1. The Carbon Trust defines a carbon footprint as being all the greenhouse gas emissions across the life of the product, including production, use and disposal
2. The concept of a carbon footprint has quickly developed from being an interesting idea to a practical reality in the printing industry
3. There are a number of carbon calculators to help work out the footprint of different printed publications
4. The print process accounts for 10-20% of a printer’s carbon footprint, including energy used and materials. Paper is the main contributor to a publication’s carbon footprint, typically 50%-70% of the total
5. To really understand a carbon footprint, the full print supply chain has to be analysed with two key factors affecting the total footprint: the paper’s source (country of origin) and the ultimate source of the paper pulp and wastage levels
6. The Carbon Trust can help print businesses to measure their footprint and identify ways to reduce it. It’s leaflet How to monitor your energy use, shows businesses how to record information on energy use, and outlines simple techniques to help a business use the data to spot money-saving opportunities
7. Set up a good energy monitoring system. This will allow you to understand where and how energy is being used, identify areas where you can reduce energy consumption and save money

More information at www.carbon-label.com or www.carbontrust.co.uk