The Premier Paper Group, the UK’s largest independent paper merchant with a nationwide network of regional stock holding branches, has announced that it is now offering its customers the chance to become a Carbon Capture® Certified Company, with Purely Digital being the first to take advantage of the new environmental initiative. 

The scheme allows customers who are looking to reduce their environmental impact and minimise their CO₂ emissions through their operational activities, to become a certified Carbon Capture® Company through Premier Paper. 

Originally, Premier offered Carbon Capture® to customers to capture the CO₂ emissions from the production and distribution involved in their paper purchases, which is then calculated and captured by planting trees with the Woodland Trust’s Woodland Carbon Scheme. This has now been extended to organisations and companies who wish to Carbon Capture® all their CO₂ emissions related to their operational activities.

The first company to take advantage of this environmental initiative offering is Derby based digital printing company, Purely Digital, whose operations serve the Derby, Nottingham and Leicester regions. Specialising in short run digital printing, Purely Digital became Premier’s first Carbon Capture® Certified Company having already been part of its Carbon Capture paper purchase offset programme since 2013, where it has been responsible for creating 92.09 m² of new native woodland in the UK  through the Woodland Trust’s Woodland Carbon scheme. 

Commenting on their reasons for opting to become the first Certified Carbon Capture ® Company, Purely Digital’s Managing Director, Andrew Edmondson, stated, “When we started the business we wanted to try and be as green as we could. We became FSC certified and looked to combat the rise of CO₂ emissions that we, as a company produced through our plant. We offset our company’s electricity supply for the past 7 years by various schemes with the electricity companies, but I found that often these were offsetting the carbon overseas, which was not favourable to me. By contributing to the Woodland Carbon Scheme with the Woodland Trust, and through their partnership with Premier Paper, this made me think this would be a far, far, better way to capture back the CO₂ we as a company produce, by not allowing it to be someone else’s problem overseas, but to capture the carbon in a scheme operating here in the UK that we can see tangible benefits from, and help develop further the UK forest coverage.” 

Andrew added, “I believe we have a low percentage of land covered by trees compared to our European neighbours and we should do whatever we can to rectify that. Also by doing this we are contributing in a small way to the welfare of our children and their children by means of slowing down global warming and creating leisure areas for families to enjoy and benefit from for many years to come.”

“I wish Premier and the Woodland Trust all the best with this new scheme. I hope it generates great interest within print, and also further afield. If I can show what we can do by taking on these initiatives as a small company, then hopefully this might encourage others, and much larger companies, to follow suit.”

Premier Paper’s Environmental Sales Director, Chris Stanyon, stated, “Purely Digital are the first company to adopt this new standard in our Carbon Capture programme and I am pleased that the programme fits well with their company objectives. Purely Digital have been running carbon reduction initiatives for a number of years and recognise the commercial benefits of demonstrating a responsible approach to their operations. Achieving the new Certified Carbon Capture Company standard will enable them to use this in all their marketing and communication projects, clearly demonstrating their support for a UK based environmental project that results in creating native British woodland that is accessible for all to enjoy”      

Carbon Capture® is offered through the Woodland Trust, who Premier, as a corporate partner, signed up to its UK Woodland Carbon Code. This programme sets a new standard for Carbon Capture®, removing it from the atmosphere through the creation of native woodland across the country. 

The scheme operates under the Government’s Woodland Carbon programme, an accredited award winning carbon removal scheme, which operates under the Government’s 2011 Woodland Carbon Code.

To become a Certified Carbon Capture® Company, customers, together with the use of Carbon Capture paper, will calculate their operational CO₂ emissions from its energy and fuel consumptions using DEFRA figures and guidelines. 

The calculated figures will then be submitted for an independent audit and verification. Upon verification, the company can then Carbon Capture® their operational CO₂ together with their paper purchases to become a Certified Carbon Capture ® Company.

The benefits of becoming a Certified Carbon Capture Company include; Carbon Management plan and internal carbon reduction programme; Quantifiable CO₂ reduction claims that can be included in annual reports; Marketing programmes to help add customer value; High integrity environmental programme independently verified; Use of the unique ‘Green Seal’ logo.

The certified Carbon Capture® Company status is for a 2 year period, after which the operational CO₂ emissions will then be audited and re-verified.

The Carbon Capture® scheme operates under the Government’s Woodland Carbon Code, a voluntary standard for woodland creation projects in the UK. The independent certification to this standard provides assurance and clarity about the carbon benefits of these sustainably managed woodlands. It is calculated that 25m² of native UK woodland will capture and store one tonne of CO₂ and creating large areas of new native woodland, will, over time, remove hundreds of thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

The Premier Paper Group is the UK’s leading independent paper merchant and through its business divisions and nationwide branch network, offers a great choice of products and services.

Premier Paper has 30,000 tonnes of paper held throughout its branch network, offering some 5,500 different product items, from many of the world’s leading paper manufacturers, including the UK market’s widest selection of media for digital printing.

Equipped with specialist knowledge and extensive experience, the Premier business divisions offer a high level of guidance and advice, specifically tailored to each market sector.

The Premier Paper Group endeavours to be an integral and valuable part of its customers’ business providing first class services, sharing its extensive knowledge and information, offering advice and a choice of quality products.