Following the success of the Heidelberg ECO Printing Award 2008, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) is once again inviting print shops across the globe to compete for its international environmental award for sustainable printing in the sheetfed offset sector. The company offers a total prize fund of EUR 50,000 for the award, which is divided into two categories: "Sustainable companies" and "Forward-looking solutions".

The environmental award focuses in particular on the sustainable use of resources and energy, climate protection, and environmentally aware management practices. These aspects of sustainability can relate to a company as a whole, or to exceptional one-off solutions in prepress, press, postpress, logistics, and corporate culture. Winners should set a benchmark for the entire industry and encourage others to adopt sustainable business practices and solutions.

"The aim of our environmental award is to give companies in the print media industry worldwide a platform for sharing information on environmental protection and sustainability, and to encourage greater commitment to such issues," explains Stephan Plenz, member of the Management Board responsible for Heidelberg Equipment. "The winners of the first environmental award provided impressive proof that it is possible to combine environmentally friendly production with business success. We encourage and support this, and consider ourselves a champion of green printing," Plenz continues. More than 50 print shops worldwide had submitted entries the first time the award was held two years ago.

Entries welcome from all sheetfed offset print shops
The Heidelberg ECO Printing Award is open to any print shop that operates at least one sheetfed offset press. The number of presses is as irrelevant as the volume of production, the vertical range of manufacture, and the size of the print shop. Print shops from anywhere in the world that use any kind of substrate (paper, card, or foil) can submit an entry.

An independent, international panel of judges including representatives of the printing industry, environmental scientists, and members of environmental associations will examine the entries and select the winners in the two categories.

All entries must be submitted in writing. Entry forms are available online at www.heidelberg.com/en/eco_award. Entries can be submitted from October 1, 2010 to January 31, 2011. The Heidelberg ECO Printing Award will be presented in June 2011.

Heidelberg totally committed to sustainable printing
Green printing has long since ceased to be an empty buzzword. The product portfolio and consultancy services offered by Heidelberg in this field make it the environmental partner of choice for print shops. Environmental protection has been firmly established as a corporate goal for more than 20 years at Heidelberg, and the entire production process is optimized on an ongoing basis.

What's more, Heidelberg is represented on a number of committees involved in defining standardized guidelines, for example to calculate carbon footprints. In view of the company's commitment in this field, Germany's Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Reactor Safety has invited Heidelberg to represent the industry and play an active role in the dialog between politicians and business leaders on climate protection in trade and industry. This dialog focuses on energy efficiency and energy management in new and existing production processes.