NZ printer doubles up on green awards

Auckland's Soar Printing turned twice the shade of green for a day as it claimed medium business category at the Sustainable 60 Awards, while becoming New Zealand’s first printer to offer carboNZero certified carbon-neutral printed products.

According to managing director, Fred Soar, the Sustainable 60 award is a reflection on the company’s commitment towards environmental best practise.

“There is huge pride in our team that our vision of being New Zealand’s most sustainable printer is coming to fruition. Sustainable values are fully entrenched in the company’s strategic focus and management structure.

“Being able to offer carboNZero certified carbon neutral products will give us a major competitive advantage in an increasingly eco-conscious market,” he says.

On the day the company received its Sustainable 60 award, Landcare Research called to let them know they had met its green criteria allowing it to begin offering carboNZero products. The programme has been running since 2001.

Since the environmental management systems were introduced, Soar notes there has been a 2% increase in sales. In two years the overhead costs and carbon emissions from operations have dropped by 40%.

“The operational savings in two years have been more than $160,000. These are significant savings, even after deducting the costs of environmental certification. In a tough market, it’s the difference between making a buck or not,” Soar adds.