Opal achieves certification as Carbon Balanced Publication Printer.
Offsetting carbon emissions. 15.1.2018
Opal's 2018 certification, along with the use of Carbon Balanced Paper, means our clients can now choose to use the World Land Trust, Carbon Balanced Publication logo showing that the emissions of the whole printed job have been carbon balanced.
What is the added benefit of Carbon Balanced Paper + Carbon Balanced Publication Printer?
Carbon Balanced Paper, where the carbon impact of paper production has been balanced, was launched in May 2010. Registering jobs enables end users to receive and display a unique numbered logo certifying the process.
However, paper is only one element in the total carbon impacts of a finished document or publication. Importantly, it does not include the carbon emissions resulting from the manufacturing and finishing impacts of the producer.
Certification as a Carbon Balanced Publication Printer is a new initiative, and the highest statement of integrity and credibility that the carbon impact of the whole publication or printed item has been estimated and balanced (offset). Alongside the mandatory use of Carbon Balanced Paper, it is produced by a print organisation who has mapped their operational carbon footprint to defined boundaries, has been third party verified and finally, balanced (offset) these impacts with the World Land Trust.
Sir David Attenborough, Patron of the World Land Trust says, “The money that is given to World Land Trust, in my estimation, has more effect on the wild world than almost anything I can think of.”
The World Land Trust, an international conservation charity, protects the world’s most biologically important and threatened habitats acre by acre. Through land purchase of ecologically important standing forests under threat of clearance, carbon is locked that would otherwise be released. These protected forests are then able to continue absorbing carbon from the atmosphere, 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.
Opal's 2020 certification logo
The current project for Carbon Balanced Publications and Paper is in Vietnam, protecting an important area of the Annamite Mountains, preserving many endangered species.
Carbon Balancing is a simple way to express your commitment to responsible environmental operation and most importantly produces tangible environmental benefits via the World Land Trust. This comes at no extra cost to the end user; the donations received by the World Land Trust are made by the paper producers and Opal.
If you would like to learn more, and start making a difference on your next piece of printed work, please contact keith@opalprint.co.uk.