Consumables

Howard Smith Paper introduces a unique carbon balanced service

Tuesday 04. January 2011 - Howard Smith Paper has introduced a new comprehensive carbon service and two carbon pre-balanced papers, enabling companies who want to be one step ahead on environmental initiatives to use a unique marque.

Since the quiet targeted introduction of pre-balanced Greencoat and Think4, stocks over the first four months have already saved 1,286 tonnes of carbon, equivalent to 1,283 London to New York return flights or 3,770,393 car miles.
Dave Cooling, Marketing Director of Howard Smith Paper, says: “We have introduced pre-balanced papers produced by mills that have carbon reduction programs and Brands that have strong existing environmental credentials. The biomass plant being developed at Tullis Russell is well known, and so Think4, with its recycled content and FSC certification was an obvious choice. Our Greencoat brand is already recognised as an ecological choice with its Chain of Custody certification, low impact production and high recycled content, and so taking this further by offsetting the carbon also made perfect sense.”
An initial enquiry into interest among the top 1,000 FTSE companies resulted in an incredible 20% response rate, with interest from major household names within the financial, retail, construction, fmcg, utility, legal, travel and charitable sectors. There was also a groundswell of enthusiasm among leading design houses and printers.
Howard Smith Paper worked closely with the Edinburgh Centre of Carbon Management to develop a calculator to estimate the embedded carbon impact of Howard Smith Paper products.
Using this objective result, it now provides funds to the World Land Trust, who purchase ecologically important forests under threat of clearance. Referred to as REDD (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation), this is now recognised as one of the most cost-effective and swiftest ways to arrest the rise in atmospheric CO2 and global warming effects. Naturalist and Broadcaster, Sir David Attenborough, is among the World Land Trust patrons.
Printers buying balanced products can use the World Land Trust logo on printed jobs in the same way they do with FSC or PEFC. This is welcomed by many corporate end users who are committed to sustainable policies.
Howard Smith Paper Group says that it wants to help its customers, and its customers’ customers, understand and evaluate the carbon impacts of their marketing communications and it promises some further exciting initiatives in the future.
Greencoat is available with a range of finishes as an offset, preprint, silk or gloss paper. The range includes: Greencoat 80 Gloss, Greencoat 80 Silk, Greencoat 55 Gloss, Greencoat 55 Silk and Greencoat 100 Offset.
Think4 is an uncoated product widely used in the publishing sector for text and cover work, and in the commercial arena for multi-coloured jobs wanting high visual impact with minimal environmental impact.