SBTi is about setting targets that are simultaneously challenging and achievable. That way companies can move towards cutting their environmental impacts without excess risk to the day to day viability of their commercial activities.

The SBTi can help all types of businesses to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including those in the graphics sector, using the latest climate science. The model aims to achieve the Paris Agreement goal of less than 2ºC planetary temperature increase and ideally under 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels. This is what is meant by ‘science-based’ targets, so in theory there will be a process of continual improvement in the outcomes of climate impact projects.

The five stage process starts with commitment. Working with the SBTi online dashboard an organisation submits a commitment letter confirming the goal of net-zero emissions. Companies then have a couple of years to provide SBTi with their targets. The second phase is to use SBTi’s extensive online resources to develop the targets, which can be general or sector-specific. The target-setting process can seem a little daunting and this isn’t something you want to buzz through in your lunch hour. SBTi provides loads of tools to help from a guide to getting started and a Target Setting tool through to an SME Target Validation Application Checklist. Just be prepared to commit time and resources to the whole process.

The third and fourth stages are the submission process and communication of fact that the company’s targets are accepted for validation by consultants working for the SBTi. The final phase is the disclosure process, whereby the committed company reports annual progress towards achieving the target. The reporting can be via annual reports or, for something a little more robust companies can ask CDP a ‘not-for-profit charity’ to audit and share the progress data.

The bad news is that this is all very complex. It takes time and money to define and fulfill commitments. It also takes expertise and dedication which can divert attention from other aspects of the business. This is fine for companies with many employees and divisions, and the scope within the business to assign a team to work on targets and processes for reaching them. It is not quite so fine for small-to-medium sized companies. Businesses with fewer than 250 employees, which accounts for the bulk of the printing industry, may struggle to get very far with the SBTi. That said, it’s definitely worth a look.

– Laurel Brunner

This article was produced by the Verdigris Project, an industry initiative intended to raise awareness of print’s positive environmental impact. This weekly commentary helps printing companies keep up to date with environmental standards, and how environmentally friendly business management can help improve their bottom lines. Verdigris is supported by the following companies: Agfa Graphics, EFI, Fespa, Fujifilm, HP, Kodak, Miraclon, Ricoh, Unity Publishing and Xeikon.

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The award is in recognition of the company’s global efforts to uphold the highest standards on the environment, labour and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement. The platinum rating ranks Epson in the top 1% of companies in its industry, particularly in the fields of the environment as well as sustainable procurement.

The independent evaluation methodology is based on a framework of 21 sustainability criteria mapped to global standards and guided by the international scientific community.

Yasunori Ogawa, global president at Epson said, ‘Our company is focused on achieving sustainability through our products, technologies and operations. This third consecutive platinum accreditation is the result of a lot of hard work and highlights the steadfast commitment and actions by the entire Epson team as we seek to achieve a sustainable future.

‘In line with our goal of becoming carbon negative by 2050, we will continue to challenge ourselves to perform to the highest standards for sustainable practices, both as an organisation and a member of the wider global community.’

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The Yorkshire-based company claims it has reduced its carbon footprint by 44% (33.66 tonnes) compared to 2021 – which is the equivalent of driving more than four times around the world or 119,987 miles (based on the average petrol car).

Chris Bottomley, managing director of Gecko, said, ‘The facts are totally clear now regarding the importance of reducing the carbon impact on the planet, and at Gecko, we wanted to do the right thing and do our bit to be part of the solution.’

Gecko, which uses FSC paper stock, recently announced its decision to provide accurate information to its clients about the carbon footprint of their print jobs, plus give them the option to offset.

Mr Bottomley added, ‘We add the carbon footprint calculation to our quote letters, along with optional costs for offsetting it.’

The company supports three different carbon offsetting projects. Tropical Mix in Panama involves reforesting land and restoring the forest ecosystem, Pacajai REDD Project in Brazil to protect the Amazon’s ecosystems from destruction and the Wind Project in Gujarat, India which aims to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases.

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The company, which manufactures a wide range of media for wide- and superwide-format media, was awarded the certification by CarbonQuota after its greenhouse gas emissions were assessed from 1 January to 31 December 2021.

During the 12-month period, Soyang Europe observed 204 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions from its Calder House facility on the Altham Industrial Estate in Accrington. To achieve carbon neutrality, a company must commit to emissions reductions and then cancel out carbon emitted by an activity by reducing or removing an equal amount of carbon through verified schemes.

