Carbon Minimised Printing

Further to our commitment to environmentally responsible practices, the Bright Print Group commissioned Carbon Planet to conduct an independent greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and Level One energy audit of our business for the period 1/7/06 to 30/6/07. These audits were necessary to provide a benchmark for the reduction of our carbon emissions going forward and to help us prepare a strategy for future operations.

The audit covered all aspects of our business including:

• Equipment (printing presses, computers, bindery equipment)
• Utilities (electricity, internet, mobile & fixed telecommunications, waste)
• Employee Services (staff hours per year)
• Ground transport (delivery and representative services)
• Other Services (couriers, postage, advertising and cleaning)

You may view the Executive Summary of Carbon Planet's GHG Emissions Audit here.

Carbon Planet have identified the key steps involved in any GHG emission reduction strategy. They are:

• Measure (understand the key emission sources)
• Manage (prevent and reduce whatever is practicable)
• Minimise (offset the remainder)

Our aim at Bright Print is to manage our carbon emissions through better production practices, resource minimization and the setting of emission reduction targets. This is an ongoing process and will involve continual monitoring, education and benchmarking. The use of Greenpower will also assist us to offset our GHG emissions.

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What are some of the practical steps we are doing to reduce our emissions?

1. All T8 fluorescent tubes will be systematically replaced with T5 tubes which - a saving of 6630 kWh per year.
2. Turn all halogen downlights off during the day and rely on natural light - a saving of 1403 kWh per year.
3. Replace mercury vapour high intensity discharge (HID) lights with Powerboss Eluma 4x55W flouro lights - a saving of 59,119 kWh per year.
4. Save 1 hour per week of lighting - ie. turn off before cleaners, turn off during day, zone lighting - a saving of 2721 kWh per year.
5. Installation of timer devices on all hot water boil units - a saving of 4205 kWh per year
6. Use recycled paper for all stationery and marketing material
7. Select energy efficient machinery and computer devices
8. Buy local products where available
9. Opt for green friendly products
10. Avoid excess packaging
11. Avoid the purchase of disposal products
12. Re-use packaging where practical
13. Recycle all rubbish where possible

Why did we choose Carbon Planet?

Bright Print Group chose to partner with carbon emission consultancy Carbon Planet due to its excellent international credentials and ethical stance in relation to carbon emission reporting. The stringent international standards and protocols to which they comply include:

1. The World Business Council for Sustainable Development's GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standards.
2. ISO14064-1 Greenhouse Gases
3. World Resources Institute Standards
4. Australian Energy Audits Standard AS/NZ 3598:2000

Carbon Planet is also committed to sourcing carbon credits with the best collateral environmental benefits and is the only organization currently transferring legal title of carbon credits to the purchaser. Carbon Planet is currently the only carbon management consultancy to have its operations and services certified Greenhouse Friendly^™ by the Australian Government's Department of Climate Change.

For further information in relation to Carbon Planet please visit their website www.carbonplanet.com

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Carbon Neutral Printing - what does it really mean?

The Federal Government through the Department of Environment and Climate Change are looking very closely at a company's claim to be carbon neutral or to produce a carbon neutral product. Litigation has commenced in many industries which involved fraudulent and incorrect claims of carbon neutrality.

Few organizations, if any, will truly be carbon neutral. It is an incredibly difficult task to accurately determine the full GHG emissions for all inputs of an organization, commencing with the source of those inputs (which may be overseas and in un-regulated countries). It is now being considered more accurate to describe your organization as being carbon managed.

Those organizations who are claiming that they offset carbon emissions through purchasing carbon credits, also need to ensure that they can transparently quantify the emissions being offset and how those emissions were calculated. Some reputable companies will claim that they are calculating their emissions, but the calculation is being prepared internally. Their claims of offsetting can also be found to be baseless. Some claim to be planting one tree to offset one tonne of CO2. This simply would not stand up to any legitimate "green" claims ie it would take at least 5 trees to sequest a tonne of carbon with a buffer much greater than this number being planted. It should also, ideally be part of a carbon credit scheme, not just ad-hoc tree planting.

So scratch the surface a little with these companies who claim "carbon neutrality". Ask them by whom they are audited; whether the audit includes full life-cycle emissions reporting; and most importantly what scheme they are using to offset their reported GHG emissions. Many claims are dubious at the very least.

Carbon Offsets

Bright Print are investigating the possibility, through a carbon management plan offered by Carbon Planet, of being able to offer our clients the opportunity to purchase carbon credits for their printing. This would enable clients who are serious about making a difference, as we are, to partner with us in offsetting the GHG emissions created in printing their specific job.

If you are interested in partnering with the Bright Print Group in offsetting GHG emissions we would be happy to hear from you.

Want to know more about championing GHG emission reduction in your organization? Here are a few very useful links:

www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/www/html/1938-energy-and-greenhouse-management-toolkit.asp
This 7 module toolkit is designed to assist business?s reduce energy consumption and GHG emissions. The toolkit provides tools, case studies and guidance to improve productivity, compliance and GHG benefits.

www.epa.vic.gov.au/climate-change/carbon-management/default.asp
The EPA has released the Carbon Management Principles to provide a step-by-step framework that organizations can use to drive good environmental and business outcomes.

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