Richard Owers, director at Pureprint Group, has no doubt that being green means being financially leaner: "Financial improvement will come with environmental improvement. If you are using resources more efficiently, then your business will be financially more successful. It's difficult to think of any environmental system that does not improve the bottom line."

The company has the facts and figures to back up this claim and it has a reputation for being one of the most clued-up companies when it comes down to the environment. The Uckfield-based firm has won awards and plaudits for its rigorous green standards. Its strategy is to base this green strategy on a sound economic footing - a policy that has paid dividends.

"The environment is intrinsically part of our financial management," adds Owers. "It's not really about environmental management any more. We look at the environment as a cost area."

The company was formed back in 2004, when Beacon Press was bought by East Sussex Press, creating the umbrella group Pureprint. But Beacon's environmental credentials stretch back to the late 1980s when its founders, Mark and Wendy Fairbrass, set the company on an environmentally sustainable path.

Their legacy continues more than 20 years on and, as well as gaining the obligatory ISO 14001 accreditation, Pureprint has also signed up to the gold standard EMAS. This takes environmental reporting to the next level and means that each year the company has to publish a report detailing its green policy, as well as things like the amount of CO2 it produces, tonnes of ink bought and the waste committed to landfill.

Challenging year
For 2010, Pureprint has set itself some challenging objectives on resources, waste and emissions. To get everyone on board and pulling in the same direction, Owers believes that there has to be a monetary figure attached, giving staff more of an incentive to hit their target.

"We've found that 24.2% of paper we purchased does not reach our customers - that's around £1m worth of paper," he says. "People can get more excited about a figure like that and can understand what needs to be achieved. We aim to reduce this figure to 21.5% in 2010 - that's roughly 10% and around £100,000 less waste."

So far, waste has been a success story for Pureprint. In total, 99% of dry waste is diverted from landfill. Of that, more than 98% is recycled.The remaining one or two per cent is waste that is either electrical, so can't be recycled,  or taken back by a manufacturer.

Pureprint has also made significant gains on the ink front. It's managed to reduce ink waste from 12 tonnes in 2008 to six tonnes in 2009.

"We have made big strides on that," explains Paul Pettitt, health and safety and quality system manager at Pureprint. "We are more thoughtful about purchasing inks, particularly special colours. It's saved around £22,000. We feel it's important to get a monetary value on every objective."

The group intends to reduce its ink consumption further, by 10% per million sheets printed. To do this, it will trial ink optimisation software, which it hopes will also reduce set off, ink rubbing and marking.

Emissions are also on the list of areas to tackle. This year, Pureprint intends to reduce the litres of diesel and petrol purchased, per 1m impressions, by 10%. In the second quarter of 2010, it intends to replace its delivery van fleet, as well as publish guidelines to drivers to aid better fuel consumption.

Some areas are more difficult to tackle, such as water. For 2010, Pureprint aims to reduce its water usage by 1.5% through monitoring water usage through a plate processor and a reduction in plate spoilage. Plate making accounts for 68% of Pureprint's production water usage.

"Water is used left, right and centre, but the cost of it is nothing compared to paper or consumables," explains Pettitt. "The total water bill is £5,500 - that's for one year across a business of 170 people."

It's all about continuously improving and Pureprint isn't afraid to bring in outside help or share its results with others in the industry. Three years ago, the company brought in the Carbon Trust to carry out a free survey of its business - its recommendations have helped to reduce Pureprint's emissions and make it more energy efficient. It's also enlisted advice from the BPIF and is a member of the WWF's Forest and Trade Network group.

"There are a lot of people out there who don't understand the issues - we are happy to supply advice," adds Owers. That advice isn't just available to print buyers, but also to other printers. Owers believes that the industry will only benefit from a more joined-up approach and he applauds the work of initiatives such as Two Sides.

Total commitment
Driving change within the company can be difficult; it requires buy-in from everyone in the business, from the directors at the very top to the shop floor. Pureprint has a team of ‘green champions' that help to make sure that systems are being adhered to. It also encourages staff to come up with their own green ideas.

