Environment - Green Events

The Premier Paper Group has held the latest of its successful tree planting action days, where some 5,000 new sapling trees were planted by customers, staff and students at the Woodland Trust-owned Heartwood Forest in Hertfordshire.

Elephant Print and Display has become one of the first UK companies to offer Climate Neutral Printing in association with German-based climate consultancy, ClimatePartner.

Digital print company Elephant Print and Display has revealed it is benefitting from an exciting new renewable energy initiative at their premises near Lewes.

Mutoh has received a Viscom Best of 2015 Special Award - attributed by the Viscom Germany organisation - for its Indoor Air Comfort Certificate (IAC) for digitally printed self-adhesive film, which Mutoh and Grafityp Self Adhesive Products obtained earlier this year.  The IAC certificate offers full compliance with all EU regulations regarding VOC emissions into indoor air.

The special award was presented to Mutoh Germany at Viscom Düsseldorf 2015.  To receive an award, entries had to prove their marketability while considering commercial, design and ecological aspects at the same time. Furthermore, they need to offer potential users a noticeable added value versus previously existing solutions.

The Viscom Award committee stated: “With this Indoor Air Comfort Certificate, Mutoh acts as pioneer because it is the first company to offer an emission allowance certificate for digitally printed self-adhesive films that complies with the strict EU requirements for indoor climate comfort. Since this measure is driving developments on the market, Mutoh was presented with the Viscom BEST of 2015 Special Award for this entry.”

The Indoor Air Comfort certificate (IAC) obtained by Mutoh & Grafityp is related to  the Grafityp Ecological non-PVC self-adhesive film (GEF-ES) printed with Mutoh’s Universal Mild Solvent (UMS) inks.  This product certificate, issued by Eurofins, an independent test organisation and world market leader for Volatile Organic Chemical (VOC) product emission testing, guarantees full compliance with all regulations on VOC emissions into indoor air that exist in any EU Member state.  Certification involved test chamber testing of printed film, VOC measurement for some 200 VOCs after 3 & 28 days as well as an in-depth third party audit of the production sites.

This first pan-European low emission certificate demonstrates Mutoh’s commitment in offering digital printers and inks that provide environmental protection and sustainability.  Mutoh’s UMS inks have been specifically formulated to offer a unique and innovative blend of high quality durable colour pigments, a new mix of resins and, last but not least, a new combination of milder and non-aggressive solvents.

The IAC certificate will offer Mutoh ValueJet series printer owners as well as print buyers full peace of mind in regards to long-term consumer protection after installation of the final digitally printed products, as well as full compliance with green building programs and ecological regulations for indoor air quality.

For more information on the Indoor Air Comfort (IAC) certificate, visit http://www.mutoh.eu/Company/NewsEvents/PressReleases/tabid/105/post/indoor-air-comfort-IAC/language/en-US/Default.aspx

[Below photo shows Mr. Volker Lienig with the Special Award]

FESPA has re-launched its Planet Friendly Guide in a new format consisting of a series of ‘mini’ guides.  Originally published in 2007 as a single document, the FESPA Planet Friendly Guide has now been reconfigured as one introductory guide and 10 subject-specific guides. The guides are available free of charge to members of FESPA’s 37 national associations.

The guides now target separate areas where digital and screen printing can be approached with sustainable measures. This recognises the need for information specific to a printer’s own print processes and business priorities making it easier for printers to access the information that matters to them.

In addition to the introductory guide entitled ‘Sustainability and the Future – How Can Printers Meet the Challenges? The 10 subject guides cover:  

• Pollution for Screen Printers
• Pollution for Digital Printers
• Hazardous Substances for Screen Printers
• Emissions to Water for Screen Printers
• Emissions to Air for Screen and Digital Printers
• Waste for Screen Printers
• Waste for Digital Printers
• Paper and Other Substrates for Screen and Digital Printers
• Environmental Management Techniques for Screen Printers
• Energy for Screen and Digital Printers

Sean Holt, General Secretary for FESPA comments: “Legislation and best practice are continually evolving within our industry and of course the Planet Friendly guides must incorporate these changes. We’ve also taken the opportunity to change the style of the guides, making them more reader-friendly. Keeping up to date with legislation can be prohibitively time-consuming, particularly for SMEs. The more digestible and pragmatic format should encourage printers to focus on specific areas of their business where they can implement better environmental practices in a practical and effective way.”
The guides have been created with the expert help of Michel Caza and Paul Machin, two leading voices in the industry each possessing a wealth of knowledge and practical experience on all matters relating to optimising environmental performance.

The research and creation of the Planet Friendly Guides is funded through FESPA’s Profit for Purpose programme, which has already reinvested millions of Euros generated by FESPA’s global exhibitions in various projects around the world to support FESPA’s global print community.

Planet Friendly Guides form part of FESPA’s wider Planet Friendly programme, which incorporates environmental advice, best practice and case studies into the educational visitor programme at all FESPA’s global events.

The FESPA Planet Friendly Guides are currently available in English, but will be translated into French, Italian, German and Spanish at a later date.

Bradford-based The Print Academy Yorkshire Ltd has achieved Carbon Balanced Publication Printer status. Carbon Balanced Publication Printer is just one of the B1 litho and digital printing company’s green credentials; it is FSC accredited, has a comprehensive environmental policy in place and has been carbon balancing print jobs on behalf of its customers via PaperlinX’s Carbon Balanced Paper initiative, for a number of years.

In order to achieve the certification as a Carbon Balanced Publication Printer, The Print Academy calculated the carbon footprint for its business, which was verified by the Edinburgh Centre of Carbon Management (ECCM). The resultant carbon emissions are carbon balanced (offset) by ecological charity, the World Land Trust (WLT), by preserving endangered tropical forests that would otherwise be removed. To maintain the accreditation, The Print Academy will have its carbon footprint audited bi- annually by the ECCM.

The accreditation recognises excellence in environmental performance across the entire spectrum of a company’s operations and services and the use of Carbon Balanced Paper available exclusively from PaperlinX is a key part of the accreditation process.

A wide range of popular papers are available from PaperlinX as Carbon Balanced at no additional cost and other specialist media is offered on an opt-in basis, where customers can choose to pay a small additional cost. The Carbon Balanced Paper initiative means that the carbon emissions related to every aspect of the manufacture and use of paper are calculated so that an equivalent amount of carbon is either prevented from being released in the first place or mitigated in the atmosphere. This balancing is facilitated by the World Land Trust which ensures that carbon impacts are offset in the most effective way.

“A Carbon Balanced Publication Printer is one of the highest statements of environmental integrity and credibility for both the end user and those who provide paper-based communications,” says Managing Director Justin McFarlin.  “We provide print for a number of charities and we’ve won new business because we can offer them the opportunity to directly reduce the carbon impacts of their marketing communications and meet their carbon reduction objectives; simply through their choice of paper.”

He adds, “Now with Carbon Balanced Publication Printer Status, we’ve got a real competitive edge. We’re one of just 16 accredited UK companies and within our geographical reach we are the only B1 printer.  This accreditation demonstrates our commitment to supporting our customers in their own green and CSR policies and will help us to proactively approach and service new markets. It’s a compelling case - every printed piece produced on Carbon Balanced Paper carries a unique World Land Trust logo confirming that it is carbon balanced - and this highly visible seal of approval confirms both our and our customers’ commitment to reducing environmental impact.”