Managing director of Soyang Europe Mark Mashiter said, ‘We have worked extremely hard to implement a number of innovative schemes including minimising our container loading into 40-ft containers to reduce carbon by maximising space, investing in two low emission trucks from Mercedes, and ensuring any carbon we emit from our manufacturing operations is offset.

‘In addition, all our company cars and forklift trucks are electric, our warehouse lighting is LED and we also use solar energy. However, the hard work does not stop here, and we will continue to explore new ways to make the business even more sustainable moving forward.’

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The Pergraphica papers are said to combine a premium look and feel with exemplary colour reproduction for creative print and publishing projects. Pergraphica is optimised for digital and offset print technologies and is compatible with finishing and converting processes including creasing, laser marking/cutting, hot stamping and lamination.

An uncoated fine paper, it is available in two finishes, Smooth and Rough, three shades (High White, Classic and Natural) and a range of weights from 100 to 400gsm. Pergraphica papers fulfil the international standards set by FSCTM and EU Ecolabel and are now CO₂ neutral thanks to a carbon offsetting programme in association with ClimatePartner.

Ben Cahill, product manager at Antalis, commented, ‘We are delighted about this new multi-market distribution agreement with Mondi. Pergraphica fits perfectly with our ambition to meet the growing demand for eco-conscious papers from the market.’

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As of November 2019, more than 530 of Premie’s customers have signed up to the initiative, in which 100% of the funds collected are paid directly to the Woodland Trust to help plant native woodland trees. The Carbon Capture programme began in 2008.

Premier’s group marketing director David Jones said, ‘The most rewarding thing for me is that a seed of a simple idea that developed whilst walking in my local Woodland Trust woodland has now grown into the market-leading environmental initiative, positioning Premier as the Woodland Trust’s number one carbon partner.

‘We smashed through the £1,000,000 donation threshold at the end of October which is an incredible achievement in itself. The Carbon Capture Programme has planted 240,000 native trees, created 150 hectares of new native British woodland and captured 60,000 tonnes of CO2, and all this is thanks to our customers who have committed to initiative. What is also very pleasing is that the number of customers signing up to Carbon Capture continues to grow so we have our eyes firmly fixed on our next milestone.’

Premier was presented with a commemorative award at a recent tree planting day at Shipley Country Park, Derbyshire, where 13,000 trees were being planted. TV presenter Julia Bradbury presented the award to Mr Jones and commented, ‘I am thrilled that the Premier Paper Group and their customers have raised over £1 million for the Woodland Trust through their Carbon Capture scheme.’

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The World Land Trust has a very simple but effective business model. It raises money to buy land so that the land, its ecosystems and wildlife can be protected. Over the last thirty years the organisation has acquired over 700,000 acres (283,280 hectares) of tropical forest in nearly 20 countries around the world. Through the World Land Trust’s purchases and protections, another four million acres have also come under protection of some sort.

It’s an amazing programme and one that graphics industry professionals and their customers can take part in. Companies from publishers and print buyers through to print service providers can specify carbon-balanced paper for their print jobs. The printing generally costs a little bit more, but the extra money goes to World Land Trust projects that help keep the planet breathing. Print buyers might not squeal so much, if they trusted that some of the cost of paper is being used to protect the planet. And on the subject of paper prices, paper for the majority of commercial printing applications is cheap compared to what it cost thirty years ago.

The World Land Trust is urging print buyers to request CarbonCo certified materials. In the UK where both organisations are based, they are also working with local government and procurement. Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester says that climate change is ‘bigger than any challenge … the future of our planet’. The city has plans to become climate-neutral by 2038, which is twelve years ahead of the UK government’s pretty timid objective of 2050. Greater Manchester is working with a range of measures such as tree planting schemes, and not exclusively on the basis of offsetting and the World Land Trust partnership.

Environmental awareness at this level filters down supply chains to both service providers and end users. Opting for carbon-balanced paper is just one of many small steps that we can all take in order to achieve a dramatic improvement in environmental impact reductions. Printers and publishers are well-placed to make a difference. It starts with choices about paper and decisions to support organisations such as the World Land Trust. Actually it starts with the choice to do something, anything, to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and change our collective thinking.

– Laurel Brunner

This article was produced by the Verdigris Project, an industry initiative intended to raise awareness of print’s positive environmental impact. This weekly commentary helps printing companies keep up to date with environmental standards, and how environmentally friendly business management can help improve their bottom lines. Verdigris is supported by the following companies: Agfa Graphics, EFI, Fespa, HP, Kodak, Kornit, Ricoh, Spindrift, Splash PR, Unity Publishing and Xeikon.

