Carbon neutral range puts corporate conscience in spotlight

Australian Paper has introduced seven carbon neutral paper ranges with an advertising campaign aimed at big business and government departments that are focused on sustainability.

Paul Allen, Australian Paper’s marketing manager, said the decision to expand its range of carbon neutral stocks came from a consumer insight about corporate social responsibility.

“Around 60 percent of the top 200 companies are now reporting on sustainability,” Allen (pictured) said. “They all want to improve that triple bottom line reporting figure. Paper is a significant source of carbon emissions for a business so by using carbon neutral paper they can help reduce their footprint.” 

Australian Paper produces the carbon neutral paper brand Envi, launched in 2008, which Allen described as the company putting its “toe in the water” of sustainable products. The expanded range of carbon neutral paper includes Saxton, Tablex, Stephen, Tudor, Revive, Onyx and Postspeed. “Now we’re moving into our well-established brands and supplying them as carbon neutral,” Allen said.

The creative for the campaign, developed by OMG and led by David Gaff, features a series of paper-clad Ned Kellies demonstrating “bulletproof” nature of the paper stocks’ carbon neutral credentials. Allen said that the campaign was aimed at both businesses and their suppliers, with the goal of exposing advertising and marketing agencies to the options for printed communications.

“A company like NAB for example knows what its carbon footprint is relying on its suppliers to get on board and start offering these solutions,” Allen explained. Australian Paper is currently helping an number of Australian government and corporate clients reduce their carbon footprint, including Australia Post, Australian Passports, Hungry Jacks, Computershare, Dolly magazine, and The University of Adelaide.

Allen said that people who label sustainability efforts as “green marketing” are missing the big picture. He cited Walmart’s 15-point checklist that ensures every one of its suppliers can show the carbon footprint of its products as an example of how a major corporation can put sustainability at the heart of its operations without losing sight of the profit margin.

“Sustainability is about managing the economic and social impacts as well as environmental, and that consumers are increasingly demanding more responsible behaviour from governments and corporations,” he said.

This article originally appeared on DIRECT.