Environmental groups are happy.

Boise Cascade, a paper manufacturer, has taken a more environmentally friendly stance with its business practices.

Students Eliminating Environmental Destruction, a student activist group, has criticized Boise for its forestry practices.

Boise’s policy change was bound to happen, said Tim Mayer, a group member and a representative of the Student Environmental Action Coalition from the university.

“When they (Boise) merged with Office Max over the summer, they realized they would have to change practices to save their face,” Mayer said. It would be easier to protest at Office Max rather than the corporate headquarters of Boise, he said.

The company says it’s simply strengthening practices it always has embraced.

“It is a consolidation of practices that Boise has always held,” said Mike Moser, environmental communications manager at Boise. “There have been enhancements in the document.” He was referring to the business policy that describes the company’s objectives.

The following are the major changes the company approved this month that will go into effect in 2004:

n Boise now will give preference to suppliers who get wood from certified, well-managed sources.

n The company will keep track of where pulp and wood chips come from in the Pacific Northwest to make sure they don’t use protected wood. Depending on the results of the test, it may keep track of wood from the rest of the nation.

n Moser said the company will work with governments to find endangered places around the world — like Chile, Indonesia, the United States and Canada — and stop using wood from those forests.

The university has had a contract with Boise since 2000, and it hasn’t had any problems with the company as a paper provider, said Janet Black, senior purchasing agent for Procurement.

“We looked into it, but we felt that Boise was doing the right thing,” Black said.

Black said the university’s contract with Boise will be up in 2004. After that, every paper company that makes a bid will be considered to provide materials.

“We’re pleased with the price and the product,” Black said about Boise.

Moser said he doesn’t envision the recent changes to affect consumers. The consumers were calling for environmentally friendly practices, and Boise was listening to those people, he said.

“Customers, by the way, have developed their own environmental policy,” Moser said.

He said company experts and employees brought about the change, as well as consumers and conservation groups.

Some major consumers of Boise products have stopped using Boise products. According to an Associated Press article, Kinko’s, L.L. Bean and Patagonia all discontinued using Boise because of public sentiment against the company.