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According to a certification from specialist recycling company Cycle4Green, Herma collected around 200 tonnes of discarded release paper in 2018, which with the former’s help and the participation of Austrian paper manufacturer Lenzig, was used to produce more release liner and label stock. Had the same amount of material been produced from virgin fibre, the related emissions would have been 406 tonnes higher. By comparison, the vehicle fleet was calculated to be responsible for 400 tonnes of CO2-equivalent.

‘By participating in this recycling programme, we not only make an important contribution to preserving the environment. We also somewhat counteract continuing resource shortages. Due to extreme demand in Asia, especially China, and continuing growth in Europe, we are facing continued resource shortages just like last year, for instance regarding paper,’ commented Dr Thomas Baumgärtner, Herma managing director and head of the Self-adhesive Materials Division.

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Going green isn’t just worthy; it can also increase your worth as a business. Digital Printer visited Impress Print and spoke to a number of other environmentally-minded companies to find out more.

Located in Hersham and spread across a number of buildings all sporting the distinctive orange logo, Impress Print’s premises cover 32,000 sq ft in total and the company employs 80 members of staff. The business has been going 28 years and it became carbon balanced about 18 months ago.

‘We think carbon balancing is the right thing to do for the environment,’ says Helen Floyd, sales director. ‘But it’s more than that and I think that the sustainable journey leads into the economics of the business. The two work so hand in hand; they work absolutely in parallel – you can’t really have an environmentally-conscious business without looking at the business implications for it, which are on the whole incredibly positive. 

‘The first step we took was to look at all of our energy costs/consumption and the resources that we’re using, and how we can reduce those,’ explained Ms Floyd. The company took a three-fold approach, evaluating its buildings, its equipment, its processes and how staff are operating the machinery. 

‘We’ve taken a whole range of measures, from putting in LED lighting, energy efficient boilers, toilets with low-flush mechanisms; taps with a low litre-per-second flow rate,’ says Ms Floyd. Impress has also replaced the roof on one of its buildings for better insulation – ‘the roof was in quite poor condition anyway and the amount of energy lost was huge’ and installed light sensors for night time operations and to ensure the lights go off when areas aren’t being used. 

Efficient machinery

Next the company reviewed all its machinery to identify how devices and processes could be made more efficient. On the digital side, Impress looked at how it could bring in outsourced jobs and save on litho press plate and set-up costs for short runs by producing similar effects with its digital machinery.

In addition to single colour presses and wide-format printers, the company has two Kodak Nexpresses, an SX3000 and a SX2700 which it has upgraded with Kodak’s sensory, digital gold, digital white and long sheet feeder options to maximise its flexibility. ‘The sensory print looks very similar to a UV varnish,’ explains Ms Floyd. ‘On a short run it’s more environmentally friendly than sending the job out to a third party [saving on costs and road miles] and the UV varnish itself isn’t a particularly environmentally friendly process – so we’re producing it in a far more economical way which also adds value for the client, who gets a cheaper job at the end.’

Impress Print’s managing director Michael Kille with the company’s versatile Nexpress SX2700

‘The Kodak is used for general marketing material: brochures, leaflets, stationery, business cards, perfect bound books,’ says managing director Michael Kille. ‘Typically with the long sheet someone might want a six-page A4 landscape leaflet (when it folds out it’s 900mm long) – that would be way over the spec of [many] machines that are out on the market. That’s a job that’s come directly from a B1 [litho press] and we might use that for a six-page A4 or people sometimes want dust jackets to go around books – that sort of thing. Initially we could run about a 720mm sheet and now it’s been extended up to a 914mm. If we wanted to we could go a bit longer now as well.’

Impress also put in its own mailing unit. ‘We started in a small way in 2012, but our unit next door we opened up in 2015,’ says Mr Kille. ‘We’re using a Grützmacher with camera matching. We don’t have to re-do anything [because of the automated checking] and we don’t have to drive anywhere so we save the road miles and we don’t have to go to another supplier to get it mailed out.’

With the newer machinery making production more efficient, ‘clients are happier if the jobs are run faster,’ notes Ms Floyd, ‘and hand in hand, costs are going down, and we’re looking at how the environmental aspects are being improved at the same time.’

‘On any machine that we buy, we look at what’s the most sustainable, including which is using the least power; a machine using more power might be printing faster, for example,’ underlines Mr Kille.

