Finsbury stakes its future on the green vote.

21 October 2004

After cleaning up at the recent SA Picas, Ernest Orel, managing director, has confirmed a change of identity to Finsbury Green Printing, a name Finsbury Press has used as a division for some time. Claiming to be Australia’s leading environmental printer, he said that after five years of work on the company’s environmental credentials, “we can legitimately call everything we do ‘green’.”

To coincide with the official launch of the new name, the company has released its inaugural annual Environment Report, a fully audited account of its environmental activities.

In a letter to customers Orel says that Finsbury Green Printing is the first printer in Australia to open itself to public scrutiny in such a way and “we are happy to do it because we are proud of our achievements.”

Among the distinctions he is claiming is
  • The first Australian printer to gain simultaneous accreditation of ISO14001 (Environmental Management Systems) and ISO9001:2000 (Quality Management Systems).


  • The only commercial printer in Australia to volunteer for the Federal Government’s Greenhouse Challenge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.


  • The first Australian printer to publish an audited Environmental Report on its own activities.


    • There is more to the move to environmental printing than idealism or care for the biosphere. Other companies such as Focus Press in NSW are also actively promoting their environmental standards.

    Increasingly major corporations and government departments are moving towards enforcing a more responsible attitude to the environment from suppliers. That this can be a lucrative market differentiation is seen by Finsbury Green Printing’s claim that 85 per cent of its new business is attracted by its green record.

    The company is keen to reinforce that its customers pay no more for environmentally friendly operations. As Orel tells his customers. “You protect the environment, [while] quality is absolutely maintained and at no additional cost. At Finsbury Green Printing we have found that environmental responsibility and turning a dollar are not incompatible.”