The original environmental printer has journeyed from 'quirky' to mainstream

As part of its entry to the PrintWeek Awards 2008, Pureprint Group submitted several intriguing statistics: 68% of its customers' buying decisions were influenced by Pureprint's social responsibility credentials; 52% of employees and 69% of customers changed the way they have thought about the environment through working with Pureprint; and finally, as if to underline the green proposition, Pureprint retained 87% of its clients in 2008.They are impressive figures and helped secure the top environmental gong for Pureprint at last year's awards ceremony.

But Pureprint is not just another firm to jump onto the green bandwagon; the company has been practising what it preaches for around two decades.

"There was a point where it was quirky to be an environmentally friendly printer," explains Pureprint director Richard Owers. "But with the growth of the business, we have taken environmental printing from a niche to the mainstream."

That's thanks, in part, to the visionary founders of the Beacon Press, which forms part of the group. The company was bought by East Sussex Press in 2004 and created the umbrella group Pureprint, although the Beacon Press name lives on thanks to its strong standing in the market. Beacon's founders, Mark and Wendy Fairbrass, had set the company on an environmentally sustainable path in the late 1980s.

"They were both innovators and ahead of their time," says Owers. "They were leading the way and we have kept up that momentum and increased it."

Pureprint is signed up to EMAS; a gold standard environmental accreditation that is rigorous and demands that any company has to constantly improve its environmental policies. A company then has to produce a public report, outlining its green policy in detail; figures published include the tonnes of CO2 emissions, litres of IPA purchased, the tonnes of ink bought and the exact amount of waste committed to landfill.

"The auditors check every line of the report," explains Pureprint corporate social responsibility manager Yvie Dear. "But it gives a guarantee to our clients. We are transparent."

Market pressures
While Owers acknowledges that economic conditions are tough and that "no stone should be unturned to take your business forward", he does offer stark words of warning.

"If you lose contact with what the market wants then your business will shrink," he says. "When you pitch for business from larger companies, you don't get out of the starting blocks if you do not have environmental accreditations."

With the EMAS standard, Pureprint is able to demonstrate its environmental systems with confidence. The company has a solvent recycling system in place, while the presses run alcohol free with vegetable-based inks. Pureprint was waterless, but that threw up several issues relating to its CTP plates.

"We battled with that and found that there was a higher level of waste," explains Owers. "It was self defeating and resulted in more downtime."

Instead of accepting defeat though, the company invested in water optimising equipment, which has cut the amount of water used in the print process. And on waste, Beacon has achieved eye-catching results with only 2% going to landfill.

But Owers adds that far from keeping this level of progress to itself, the Pureprint Group is keen to share its knowledge and experiences with customers and other printers. Educating the marketplace is essential if the print industry's environmental performance is to rise, he believes.

"It is about the sharing of knowledge and we have held seminars on subjects ranging from paper to carbon footprints," adds Owers.

And it's those two subjects that loom large on the horizon. Pureprint is part of the WWF Forest and Trade Network group and is currently pushing the paper industry to demonstrate the carbon footprint of its products. It's one example of how the drive for environmental excellence is on-going.

"It is a continual journey," adds Dear. "There is no end and it isn't just a project. It needs to be part of your culture as people do look at the corporate responsibility of the company. There are lots of stakeholders involved - your clients, employees and kit suppliers to name three."

For anyone still not sure about the financial viability of going green should look at one final figure from Pureprint - out of a total turnover of £15m, the company believes that £10.3m can be attributed to the group's corporate social responsibility ethos. While pursuing a green agenda for your print company may cost money in the short term, the long-term benefits are significant.

PUREPRINT GROUP FACTFILE

Location Uckfield, Sussex
Managing director Richard Osbourne
Awards include PrintWeek Environmental Company of the Year, PrintWeek Brochure Printer of the Year, PrintWeek Fine Art Printer of the Year (all 2008), two Queen's Awards for Enterprise, BPIF Book Production Award for Best British Book 2008
Equipment includes 10-colour Heidelberg Speedmaster 102, two six-colour Heidelberg Speedmaster 102s with coater units, two HP Indigo 5500s