Carbon offsetting

Working with the BPIF with Vision in Print, Impress reviewed various aspects of its business to reduce waste and increase efficiency. The company looked at a number of schemes when it was considering carbon balancing as ‘it was really important to us that we worked with a scheme that we felt really confident was adding value,’ stresses Ms Floyd. ‘We thought that the World Land Trust was doing really good work and the schemes it was investing in were really viable. We discussed it with Jonathan Tame [UK country manager of Two Sides – see below] and it was clear it was the right scheme for us. That took us down the whole process of looking at our waste streams and our energy consumption – analysing everything that we’re doing as a baseline and then having that sent off to an external auditor to assess our carbon footprint. Anything that we couldn’t reduce any further – the residuals – then are balanced through the World Land Trust. We feel that the whole scheme works really well.’

The company carbon balances its paper as well as all the production of its work. ‘Premier Paper, Antalis and Elliott Baxter are our main suppliers,’ says Mr Kille. ‘We also buy quite a few recycled papers from PaperBack and a few other smaller suppliers as well, like Fedrigoni.’ Over in the warehouse, boxes are re-used for packaging before being recycled.

It’s astonishing that Impress hasn’t invited journalists in before given that their entire operation is so squeaky clean… I’m relieved that the notebook I’ve brought is made from recycled paper.

Impress is not resting on its laurels though. ‘Our next stage is to include/incorporate all our journeys into the equation as well – we don’t currently include all our transport, although we’re monitoring all our transport, we don’t include all our fuel costs in our balancing calculations,’ explains Ms Floyd.

‘We’re looking at things like solar panels on the roof, how we can generate our own electricity, so that will be another stage,’ adds Mr Kille.

Getting the message across

Following the introduction of Climate Change Act 2008, which was the world’s first long term legally binding framework to tackle the dangers of climate change, companies have become more aware of the economic impact from carbon intensive fuels and services.

The gov.uk website advises companies that ‘You can pay less tax by applying for schemes to help you demonstrate that you’re operating more efficiently and producing waste that’s less damaging’, and with the Government putting targets on companies to reduce their carbon footprint, carbon balancing and reduction initiatives are becoming increasingly important.

‘If clients can see that you’re doing the right thing and helping them, then they’re more likely to buy from you,’ offers Ms Floyd. ‘We believe that if our company is respectful of the environment and of its employees, then it will attract the calibre of people we want to employ and the funds our business needs to expand. All our staff are really on board and really behind everything that we’re doing. Our aim is to get one-to-one meetings to talk to people about carbon balancing in detail, because a lot of people or companies don’t really understand what it is all about.’ 

‘It’s quite a long journey to get to where we are and I think that everything we’ve been doing – since getting the ISO 14001 and the FSC accreditation – is working in the same direction, which is to make us as environmentally conscious as we can be,’ concludes Mr Kille.

Tips from Impress Print Services

To get the sustainability message out there is not difficult, it just needs focus and commitment
– Tell everyone what you are doing. Companies that don’t will lose their competitive advantage
– Believe in what you say – no one will want to join your sustainable journey if you don’t.
– Do what you say – or you will lose credibility

What are other companies doing?

Climate Partner has been engaged with carbon offsetting projects for more than 10 years. It works intensively with local project developers and develops its own projects, paying a lot of attention to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. ‘It is important to persuade our clients to offer our solutions continuously and to inspire their clients to pay for climate neutral quality,’ managing director Moritz Lehmkuhl toldDigitalPrinter. ‘We are proud that we have made it from an idea in the beginning to 1000 print shops and packaging shops who offer carbon neutral printing. We receive about 500 climate neutral print orders per day – from books and brochures to global productions and much more. The subject of climate neutral printing is nowadays indispensable in the printing industry.’ 

BrunelPrint became a partner of Climate Partner in September 2016.’We were looking for a point of difference compared to other printers and finishers in the marketplace,’ recalls John Tugman, director of commercial print. ‘A number of people could do carbon neutral paper but not necessarily carbon neutral jobs. There were some people that were prepared to do carbon neutral jobs but charged extra for it.’ To be able to offer a carbon neutral product ‘was quite an interesting marketing initiative,’ he believed, ‘which we thought would be very useful to establish ourselves and as such we basically offered it at the same price; we didn’t differentiate – everything that we did from 2017 was effectively carbon neutral.

Elephant Print chose Climate Partner’s Kasigu Wildlife Corridor conservation project in Kenya for its carbon offsetting

Elephant Print chose Climate Partner’s Forest Conservation project: Kasigau Wildlife Corridor in Kenya for its carbon offsetting. ‘We liked the project with the reforestation and it fitted quite well with our image with elephants,’ explained Jason Gadd, managing director. ‘Carbon balancing is becoming more important,’ he believes. ‘We are run purely on solar energy and I think the two things work quite well together. There is a little bit more admin to do but other than that it’s fairly straightforward. 

