1) The document discusses how switching to recycled paper for printing can benefit a firm's environmental credentials and support their green policy. 2) It provides details on the environmental benefits of recycled paper, such as using less energy and resources in production compared to virgin paper. 3) It also addresses concerns about quality and costs, finding that high quality recycled paper can be produced and the cost premium is relatively small at 3% on average.

1. pm june 2012 23
Supporting your
firm’s green policy
Matthew Rowe discusses how recycled paper has improved
Smith & Williamson’s environmental credentials.
By Matthew Rowe
process of recycled paper uses less energy,
so it has a much lower carbon footprint
than that of virgin fibre stock, and therefore
helps to limit global warming.The manufac-
turing process also creates less waste
compared to the manufacture of virgin fibre
paper.The non-toxic de-inking sludge can be
recycled or reused, as fertilisers, bricks or
cement.
Why is recycling better than sending waste
to landfill or incineration?
The fibres in paper can be recycled up to
six times before becoming too short for
papermaking. Every time these fibres are
recycled, pollution is reduced and valuable
resources such as water and energy are
saved.These multiplied savings have far
greater value than the minimal amount of
energy that would be produced by inciner-
ating the paper.As an example, virgin paper
production followed by incineration with
energy recovery consumes twice as much
energy as recycling (Source:WRAP/IPU).The
landfill stage has been found to contribute
as much as 50-75% of total carbon emis-
sions over a typical paper life cycle (Source:
IPPC 2001 & Paper Task Force 2002) What’s
more, burying waste paper as landfill
produces methane gas, which is 23 times
more harmful to the environment than
CO2. (Source:Waste and Resources Action
Programme)
What are the additional costs of manufac-
turing recycled paper?
The most obvious cost is the complex
process of collecting and sorting the waste
paper. Premium quality waste paper used in
offices is required to produce recycled
F
or many years as a firm we have
been looking to improve the sustain-
ability of our printed work.This has
involved increased use of digital
media and shorter, more targeted print
runs. However, many clients still prefer to
receive communications in hard copy and
we still have a considerable appetite for
traditional litho print.
Two years ago we sourced Purbrooks as a
supplier and have been impressed by their
passion for environmentally sound printing –
something they do without charging a
premium.We asked Martin Stern, of
Purbrooks, to review our publications and
help us improve the environmental creden-
tials of our printed communications. His view
is that a minimum starting point for those
businesses concerned about the sustain-
ability of their printed work, is to ensure that
the material chosen is FSC (Forest
Stewardship Council®) accredited.This
means that the paper is from certifiable
sustainable sources and has a proven chain
of custody from the moment the wood is
cut to the moment we take delivery of the
finished product.To use the FSC logo on
printed materials, the printer has to be
accredited and Purbrooks was an early
adopter of this standard.Their FSC certifica-
tion means that clients can be confident
when they specify recycled or mixed source
papers or boards from sustainable sources,
that this is exactly what they will receive.
Purbrooks dedication and commitment to
sustainability is something not all printers
have. For instance, they print without alcohol
on press, which is undoubtedly harder.
While we were satisfied that our print was
produced to a high sustainable standard and
that paper was sourced responsibly, we also
wanted to increase the amount we printed
on recycled material.Although the price
differential has reduced, there is still a small
premium attached to these stocks. In order
to justify the expense we needed to be able
to demonstrate the social benefits of using
this stock – the concern was that energy
expended on recycling increases the carbon
footprint of a job.We also had concerns
that the variability of these stocks might
impact on the quality of our print.We put
these issues to Martin:
What are the benefits of recycled paper to
the environment?
Using recycled paper saves energy, reduces
water consumption, diverts waste from
landfill and cuts down on air pollution. By
extending the life cycle of the original virgin
fibres, recycling paper delays CO2 emissions
by storing the carbon.The manufacturing
Marketing basics

2. 24 june 2012 pm
Recycled Silk and the environmental
credentials have been calculated as above.
