The Carbon Balanced Print, Paper and Packaging programme experienced its most successful year to date in 2021.
Fuelled by a surge in sustainability efforts by firms, the programme welcomed a record number of Certified Printers and doubled previous volumes of Carbon Balanced Paper.
The Carbon Balanced programme, developed and delivered by the environmental consultancy group CarbonCO, allows users and producers of printed media and paper packaging to offset carbon by funding World Land Trust's conservation activity around the world.
The programme welcomed 30 new Certified Printers in 2021, bringing the total to 48 Carbon Balanced Print businesses across the UK and Ireland. New partners include Go Inspire Group, Linney, McGowans, Potts Print, BCQ Group, The Encore Group and many other leading environmentally focused printers.
Certified Carbon Balanced Printers have measured and offset their primary operational impacts, as well as committing to further reducing avoidable emissions through their direct operations and value chains. Certified Printers can exclusively offer customers Carbon Balanced Print and Carbon Balanced Cartons, with the ability to create and present certificates quantifying the amount of carbon offset and land protected, and issue World Land Trust logos for use on printed and packaging materials.
Registrations of Carbon Balanced Paper and board exceeded 60,000 tonnes in 2021, doubling the previous year's activity. Carbon Balanced Paper's committed supplier partners-Antalis, Denmaur, and Fedrigoni-were instrumental to this success through the continued growth of Carbon Balanced at Source products, such as Denmaur's Revive range and Ultra Fine Offset, and Antalis' Creative Papers Range.
Carbon Balanced Paper adoption was further accelerated by significant commitments from the UK's leading greeting cards supplier, UK Greetings, and a number of creative agencies.The success of the programme has enabled the expansion of project areas being funded. Choosing Carbon Balanced now helps fund World Land Trust's ecosystem protection and restoration projects in Vietnam, Mexico, Ecuador and Guatemala.
All of World Land Trust's forest protection and restoration projects have measurable, long-term local community benefits, a positive climate impact and significant biodiversity conservation value.
As governments, businesses and consumers all continue to focus on ways to reduce their carbon impacts and protect Earth's unique ecosystems, Carbon Balanced Print and Paper remains a simple yet powerful way to meet these growing demands.
For more information about supporting the programme, please get in touch.