17 Dec Green Print & Paper Procurement – Good for Business and the Environment

Green Print & Paper Procurement – Good for Business and the Environment

Printing Brain would like to welcome guest blogger, PEFC Director Hilary Khawam to the site. Being the independent souls we are, we’d like to point out that FSC are equally esteemed and trusted in providing environmentally-sustainable paper for the green printing industry. That said, take it away Hilary…

With climate change remaining high on the news agenda, consumers, public authorities and corporate print buyers are increasingly seeking assurances regarding the environmental provenance of the products they buy. Companies using printed paper and packaging products are therefore increasingly keen to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable sourcing by developing credible paper procurement policies which recognise both recycled and certified virgin fibre papers.

Sustainable logging in Cameroon

One of the easiest ways to demonstrate that the paper your company uses comes from responsibly-managed forests is to source from environmentally-certified suppliers.  PEFC (Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes) is an alliance of national forest certification systems that work together at a global level, making it the world’s largest forest certification system, currently with over 230 million hectares in its programme. For further information on the programme visit www.pefc.org.

By sourcing from forests certified to international sustainability benchmarks and tracking the wood fibre that comes from them, products such as paper, packaging, furniture and construction timber can carry the PEFC label to let consumers know that they are supporting good forest management.

Most of the UK’s leading paper merchants and many printers are now able to offer a range of PEFC-certified papers to their customers.  Details of the PEFC-certified paper range and more than 500 UK printing and print management companies which have undergone Chain of Custody certification (the process by which the source of a forest product is verified) can be found on the PEFC UK website.

As a result of more and more print companies becoming chain of custody certified, the number of publishers and brand owners now choosing to use the PEFC logo on their publications as a sign of responsible paper sourcing is growing rapidly.  This year has seen the PEFC logo becoming ever more visible, as trusted household names such as Argos, Boden, British Airways, First Choice, Matalan, Next, Specsavers, National Westminster, John Lewis, Debenhams, Tesco, Asda, Nectar, Airmiles, Lakeland and now uses the PEFC logo on their customer-facing publications.  Even the Hansard record of parliamentary debates and government bills now carry PEFC logo.

Businesses can demonstrate its support for responsible forest management by:

• Developing an inclusive responsible procurement policy which recognises both recycled and certified virgin fibre papers
• Checking if your suppliers are able to offer you PEFC-certified papers for your customer-facing direct mail, envelopes, reports and accounts, promotional materials etc
• Asking your printer if they are PEFC chain of custody certification certified

Using the PEFC logo on your corporate and customer communications to demonstrate that your paper has been sourced from well-managed forests.