Bold move
Tony Blair may have said it first, but ‘education, education, education’ is vital if buyers are to understand what the different accreditation schemes mean and the key differences between them. It’s a mantra that Mark Lewis, assistant managing director at Mastercolor, might have dreamed up himself if the former prime minister hadn’t beaten him to it. Lewis’s company was awarded EMAS status late last year, which is considered by many to be the gold standard environmental accreditation. The company had previously attained ISO 14001, but wanted to introduce continuous improvement to its business and ensure it could never be accused of greenwash, so it opted to go down the EMAS route. It was a bold decision, but it’s one that has paid off in spades, according to Lewis.
“It has saved us money, it gives us a unique selling point because there are only a handful of printers in the UK with EMAS and it puts us right up there with the very best in the country,” he says.
Lewis admits that due to the raft of accreditations on the market, it would be easy for an unethical business to bamboozle clients by making various unsubstantiated environmental claims, which is what sets the EMAS standard apart from other green schemes.
“If you really wanted to you could baffle clients by making various environmental claims, but EMAS rubberstamps the claims that we make,” says Lewis. “We can supply the EMAS brochure and registration to clients and we can educate them about what we’ve done. We can show them that we’ve put our money where our mouth is.”
To this end, it’s the responsibility of each member of Mastercolor’s sales team to work closely with their client, informing them about exactly what the EMAS accreditation entails. The company is also just about to send out a wider mailshot containing its EMAS brochure with the aim of further educating clients.
Education is also a route favoured by PrintWeek’s 2011 Environmental Company of the Year, Park Communications. Park is an FSC and EMAS certified Carbon Neutral Company with an environmental management system certified to ISO 14001 and, according to company managing director Alison Branch, educating customers and devising a simpler marketing message has been vital to the business’s success.
“Initially, we educated our customers when each environmental credential was achieved,” she explains. “We sent email news releases explaining our achievements and offered further explanation of each certification.”
PrintWeek's 60-second guide to eco badges
Carbon Neutral Numerous offsetting schemes allow businesses to ‘offset’ the carbon that a company produces as a result of its manufacturing processes
EMAS The Eco-Management and Audit Scheme is the gold standard and recognises those businesses that go beyond minimum legal compliance. Only a handful of printers have attained EMAS status
FSC Printers who have been approved by the Forest Stewardship Council Chain of Custody scheme can produce work carrying the FSC logo
Green Dragon Similar to Greenmark in that it’s aimed at companies looking to boost their green credentials, but aren’t geared up for ISO 14001
Greenmark Appropriate for SMEs who lack the resources to go for ISO 14001
ISO 14001 One of the commonest certifications in the printing industry, this provides a framework for on-going monitoring and continual improvement