It's given the company a solid reputation and one that's been recognised by those outside the print industry. In 2008, The Sunday Times ranked the Pureprint Group as the second greenest small company with high or medium environmental impact. The newspaper then carried out a survey among Pureprint's staff with some interesting results, with 72% saying their managers encouraged them to think about saving energy and 82% understanding the impact of ISO 14001.

Owers adds that the green drive has also changed the workforce's attitudes towards the environment outside the workplace. Clear communication has helped Pureprint to hit high levels of sustainability with a positive knock-on effect.

It's an ongoing commitment for the company that doesn't stop. Pureprint has grown over the last year, taking on more work and services - it's expanded its digital print offering, project management and fulfilment, pushing its turnover to £20m. While a boost in business is welcome, it means that the company has to maintain its high standards in cutting waste, energy and emissions.

"We are becoming a more efficient and cleaner business," says Owers. "Around 95% of our income is from litho, but that is changing. We may need to change the way we monitor our business."

But as long as it can tackle that, then Pureprint Group stands to gain - both environmentally and financially.

COMMENT

At one time, ‘green’ printing was often viewed as a niche market, with environmental credentials being just another cost needed to meet the burden of tender requirements.

Today, the environment and sustainability are firmly in the mainstream. Environmental management is not an add-on, but something that needs to be incorporated into the core business strategy if its full business benefits are to be realised. As Pureprint demonstrates this month, these benefits include not only the added brand value associated with good environmental performance, but also significant and sustained savings from increased efficiency and reduced waste.
Waste, such as printed sheets that have to be binned, is often overlooked. Other unnecessary costs, in areas such as disposal, labour and unproductive machine time, may also remain hidden. Calculating the cost of this waste, as Pureprint Group has done, is the first step towards addressing and resolving the problem.

For those needing expert assistance, the BPIF can help. We also support companies in obtaining environmental standards such as ISO 14001 or EMAS.

Getting your workforce involved is key. The use of environmental champions is a fantastic example of how to secure the commitment of staff. Effective monitoring and target setting is also important.

Those companies that cannot prove their environmental credentials will find it harder and harder to even get past the first stage of tendering. So the question is not so much ‘can I afford to go green?’, but rather ‘can I afford not to?’

Dale Wallis is BPIF membership director

BEST PRACTICE TIPS
An environmental management system (EMS) provides the management framework for ensuring regulatory compliance and allows environmental performance to be assessed, monitored and improved.

The cost of waste for a typical printer is around 4%-16% turnover, so ensure you understand where this waste is generated and calculate what this is costing your business. Set targets for reduction and implement measures to reduce waste and ensure there is a system for monitoring performance and reviewing targets.

It’s also important to make employees aware of how much raw materials cost to promote efficient use of resources and encourage waste reduction. You need to ensure the optimum balance between reducing overs and ensuring order fulfilment. In addition, consider using waste substrate for press re-starts, as well as retaining and re-using part reels for makeready or for completing jobs.

Reduction or elimination of IPA can be achieved through control of water hardness, use of hydrophilic rollers, chillers, fount additives and filtration with no detrimental effect on the run. The benefits include reduced expenditure on chemicals, reduced volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions and improved air quality.

Consider switching to processless plates. As the name suggests, this is essentially platemaking technology that does not require chemical developer with the benefits of reducing both the amount of chemicals used and also the volume of hazardous waste produced.

Use automated wash-up systems as these can reduce your cleaning agent consumption by up to 10% compared with manual systems and produce less waste. Also, use an industrial laundry system for wipes. This has the combined benefit of recycling and reducing the amount of hazardous waste produced.

If appropriate, consider waterless printing – it eliminates waste fount solution and IPA use as well as taking out the associated VOCs.

Use vegetable-based inks where suitable. These are less hazardous than mineral oil-based inks and come from a renewable source. Also, use UV inks as an alternative to solvent-based inks. These can also eliminate the VOCs associated with solvent-based inks.

Finally, consider chain-of-custody certification. FSC and PEFC ensures substrates are from sustainably managed forests or recycled sources.

Liam Gardner is BPIF environmental advisor