The shift in emphasis to FSC paper is one of a number of changes made to the draft PAS 20:20 set of guidelines, first issued in June, after consultation with hundreds of stakeholder organisations.
The standard, which is backed by Royal Mail, the Direct Marketing Association, Acxiom and client organization ISBA, is a major plank in the DM industry's efforts to ensure it achieves its 2009 recycling target. The target of 55% recycling of paper DM was agreed with Defra in 2003.
Another change to the draft standard is that marketers must include a message to consumers urging them to recycle the communication.
Robert Keitch, the DMA's director of media channel development, said the changes would make the standard "more practical". He added: "While PAS 20:20 has been fundamentally changed in a number of areas it has fulfilled its first criteria - providing clarity on sustainable direct marketing. We wanted to provide a route that was both practical and a greater blend of commercial reality with environmental understanding. The standard has been written from the point of view of getting marketers in and giving them something to work towards."
The DM industry's efforts to achieve its 55% recycled target will be assessed in September 2009. A sample of local authorities and households will be selected to have their waste bins examined, to determine the proportion of paper DM that has been binned rather than recycled.
"The paper specification has changed [since the first draft released in June] because it was clear from the investigation [we did] that there are definite environmental benefits to using FSC paper in DM. FSC fine grade papers are made using a chemical process and so are a net energy supplier, whereas recycled paper uses a mechanical process, making it a user of energy."
The standard will be unveiled in a regional roadshow covering the major centres of DM client, agency and supplier activity.
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