News

There’s no escaping environmental issues in today’s world and, as the print industry often attracts criticism for its green accountability, now could be the time for an environmental audit. Ben Bold looks at some points to consider

As awareness of environmental issues grows and the need to reduce mankind’s impact on the environment becomes more apparent, an increasing number of businesses are looking to become greener throughout their supply chain.
One of the most obvious areas – and the most visible – is the print buying chain. On one side of the coin, printing often draws criticism for its lack of environmental accountability, but on the other, it attracts praise for pioneering moves to become more environmentally accountable. PrintBuyer spoke to a mix of experts about some of the main points to consider when conducting an environmental audit.

“Before you start looking at your supply chain, you should look at what you’re doing yourself,” says environmental printing consultant Clare Taylor.

Tom Gorman, the managing director of TDG Print Management, concurs, adding that you should examine the corporate social responsibility policy across your whole business.

Taylor suggests that buyers look at a number of different areas, such as: print quantities – does a company need to print so much material? Mailing lists – is data up to date and properly cleaned? Specifications of materials – are they adding unnecessary processes to the print operation or making the product hard to recycle? and quality control – are you making errors with regards to waste materials and energy?

Once you have decided to scrutinise your print supply chain, it is worth looking at both how an audit is defined and conducted: ISO 19011 provides guidance on the principles of auditing an environmental management system.

“Generally [an audit requires] a combination of looking at documents, interviewing people and observation,” Taylor says.

Read all of the information that’s out there, much of it is free.

“We are trying very hard to educate our customers,” says Patrick Auer of Leanprint, which recently launched environmental specialist Greenprint Consultancy. “For example, we offer a comprehensive guide to recycled papers on our website, www.green-print.net.”

David Shorto, the print buyer for both Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, has set up a website called Paper Print Environ­ment to help buyers make informed decisi­ons to reduce the environmental impact of their printed materials (www.ppe.uk.net).

Also, you could hire a print consultant – they can advise you on how best to implement and develop a genuinely ‘green’ print supply chain.

“Use a paper management service that provides usage and waste analysis, as well as stock balances with each print run,” suggests Media Paper Management’s env­i­ronmental officer, Danny Doogan. “This helps reduce actual usage and minimise waste and the risk of over-ordering.”

There are a raft of environmental accreditations out there. It pays to be familiar with them.

“We have our own audit questionnaire and do an on-site audit on suppliers who do not hold ISO 14001,” says Greenprint’s Auer. “We also take into account if they are working towards other environmental standards, such as FSC (Chain of Custody Standard), PEFC (Chain of Custody Standard), BS 85555 (Acorn) – Level 5, EMAS, or if they are a carbon-neutral company. We also ask to see their environmental policy to check that it meets our criteria. Finally, we take quality management standards into account such as ISO 9001 and BSI PAS 75.”

Work out finances.

What’s an audit going to cost you in the short and long term and what are the financial benefits of making your print supply chain ‘green’? “It’s a commercial decision,” says Gorman. “The greatest driver for a company is the bottom line.”

Auer is reassuring on the subject of cost. “Green manufacturing is usually perceived as being more expensive, but this is not necessarily the case,” he says. “We are advertising the ‘Greenprint Challenge’ to print buyers, in which we aim to match or beat their current price while guaran­teeing an environmentally managed product.”

He goes further, adding that once an environmental management system is in place, money can be saved from processes such as energy and waste reviews.

Examine the environmental credibility of your paper supplier and its products.

“Ask questions such as: is it possible to select an alternative paper grade that allows you to step down a paper weight?” says Doogan. “This reduces usage, waste and CO2 emissions.”

Paper merchant Robert Horne Group has put in place a comprehensive evaluation process that begins with all its suppliers completing an environmental questionnaire.

“This six-page, detailed questionnaire is designed to capture data about the product and the manufacturer,” explains Tim Barker, the firm’s environment manager. “For example, the policies and certificates they hold (ISO 14001, FSC Chain of Custody, EMAS etc); what proportion of the fibre is virgin wood, recovered fibre or mill broke and whether this is pre-consumer or post-consumer waste; where the mill sources its energy and how much it uses; and what transportation methods are used from the paper mill to Robert Horne.”

How green is your printer?

“What are they doing to reduce waste, increase re-use and/or recycling of waste they create?” asks Taylor. “What are they doing to improve energy efficiency; what are they doing to reduce air emissions; what are they doing to prevent or reduce pollu­tion to air, land and water (including from their own vehicles); what staff training is available; and what are they doing to reduce the environmental impact of things like inks and press room chemicals?”

Beyond repeatedly seeing suppliers’ environmental accreditations stamped on bits of paper or flashing out at you from their websites, why not visit their premises? What does their yard look like? Are their offices consistent with their ‘green’ credentials?

Ensure your suppliers are measuring and evaluating environmental operations.

Robert Horne is a case in point. Barker explains: “The questionnaire-based process is backed up by periodic supplier audits, through which the data provided is verified (eg by viewing source records) and the supplier’s facilities are inspected.”

Beware hot air and misdirection.

TDG’s Gorman says his job requires a lot of myth busting. He cites the fact some soya-based inks come from soya grown on land that has been stripped of forest. “Print buyers have got to be careful,” he says. “There has to be credibility underneath what they are saying.”

---

Top tips Auditing
• Before you consider conducting a ‘green’ audit, assess whether your own business can reduce the environmental impact of its printing requirements
• Work out what an environmental audit is likely to entail by referring to its definition under ISO 19011
• Do some research – there’s plenty of freely available information out there
• Familiarise yourself with the various accreditations
• Work out how much it will cost you to conduct, but also what its financial benefit might be
• Assess the environmental credibility of your paper supplier and printer by seeing what accreditations they have, interview them and visit their premises
• An audit should not be a one-off process – ensure it’s measured and evaluated
• Be wary of ‘greenwash’ - there is a lot of misinformation out there

---

CASE STUDY
The Body Shop
The Body Shop, which has environmental credentials built up over 25 years, had been advised that the use of a polymer, made from corn, would enhance its ‘green’ credentials. It was told the corn polymer was revolutionary, had great potential, and was asked why the company was not already using it.

The materials used to produce the firm’s point-of-sale material had evolved from laminated board to white polypropylene. This ticked certain eco-friendly boxes, since it used vegetable inks, but not all.

Evaluation and findings
The Body Shop’s print management consultancy, TDG Group, researched corn polymer production and found it was heralded as an environmentally friendly alternative in the food industry.

However, TDG also found problems. The main provider of the corn was US-based Monsanto and availability was limited. In addition, the crops being harvested were a combination of GM and non-GM, and production was set to increase as demand was outstripping supply. TDG discovered it was not possible to buy the polymer from the non-GM crop only.

TDG was concerned by these findings, since its client had been assured that this was an environmentally friendly material and was prepared to incorporate it into the supply chain.

Result
The consultancy felt unable to advocate its use since a) it was a GM crop and b) the carbon footprint of transport from the US to the UK was unacceptable.