Knowledge bank

Use collected rainwater for your litho presses, recommends Platinum's marketing manager Andrew Hudson
"The aim is to capture the rainwater and then transfer it to a water tank where we can purify it for use on our litho printing presses. At the moment, we are metred, so this will help us reduce our costs - especially if we have summers like last year. It will also play a part in our environmental policies and strategies."

Measure your start point and set environmental targets, says Clare Taylor, environmental consultant at Clare Taylor Consulting
"Before starting out on environmental initiatives, you need to know what your starting point is. It doesn't need to be absolutely precise, as long as it's enough for you to judge results. If you are planning to cut waste sent to landfill, for example, it can be as simple as checking how many full or half-full bins or skips are taken on average each week. Then keep measuring to check progress. And set firm targets, so you know what you are aiming for. It's a management truism that applies to environmental improvements as much as anything else - you can't manage if you are not measuring. Measuring also helps you communicate to staff what they have achieved - that's very important for keeping people motivated. Margaret Thatcher reputedly described happiness as a ‘ticked-off list'. Meeting targets can have similar therapeutic effects."

If everyone is engaged, you will achieve real benefits, suggests Nick Dixon, chief executive of Lateral Group
"On their own, senior staff struggle to make the impact they would like to see on environmental conduct in printing firms. Traditionally, making up a small percentage of the workforce, they rely on the co-operation of their employees in the implementation of environmental initiatives. It is often the case that, in practice, a lack of understanding prevents the comprehensive adoption of new processes by staff on the print floor. This can only be overcome if everybody understands the importance of implementation and are properly trained in how to carry it out. The key to success is education. By relaying the reasoning behind new initiatives, employees are encouraged to adopt the same school of thought. Detailed planning is essential to get every staff member on board with the policy, as it is a cultural shift in business and takes time. By setting realistic targets and encouraging staff to engage in the policy, you will achieve real environmental benefits."

Educate your customers through seminars, advises Taylor Bloxham's group environmental and management systems officer Elizabeth Ashford
"Seminars can teach a company how it  can limit its environmental impact and meet its environmental objectives. They emphasise environmental credentials and include external speakers. They identify the impacts of the environment and put in place initiatives and measures to limit them. Some environmental impacts will be impossible to eliminate, such as the use of natural resources including paper and energy. Yet it is possible to become increasingly efficient and still progress towards achieving environmental objectives and targets. Our company is FSC- and PEFC-certified and has installed energy efficiency initiatives such as Power Perfector, Power Factor Correction and energy-saving sensors throughout areas of our Leicester-based building. Printers can demonstrate environmental awareness and operate with environmental sensitivity in mind. It is down to forward-thinking organisations to adapt to the requirements of environmental objectives as a result of market drivers and client requests. There is also a need to increase client knowledge in this area, offer environmental print options and change the perception of the printing industry."

Chart and monitor your use of resources, recommends Repropoint Digital Print Solutions chairman Mike Webb
"To achieve the Environmental Standard ISO 14001, you are required to monitor your use of resources. However, don't just file the information. Instead, publish it to all of your team, preferably in the form of charts, and put a cost against each item. When people are aware of costs, they do try harder to reduce them. For example, we thought that we had reduced our waste collections to the minimum. Once our team were aware of costs, they sorted more waste for recycling, reducing our weekly landfill collections by two bins per week, a saving of £1,000 per year. None of us are aware of just how much we waste. Communication is key."

Streamline and launch your own web-to-print portal, advises director Jason Richards director of The Entwistle Group
"Two or three years ago, we recognised that our print processes needed to be streamlined in order to reduce waste and to ensure our print customers got the best possible value for money. As a direct result, and after 18 months of development, we launched our online web-to-print portal, Eprintfire. This one development alone has virtually halved our print proofing process for business stationery in particular, as all literature is proofed by the customer online. The system then produces a print-ready PDF file that is sent directly to our HP Indigo presses. We have not only cut down our paper and ink use for proofing purposes, but, as it also doesn't require any packaging or delivering, our delivery overheads are reduced."

Apply best practice to reflect environmental concerns, says Abbot Print managing director Alasdair Browne
"Going back over our figures, there are serious savings to be made in adopting some simple environmental standards. We keep figures on everything from ink cartridges for the office printers to how much we spend on coffee. The company has monitored the electricity and changed lighting systems, removed radiators and issued jumpers. We are FSC- and PEFC-certified and where there is no paper with this accreditation, we go for those with the Nordic Swan logo. We have installed cycle racks at our premises to encourage cycling and picnic spots for the staff to use at lunchtime, rather than have them driving off-site. Also, we have installed a device on the water system to reduce our water consumption and we have centralised and controlled all office printers and ensured that they use both sides of the paper. There are separate bins in the offices and pressroom for different types of rubbish and we recycle everything that we can. All this has saved us money - of that I have plenty of evidence."

Even in tough times, strive for environmental accreditations, recommends Tower Supplies managing director Suzanne Mitchelson
"With printers worrying about margins being squeezed in difficult trading conditions, environmental accreditations may end up as a low priority. However, we have found that printers are not being taken seriously by blue-chip companies unless they have got relevant environmental credentials. Environmentally sound practices are essential if you are considering targeting the charities sector. Deciding which scheme to go for was easy for us. We have never been asked if we are PEFC-accredited, whereas we are frequently asked about our FSC accreditation. Plus, there is the additional requirement that PEFC has over FSC in the need to conduct internal audits. SMEs can achieve these standards without massive additional costs. The requirements for FSC accreditation can be built into your standard processes and training, plus initial audits are straightforward. Completing the initial audit is reasonably quick and painless and there is certainly no requirement to employ additional staff. Furthermore, the FSC exercise gave us the opportunity to review our processes and adopt best practice across our sites. And FSC accreditation has already given us inroads into new market sectors."

Sign your company up to the Cycle to Work scheme, says Trafford Press Group commercial manager Roger Cutting
"The company signed up for the government's Cycle to Work scheme, which was set up to encourage commuters to use bicycles as a means of transport in order to reduce environmental pollution. The scheme allows employees to buy bikes and cycling equipment at discount prices. The money is taken out of the employee's salary - before tax and deductions - over a 12-month period, so they can pay as little as 50% of the retail price of a new bike. It's a great scheme as it promotes a cleaner environment and also a healthier lifestyle for the employees taking part."

Good data hygiene can have a significant impact, explains Andy Ruddle, sales and marketing director, Real Digital
"The biggest environmental impact we often make with our clients is with data hygiene. Clients don't always realise just how quickly data can degrade. The ability to clean data, and identify and extract deceased and duplicate records, seems to be a totally obvious service that can increase response rates and is environmentally friendly as it reduces waste. It's all about an attitude of mind that can impact in several small ways, rather than a single big win. Also, we use energy-efficient lights where possible and turn them off when rooms are empty. Digital print is also able to print completely relevant and timely communications on demand. This is without the need to print estimated quantities of base stock, or for shipping around the country and storage only for the remnants to be dumped at the end of the campaign. Bio-degradable window film in envelopes, recycled, PEFC and FSC papers and organic inks all help."

Make sure your company car policy is as green as it can be, advises Simon Biltcliffe, managing director of Webmart
"Reduce your company car policy so that every year replacement cars have capped emissions that reduce 10g/km each year. As of January 2008, we have set a CO2 limit of 190g/km for all company cars purchased. In a bid to reduce our carbon impact, we will also be reducing this upper limit by 10g/km every year. For 2009, it will be reduced to 180, during 2010 it will be reduced to 170, and so on, until we reach our upper target of 130g/km for the fleet. There is no lower limit."