Top print company has reduced emissions by 9%

Top printing firm, The Guardian Print Company, has significantly improved its energy, water and waste efficiency, new research shows.

The company has two bases – Manchester and London – where it prints widely read newspapers The Guardian and The Observer.

These improvements are no accident. In fact, the company drafted a series of schemes around a year ago to ensure that it would become closer in line with the national emission targets.

Manchester Guardian Print Company is largely to thank for the 16 per cent reduction in water usage, as it ran a project to cut down the amount of ink that was being used by the business.

As the company were so keen to make an impact, absolutely every worker was involved in the project.

Manchester operations manager GPC Phil Aitken said: "As well as improving the amount of ink and water we use, the project is continuously improving staff involvement.”

The dedication and focus of the staff meant that the usage of every type of ink has managed to decrease successfully.

Black ink has been cut down by 11 per cent, colour ink has gone down eight per cent and the overall use of water in the ink process has gone down a fantastic six per cent.

Using less water in the ink isn't just good for the environment.

In fact, “using less water in the ink has also resulted in sharper images and improved halftones, as well as reduced show-through and ink fly," Mr Aitken says.

Smart meters have also been introduced in both offices. These monitor the levels of energy use. If the levels become too high, the company is aware that they must think of new ways to reduce emissions.

“Water usage was also reduced by installing sensors in the urinals in the Manchester GPC,” Print Weekly reports.

Overall, the achievements of this top printing company are a massive step in the right direction, and certainly something that other businesses should take on board.