The family-owned, Mansfield-headquartered group said the certification had involved rigorous procurement and print processes, and involved “significant investment and procedural changes”. 

The Carbon Balanced Programme is an initiative of international conservation charity the World Land Trust.

Linney said it had optimised every aspect of production, from procurement to printing and distribution, in order to reach the Carbon Balanced goal. 

The group offers a wide range of multi-channel marketing services, and also has extensive in-house printing capabilities. 

Executive director Charles Linney described carbon offsetting as “a pivotal part” of the firm’s Sustainability agenda. 

“We’re pledging our commitment to sustainable and zero-carbon print practices by investing now to minimise our future environmental impact,” he explained. 

“We’ve no Planet B, so spending more now to help save what we have is an investment we feel is worth making. Meanwhile, we’ll continue to work innovatively over the coming years on reducing our absolute emissions in line with our 2025 Sustainability goals.”

Linney has a raft of other environmental certifications and accreditations and is already operating at a carbon-neutral and zero to landfill standard. 

It has committed to working with the United Nations Sustainable Development goals, and by 2025 the group aims to cut carbon emissions by 6,000 tonnes and become a fully net carbon business, reduce electricity use by 8.7m kWh, reduce overall waste by 30%, and plant at least 25,000 trees in the nearby Sherwood Forest.

It has also set up an online shop, Linney Regenerate, where items such as surplus stock and branded goods can retraded rather than wasted. 

Separately, Linney has published its first full set of results since the Covid-19 pandemic struck last year. 

In the year to 2 May 2021, sales fell 22% to £77.7m, while operating profits were effectively flat at £3.13m. The group received £6.3m in support from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. The business employs more than 1,000 staff.

In his commentary, director Miles Linney said that in May 2020 monthly activity had fallen to just 40% of the previous year as many clients were forced to shutter their operations, with half of the group’s workforce on furlough at the time as a result. 

He said the height of the crisis had been a time when “strong relationships and trust come into play”.

“On behalf of the business I would like to sincerely thank our clients, suppliers, banks, professional advisers, the government and our Linney people for all their brilliant support during this year,” he stated.

“The furlough scheme allowed us the time to plan and think and not to panic. All of us at Linney will be eternally grateful for that support. As I write this today [19 October] I am pleased to say that we are back to full employment without have to consult on any multiple redundancies over the past 18 months.”

Linney has also just revamped its website with fresh new look.