Do you have business cards, stationery or flyers for your blog or organisation? We all know how important it is to have literature promoting the right message for your organisations but finding a printing company that can meet the needs of an ethical and eco-friendly business can sometimes be a difficult task.

If your eco values are at the heart of what you do, you’ll no doubt want promotional material and business cards that reflect these green credentials.

For many reasons we are fully committed to reducing our environmental impact. We have several measures in place including careful sourcing of paper, ethical resource management and the use of non-toxic inks. Here’s what we do to lower the impact on the environment and what you should be looking for from your printer.

Saving resources

The less resources you use, the less waste you create and this automatically lowers your carbon footprint. In the UK alone, we throw away 30 million ink cartridges a year. At Flyerzone.co.uk we use ink direct from drums which reduces the use of plastic and landfill waste.

Rewarding innovation

Recognising that saving resources is a win-win is a key characteristic within our business. Offering customers lower prices whilst doing our bit for the environment We’re so committed to reducing waste that we pay bonuses to people who come up with ideas about how we can work more efficiently! Developing this kind of in-house culture helps our business achieve the environmental standards we strive for.

Environmental standard

Look for accreditations. The Flyerzone system has been assessed by BSI and they’re certified for ISO 14001, the Environmental Standard. They’re also certified for ISO 9001, the Quality Standard.

FSC paper

Find the FSC logo. We source 99% of our paper from well managed forests which carries the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification. FSC certified wood is tracked all the way through production until it ends up as your finished printing. Half of the timber harvested worldwide is used to make paper, so it’s vital we show our support for responsible use of this precious commodity by sourcing FSC products.

Recycled paper

12.5 million tonnes of paper and cardboard are used annually in the UK offering the choice of recycled paper for many of our products is important to us. Searching for a company that offers recycled business cards and flyers that are good quality at a low price can be difficult. An astonishing 70% less energy is required to recycle paper compared with making it from raw materials.

Non toxic inks

At Flyerzone, we use vegetable based inks which give off much lower VOCs and are derived from renewable resources. The pigments in conventional inks can contain heavy metals and by using non toxic inks, this hazard is reduced.

But you know, it’s not down to businesses to do all the work. Here’s how you can do your bit with my 7 tips for eco friendly printing at home:

• Recycle your ink cartridges and toner for charity
• Buy recycled or FSC certified paper
• Print documents on both sides
• Recycle waste paper (or shred and use in your compost heap)
• Use an intellipanel to turn off your printer when you shut down
• Consider buying a multifunction printer – these use around 50% less energy than the combined consumption of a scanner, fax and copier
• Use the draft setting or try the eco font to reduce the amount of ink you use

What do you do at home to minimise your environmental impact?