Conclusion
In the end, we were recommended Cocoon
50% Recycled Silk, which gives a high level
of whiteness coupled with environmental
credentials, printability and a price posi-
tioning that will meet our requirements.The
results of Purbrooks’ analysis have helped us
to quantify the return on investment in CSR
terms of moving more of our printed prod-
ucts to recycled stocks.Their buying power
has minimised the cost differentials and we
can now clearly demonstrate to all stake-
holders the social benefit of moving to
material with a recycled content, which
supports the firm’s green policy.
Free environmental review offer
If you would like Purbrooks to review the
sustainability of your print contact Martin
Stern on 020 8944 3200 or email
martin@purbrooks.co.uk
Matthew Rowe is senior marketing manager
and head of publications at Smith &
Williamson.
papers with a high level of whiteness.
Inevitably this is more expensive than
general waste paper.
Another factor to consider is that greater
demand for virgin paper means manufac-
turers are able to take advantage of
economies of scale and pass on lower costs
to the consumer. Despite all of these
factors, when considering the cost of the
final printed job the premium is surprisingly
low – just 3% on average.
How is high-quality recycled paper
produced?
By using sophisticated processes and
controls, manufacturers can make sure that
paper quality is at the highest level, so while
paper fibres can become cut or damaged
during recycling, a highly effective screening
process prevents these damaged fibres from
finding their way into the final product.All
impurities are removed from the pulp, and a
strict quality control system checks the pulp
for brightness and dirt.This smart process
allows the paper mill to manufacture high
quality recycled grades with varying levels of
de-inked pulp content, incorporating
outstanding levels of whiteness only previ-
ously possible with virgin fibres.
How does recycled paper benefit our firm?
As well as benefiting the environment, recy-
cled paper can also be good for a firm’s
brand.With most companies making a
public commitment to their values, the envi-
ronment is a key part of everyone’s CSR
communications. Choosing recycled paper is
a simple decision that makes a big difference
and these days it’s one of the easiest,
clearest and most measurable ways to
communicate a company’s values.
Using recycled paper is a great way of
reminding the reader of the publication that
they’re in good hands.As well as being a
simple way to uphold brand values, it’s also
one of the most visible; each and every
piece of recycled paper based communica-
tion a client sends out is further proof of
their commitment to the environment.
Can recycled paper benefit any business?
Almost every business uses paper. It’s easy
to recycle, and these days many offices
collect their waste paper, so awareness of
recycling paper is continually improving. In
comparison to other
green initiatives
undertaken by
companies, the
move to using recy-
cled paper is easier
and more econom-
ical to implement.
Moreover, there’s no
ambiguity about the
benefits of recycled
paper.While other
‘green’ initiatives
such as agro fuels
continue to be
controversial, the
use of recycled
paper is scientifically
endorsed by inter-
national authorities
such as the UNEP
(United Nations
Environment
Programme) and
environmental
organisations such
as the WWF and Greenpeace.
Just how much carbon does recycled
paper save?
To enable businesses that choose recycled
paper to demonstrate to the world their
commitment to the environment, there is
now a data crunching environmental calcu-
lator.This tells you just how much wood,
electricity, water and CO2 were saved and
how much waste diverted from landfill,
thanks to producing a given publication on
recycled, rather than virgin, stock. Based on
the number of pages, size, paper type and
print run, we can calculate the various envi-
ronmental savings.This information is devel-
oped into a statement that can be any
shape or style and is available as a PDF for
inclusion in our client’s publications.
The calculator has been developed working
with the CarbonNeutralCompany, to
provide a credible and accurate assessment
of CO2 savings and comparisons are made
against European BREF data (European
average for virgin fibre paper).The data
offers some valuable insights into environ-
mental savings.
For example, this issue of pm has been
printed on Arjowiggins Cocoon 50%
Marketing basics
The environmental credentials of printing this issue of pm on recycled paper
This article originally appeared in professional marketing magazine.
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