• Pureprint Group have launched a carbon offsetting service to help clients reduce their net carbon emissions and play a part in tackling climate change
• The service uses a bespoke calculator developed with The CarbonNeutral Company that calculates emissions produced by the printing process as well as those resulting from the paper and envelope manufacturing and also takes final distribution into account
• The first printing group in the world to offer such a service

Pureprint Group have announced an exciting new service for their clients. In what is considered a worldwide first for printers, the group is now offering complete carbon offsetting for print jobs upon request. Pureprint Group have a long history of working to minimise the carbon footprint of their printing and recently achieved an all time low of only 1.3 tonnes of CO2 per million impressions printed. Beacon Press, now part of Pureprint Group, became the first CarbonNeutral® printing company in the world in 2002 with a programme of in-house emission control and then investing in external carbon reduction projects to offset the carbon emissions that could not be avoided.

The Group has continued this programme ever since and is now offering a new CarbonNeutral® publications service as a result of demand from customers who are showing strong interest in making the entire production of their publications carbon neutral; including the paper, envelopes and final distribution as well as the printing.

As part of their Sustainable Solutions initiative, Pureprint Group have teamed up with one of the leading carbon offset companies in the voluntary sector, The CarbonNeutral Company, to offer clients best practice verification and a wide choice of carbon reduction schemes to invest in.

Richard Owers, Marketing Director at Pureprint Group says: “Responsible carbon offsetting has a critical part to play in reducing global CO2 emissions. The CarbonNeutral Company is one of the world’s most experienced and expert carbon management companies so they are a natural partner for our ongoing development of a carbon calculator tool for printed publications. Using our specific data for printing as well as generic data about paper, envelopes and distribution we are able to calculate a publication’s carbon footprint and purchase the necessary carbon offsets for those clients who are keen to make an environmental difference.”
As part of the programme clients are provided with a certificate detailing the amount of carbon offsets purchased and the scheme they have supported. Clients will also be able to use the CarbonNeutral® publication imprint and logo on all copies of the job.

Climate Change is a global problem and by offsetting carbon emissions, clients can take responsibility for the emissions caused by the production of their printed collateral. And carbon offsets are an increasingly important part of the fight against climate change. The amount of money paid towards carbon reduction projects worldwide through the purchase of carbon credits is growing fast with last year’s global purchases of offsets reaching 24 million tonnes, up 200% in just 12 months. The CarbonNeutral Company itself contracted 1.4 tonnes from 26 projects between June 2006 – July 2007.

And what about the cost? Richard Owers explains: “It is our policy to provide carbon neutral printing free of charge, it’s what we have always done and we will continue to do. The extra cost for a CarbonNeutral® publication will range from £50 for a small brochure to £250 for 150,000 copies of a 32-page booklet. The fact that we offer the carbon offsetting of the printing free of charge means that even the printing of the biggest marketing campaigns can now be completely carbon neutral at a relatively modest cost to the client. It’s a great way to contribute to the fight against climate change.”

Sue Welland, Founder & Creative Director at the CarbonNeutral Company said: “ We are delighted to support the environmental work that Pureprint is doing in leading the way within the print industry. Providing CarbonNeutral® publications as an integral part of their print service ensures that the important of tackling climate change is fully communicated to customers and distinguishes the Group in the UK marketplace.”

One of the first reactions to the new service has come from well-respected Business in the Community (BITC). Gail Greengross, Strategic Communications Director at BITC said: “This is brilliant. We look forward to continuing working with you and will make sure our environmental team continues to use you as one of the leading examples of best practice!”