‘We got over 1000 climate neutral orders about two or three months ago now so that was a bit of a landmark,’ Mr Gadd reveals. ‘We’re always trying to tell people about it and most people are very positive.’ 

Premier Paper Group launched its carbon capture programme five years ago, and ‘even at the time there was a need and a desire from companies to mitigate their CO₂ in some shape or form,’ remembers Dave Jones, group marketing director. ‘We’re proud that roughly 10% of our customer base is now fully subscribed to carbon capture and at the beginning of 2017 we passed the £0.5 million worth of donations to the [UK-based] Woodland Trust. We run tree-planting days and we’ve created an area of new, native woodland – up to the end of 2016 – equivalent to 120 international-size football pitches. Our target, by the end of 2018, is to have achieved £1 million worth of donations to the Woodland Trust, and we should achieve that.’ 

‘We ask all our suppliers to ensure that all their fibre is from sustainable sources. We also ask – and receive from our suppliers – their full disclosed environmental audit reports each year.

Antalis became the first paper merchant to be certified to both FSC and PEFC in 2004. ‘Our group is the largest producer of recycled graphic papers in Europe and we have invested continually over the years to improve the quality of recycled papers,’ says environment manager Matthew Botfield,. ‘As consumers increasingly gravitate towards greener choices, print buyers are increasingly choosing papers with a good eco-story and carbon offsetting is an easy way to add a good story. Examples include offsetting a paper’s carbon footprint by creating new UK woodlands with the Antalis Forest Carbon Project or by carbon balancing with the World Land Trust.’

Last year Arjowiggins Graphic (distributed by Antalis) updated its environmental calculator tool to help printers, designers and businesses keep track of the environmental impact of their paper choice.

J&G Environmental waste management specialists believe that the economic – as well as environmental – imperative for recycling is unarguable. ‘It now costs a printer £86.10 to send a ton of waste to landfill – potentially adding thousands of pounds to waste disposal fees at a time when companies are trying to reduce costs,’ explains John Haines, general manager. ‘And yet that cost can easily be reduced through good housekeeping – minimising waste in the first place, sorting waste that is created, and identifying what can be recycled, which can sometimes actually generate extra income.’

J & G advises that companies get their waste assessed by an expert waste manager; theirs will offer a free waste audit, advise on waste minimisation, reuse, storage and recycling potential.

The company practises what it preaches by operating a ‘zero waste to landfill’ policy at its Dorset headquarters and is closing in on recycling 100% of the waste it collects from the print industry.

Two Sides is a campaign that promotes the sustainability of print media. The organisation believes that printers should have a focus on environment and sustainability for three key reasons: to reduce their impacts and make better use of resources and costs; to demonstrates corporate responsibility to their customers; and to add value to their clients by helping them to reduce their impacts and support their corporate responsibility through the use of certified, recycled or carbon balanced papers or other initiatives to help reduce the impacts of their print use. For more information email enquires@twosides.info or call 01327 262920.

Read the full September issue of Digital Printer here. Subscribe to the magazine for free – register your details here.

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German self-adhesive company, Herma, saved nearly 457 metric tons of CO2 last year by recycling discarded siliconised release liner, making its vehicle fleet effectively carbon-neutral for the sixth year in succession.

Approximately 360,000 metric tons of siliconised release paper is generated every year throughout Europe, the bulk of which comes from within companies applying labels.

Since 2010 Herma, based in Filderstadt, Germany, has been supplying discarded release liner from production to the recycling company Cycle4Green (the liner would otherwise have to be disposed of – at a cost). With the help of Cycle4Green and Austrian paper manufacturer, Lenzing, the waste is turned into label paper or new release liner, both of which are reused by Herma.

In 2016, this process avoided around 457 metric tons of CO2 emissions that would have been generated by Herma manufacturing products made from virgin fibres.

‘We generate relatively little release liner as waste material because it is part of the adhesive material that we produce,’ stated Dr. Thomas Baumgärtner, Herma’s managing director and head of the self-adhesive materials division. ‘We come pretty close to the “cradle to cradle principle,” in other words a more or less closed material cycle,’ he added. 

Herma plans to continue to support Cycle4Green’s system in the future and also hopes to encourage as many of its customers as possible to participate in the recycling initiative. 

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