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The UK’s top 200 printing firms and their environmental accreditations came under scrutiny in a report commissioned in April by printers GI Direct from Marketing UK. Of the companies included, only 24% had ISO 14001, 14% were FSC subscribers and fewer than 5% were accredited as carbon neutral – rather startling given the amount of discussion environmental concerns inspire in business today.

But there are many different shades of green and, with many varied accreditations to be gained in the printing sector, it is hard to know which are actually worth their weight and which supplier fits in to buyers’ own environmental plans.

Some suppliers have been involved with accreditations such as ISO 14001 and FSC for many years. In the past few years, as green policy has come to the fore in government, corporate and domestic discussion, many people have hopped swiftly – and perhaps in a rather haphazard fashion – onto the accreditation trail.

Investing in the future
Although practices and attitudes may be in the right place, without significant investment the resources are simply not available to smaller firms. It is important to understand how firms are working to lessen their impact on the environment.

The main accreditation that many printers have, or are working towards, is ISO 14001. This is an international standard that requires a company to review and understand its activities and relevant legislation, and then decide for itself what activities need to be managed and improved. Companies are audited regularly to ensure continual improvements are being made. If they are not, accreditation can be revoked.

GI sales director Patrick Headley says that it still surprises him how little focus there is on standardising practice in the printing industry, especially as firms can spend so much time and money working towards them. GI has one person in charge of accreditations. “It can be frustrating if you are undercut on price by someone who does not have any accreditations although this happens less now,” says Headley.

In fact, over the past 12 months, large tenders have seldom gone out without specified environmental credentials. “This has meant that firms who years ago dismissed the importance of environmental accreditations are now having to play catch-up,” says Headley.

As ISO standards are ongoing, the length of time someone has had it will affect how far they have come – firms will be at different levels in the process.Newly accredited printers have shown some inspirational results. Halstan Printing Group achieved ISO 14001 this year, and has already been able to cut the waste it sends to landfill by 70%. Halstan’s environment officer Grant Hazell says that the most important part of the process has been staff training. “We need to keep every member of staff involved in what we are doing, what we want to achieve and that changes are kept going.”

Prove yourself
What surprises Hazell about buyers is that very few ask to see proof of credentials. “We have documentation to prove everything that we do that we are happy to show to potential customers, but many do not ask for proof or further detail about how we are making improvements, which we will always be happy to share.”

ISO 14001 is not the only credential available; the Greenmark award and BPIF Environmental Assessment Scheme are both developed for smaller companies as stepping stones for ISO 14001. Richard Edward is a small, family-owned firm hoping to achieve ISO 14001, but has gained Greenmark along the way.

Marketing director for the firm Louisa Moger says: “It is very hard for smaller firms who do not have more resources.” However, Richard Edward runs training days for clients to emphasise its environmental efforts.

The Green Dragon Standard, which operates in Wales, is a stepped system that takes the specific needs of your company into account. This means smaller firms can be recognised even if they do not have the financial capacity to achieve a particular accreditation.

Level five of the Green Dragon Standard is the level at which a company would be ready to apply for ISO 14001 or the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS). This recognises firms that go above and beyond legal compliance, and requires participants to produce public environmental statements. The information is checked independently which gives the EMAS scheme enhanced credibility and it has been described as the “Rolls-Royce” of environmental accreditations.

The FSC and PEFC credentials are primarily concerned with forestry, and have been widely publicised, but there is continuing debate in the industry as to what accreditation has more gravitas. Both provide an audit trail back to where the fibre originates, but the differences in opinion over them tend to relate to the actual forest management and also the way the forests are audited.

Dawn Fitzgerald, design manager for the Environment Agency, says that although ethically sourced paper is important, the carbon footprint is even more so. “You must look at the whole picture when it comes to where paper is from. If it is from a sustainable source but imported, the carbon footprint could be quite large, therefore diluting its claim as an environmentally sound product.”

Bespoke standards
Some print buyers and print managers have gone so far as to develop their own standards for suppliers. Four Corners Print is a firm that has taken this route with criteria it has developed called Responsible Print. It asks suppliers to fill out a detailed questionnaire, which covers everything from the inks used to the fuel mix of their electricity supply and how many tonnes of waste they send to landfill.

Director of Four Corners Lena Johansson says that none of the accreditations in isolation are superior to another. “They all deal with one small part of the process and do not always give an overall view of performance; this is what led us to develop our own mark,” says Johansson.

Different approaches
Johansson feels that printers fall into one of three categories: “Suppliers who have always been passionate about the environment, and will protect it whether it increases their sales or not; the shrewd operators who see the benefits of going green to get into buyers’ good books with a flurry of PR; and lastly those who still rubbish the idea and do the bare minimum to get by.”

Johansson concludes that print buyers need to accept that print produced in a sustainable way will often
not be the cheapest. “Implementing all of these schemes is costly and time consuming. We can’t expect printers to invest in these improvements and go over and above current legislation if we only buy on price.”

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ENVIRONMENTAL ACCREDITATION
The checklist

ISO 14001 Requires companies to review their environmental activities and manage and improve them. Proof of continued improvements must be shown regularly

Greenmark There are three levels to this standard starting with a demonstration that a firm is taking responsibility for its environmental impact. This is often a stepping stone for smaller firms towards ISO 14001

EMAS The Eco-Management and Audit Scheme recognises environmental performance that goes above and beyond what is minimally expected. Firms must produce a public statement on their environmental activities and the accuracy of this is independently checked by an environmental verifier

BPIF Environmental Assessment Scheme is another stepping stone towards ISO 14001, for small to medium-sized firms. It aims to assess, monitor and reduce the environmental impact of printers: this is an eight-tiered scheme

Green Dragon The Welsh environmental management standard that recognises the steps taken by firms to improve their environmental standing up to when they apply for ISO 14001 or EMAS

Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) Chain of Custody follows the paper chain and ensures there is no contamination between FSC and non-FSC material

The Programme for the endorsement of Forestry Certification (PEFC) provides an assurance to purchasers of wood and paper products that they are promoting the sustainable management of forests