CarbonCO officially relaunched the initiative yesterday (10 December) in partnership with international conservation charity World Land Trust (WLT).
Carbon Balanced Paper balances the carbon impact of the paper that printers, paper-makers and distributors use through the work undertaken by WLT.
As part of its activities, WLT has identified areas of forest that, through protection and reforestation projects, can offer opportunities for specific carbon balancing programmes.
Carbon is offset through the purchase and preservation of ecologically important forestry under imminent threat of clearance, which then locks carbon that would otherwise be released.
Carbon Balanced Paper was initially introduced in 2008 but had previously been exclusively tied into Paperlinx and was halted earlier this year when most of Paperlinx’s UK operations fell into administration.
During its initial phase prior to the relaunch, more than 350 printers in the UK had registered 12,000 individual carbon balanced print jobs on behalf of 2,500 different brands and organisations.
CarbonCO director Jonathan Tame said the initiative was an easy way for printers to add value to their clients by helping them meet their growing environmental targets and it also enables printers to attract new and prospective eco-conscious customers.
“It’s a credible way to reduce the carbon emissions of their marketing communications simply through the choice of paper,” said Tame.
“Printers can differentiate themselves from others in the marketplace and can also help customers to reduce their carbon emissions.”
Carbon Balanced Paper is now available through paper merchants Antalis UK and Denmaur Independent Papers and paper specialist Fedrigoni UK.
“Carbon balancing is a great way for Antalis, and its customers, to contribute towards projects that not only preserve these forests but also balance the carbon emissions the paper products release into the atmosphere during their manufacture and distribution,” said Antalis environmental manager Matthew Botfield.
“Carbon balancing provides the funding to protect the forest and future proof it to carry on soaking up carbon from the atmosphere and thereby cleaning the air and contributing towards reducing the global warming effect.”
11 printers have already become Carbon Balanced-certified, including Banbury Litho, Barnwell Print, Cross Print, Curtis Packaging, Healeys Printers, Kingfisher Press, NB Colourprint, Pinstripe Print, Potts Print, Resource and The Print Academy.
Kingfisher Press marketing manager Nina Ray said: “Being a Carbon Balanced Paper printer demonstrates our commitment to the environment, not only by promoting green and environmental options, but by ensuring that Kingfisher Press, as a business, is carbon balanced.
“It adds credibility to our cause when we are promoting Carbon Balanced Papers and green alternatives to our clients in that we are dedicated to supporting the environment ourselves and not just expecting our clients to be involved.”
Through the initiative’s paper partners, printers can ask for any product or individual paper order to be carbon balanced. Alternatively, they can buy from specific ranges that are already carbon balanced.
