10. The GHG Protocol D - what it is and what it means to the printing industry 

The Greenhouse Gas (or GHG) Protocol is the grandfather of almost all the various greenhouse gas or carbon reporting standards, labels, carbon calculators and other measuring guidance you are likely to come across. So even if you are not familiar with it, it’s very likely that your business is affected by it.

Read 10-GHG.pdf

9. Implementing a Carbon Strategy 

With money getting tighter, now is a good time to look at ways to cut costs. Fortunately for the planet, going green is a great way to do this, but sometimes it’s easier said than done. One of the largest printers in the UK is St. Ives, with a group turnover of €200 million and approximately 4,500 employees across its 22 sites, all of which are ISO 14001 compliant. (This is the standard that specifies the requirements for an environmental management system.)

Read 9-StIves.pdf

8. Let’s Get Wasted 

Carbon strategies can come in many shapes and sizes, reflecting different approaches to the challenge of better protecting the environment. For instance, a Ricoh factory located at the heart of the industrial revolution in the UK is a leader in the charge to develop green practices. The Ironbridge Gorge near Telford, in England, is known as the birthplace of industry and it was here that the technique for making top quality iron using coke in place of coal was perfected.

Read 8-Ricoh.pdf

7. Closing the Recycling Loop 

There are a number of myths about recycling that are frequently mistaken for facts, particularly when it comes to paper. The two most common are that using recycled paper saves trees, and that recycling paper is harmful to the environment because of the bleach used to get the ink off, neither of which are true.

Then too there is the perennial question of whether it’s better for the environment if we use recycled paper or paper made with pulp from sustainably managed forests. The answer lies in striking the right balance: paper fibres cannot be recycled indefinitely and virgin fibres must be brought into the cycle to keep it going.

Read 7-Recycling.pdf

6. Steps on the Carbon Ladder 

Eco-warriors just love the printing industry: all those dead trees, all those stinking solvents. And because of the high volumes and the fleeting value of their content, newspapers are an especially popular target. After all, newspapers are printed on polluting paper, on massive high-speed, energy-hungry presses. Their distribution relies on extensive heavy duty road and air transport. And because time is of the essence, everyone involved must rely on a maelstrom of electronics.

It should all add up to an environmental nightmare. So, with that in mind we recently visited two newspapers, and discovered that it’s not that simple. There’s a good deal more to understanding the carbon footprint of a newspaper than just measuring a newspaper’s individual footprint.

Read 6-NewspaperCarbonTread.pdf

5. The last resort 

Carbon offsetting is a major tool in the fight against man-made climate change, yet it is much maligned with some people calling it a permit to pollute. So, what is carbon offsetting, and does it have a part to play in establishing a way for printers to be more environmentally friendly?

Read 5-CarbonOff.pdf

4. Sustainability in the print industry

PrintCity recently published a report on Sustainability, Energy & the Environment, which is available free from the PrintCity website (www.printcity.de). We urge anyone with an interest in print to download it and read it. We also urge readers not to lose hope part way through because although this 24-page report requires some doggedness on the part of the reader, the effort’s worth it.

Read 4-PrintCity.pdf

3. Sale and Return - Robert Horne Group

It’s relatively easy to recycle paper, but what can be done about more complex hard wearing materials such as those commonly used for outdoor signs?

Signs for outdoor use are, by their nature, weather resistant and therefore not easily biodegradeable. Yet a great many banners and posters are designed for relatively short term use, and have to be disposed of when the campaign is over. For the most part this means dumping them in landfill sites - not a very environmentally-friendly option.

So it’s hardly surprising that some suppliers are beginning to think about how to dispose of their materials in a more eco-friendly way. There are many different approaches to solving this problem, but one of the most common is waste collection.

Read 3-Robert_Horne.pdf

2. Environmentally aware - Elanders Malmö, Sweden

The growing awareness of the need for action against unnecessary use of energy, chemicals and fuel, has spurred both vendors and individual printers within the graphic arts industry to take real action.

With around 1500 employees and a turnover of €210m, Elanders is one of the largest printers in Sweden. The company has production centres in the UK, China, Hungary and Germany in addition to the six centres in Sweden. Elander’s push into more environmentally benign production methods started in the late nineties and several of the company’s production centres have achieved ISO 14001 certification since then.

Read 2-Elanders.pdf

1. Welcome!

Welcome to Verdigris! Verdigris is a project to provide the graphic arts, printing and publishing industries, as well as print buyers, with information about print media’s environmental impact.

This is the first of a regular series of articles looking at all things green for printers. If you’re looking for ideas about how to improve your carbon footprint or want to understand more about what other printers are doing, Verdigris is on your side.

Read 1-Welcome.pdf