Environmental Statement

As green as can be for a better future

At The Print Group we care about the environment and we’re constantly looking for new sustainable business practices that minimise our environmental footprint.

Even though The Print Group cannot claim to be a green company by ISO standards, (as we haven’t analysed our carbon footprint and had CO2 emissions formally tested or accredited, by an authorised body), we are however proud to say that The Print Group does place importance on climate change and sees it as a global challenge and one where we can make a difference.

We will continue to implement procedures to ensure the reduction of waste, emissions and resource consumption within our company.

Here are some of the ways The Print Group supports an Eco Friendly Environment.

• We use soya ink which is vegetable based and non-toxic solvents and inks on our printed presses.
• We use an alcohol-free fountain solution for our printing presses.
• We use CTP plates instead of plastic film, which saves chemicals and water.
• Metal aluminium plates are recycled to a scrap merchant.
• Excess paper stock, card and boxes are put into a recycling bin and taken away to a recycling plant.
• The Print Group is particularly committed to reducing paper wastage therefore we expect all staff to be conscious of this before the start of any print jobs. We place an emphasis on our operators to ensure the correct stock is used, the file has been proofed and any other variables that minimize the wastage of paper stock are taken into account.
• Empty toners from the digital production machines go into a recycling container and are sent to an eco-friendly recycling plant
• All staff are responsible for keeping their work areas clean and tidy, and when emptying waste material into bins, to ensure that the waste is secure and will not blow away
• All equipment, where practical, is kept switched off until required and turned off in between jobs. This includes equipment such as paper drills and binding machines
• Our pouch laminator, large-format laminator and the cello-glazing machine are all kept on a low temperature settings in between jobs, to reduce energy consumption.
• All machinery including computers, lights (except for security lighting), air conditioning and fans are all switched off at end of day to help conserve energy and lessen our impact on the environment.
• Whilst air conditioning is essential to keep our production machines and staff working efficiently, we do ensure these units are regularly serviced and maintained.
• We use paper with fibre sourced from pulp suppliers who use responsible forestry techniques.
• Our core paper supplier is also committed and supports us in minimizing our carbon footprint.
• We offer our clients eco-friendly and fully recycled paper stock if it suits their requirements
• We act as advocates for the paper and printing industry by offering education to our customers on the lesser known ways to decrease our carbon footprint.

Our processes and practices are continually evolving. We’re working hard to ensure our environmental management system constantly strives for best practice in this area.

The Print Group also supports and gets behind several different eco friendly campaigns, such as:

Clean up Australia Day in March
www.cleanupaustraliaday.org.au

National Tree Day in August
www.treeday.planetark.org

Friday File Fling (National Recycling Week) in November
www.recyclingweek.planetark.org

And a subscriber to Planet Ark’s Green Resolution campaign
www.planetark.org/campaigns/green-resolutions.cfm