAAP’s resolute endorsement of the SDGs, in solidarity with the rest of the 192 member nations of the UN that adopted this agenda in 2015, as necessary for the advancement of humankind.
Sustainability in Paper
Going paperless does not necessarily mean going green. Electronic devices generate 15 times more greenhouse gasses than paper.
Demand for sustainable paper and printed materials provides incentive for responsible forestry and recycling practices. Meanwhile, global electronic waste, known as “e-waste,” generates over 135 billion pounds of trash annually.
Energy use from data farms, where digital information is stored, now has a greater carbon footprint than the airline industry. An average data farm consumes 3-5 million gallons of water a day and as much electricity as a medium size city. Electricity demand by data farms is a primary driver of rising electric rates confronting residential customers.
66.8% of paper production in North America is supplied via renewable energy sources and 68% of paper in the United States is recycled.
According to government data, paper and paper packaging are recycled more than any other material in the U.S. municipal solid waste stream, including plastics (8.7%), glass (25%) and metals (34.1%).
In a typical U.S. paper mill, processed water is recycled 10 times or more, then it is cleaned to meet strict U.S. water quality standards and approximately 90% is returned to its source. About 1% remains in the manufactured products, and the rest evaporates back into the environment.
U.S. pulp and paper mills have decreased water use per ton of product by 8.3% since 2005, and by more than 50% since 1975.
The U.S. forest products industry is a major national employer, and is among the top 10 manufacturing employers in 43 states. The U.S. paper industry directly employs around 925,000 people and supports more than 2 million additional jobs throughout the supply chain. The forest products industry is a major contributor to the U.S. economy, representing approximately 5% of manufacturing GDP.
Source: Two Sides North America
Sustainability at BAAP
BAAP uses donated paper from local printers and paper distributors that otherwise would not have been used.
BAAP uses donated machines that otherwise would have ended up in the landfill. BAAP gives printing presses a second life including BAAP’s letterpress from 1891. If you have a printing press that could use a second life, call BAAP.
We print for those with the smallest carbon footprint — the working class. BAAP prints for organizations of farm, service and domestic workers, environmental organizations and more, that are putting sustainability into practice and demanding our government do the same.
BAAP uses 100% LED light bulbs and is powered by solar panels!
