Australian Paper

Sensis produces 20 million copies of its White and Yellow Pages directories. In late 2008 it undertook an assessment of the impact of its print and online directories. “Not just emissions,” says Jillian Riseley, group manager of sustainability at Sensis. “We were talking about toxicity, impact on land development – the entire lifecycle from cradle to grave.” As part of its commitment to the triple bottom line, Sensis has also produced a free directory for small businesses designed to spread the sustainability word further.

Why did you decide to go carbon neutral?

All our stakeholders are concerned about climate change and they want to see action. It’s now at the core of our operations. Every new product now goes through a [triple bottom line] checklist: environmental and social impacts of a product, change or initiative, as opposed to just an economic perspective.

How long did the carbon neutrality report take?

URS environmental consultants built a model that took nine months which was then verified by Energetics before receiving Greenhouse Friendly certification from the government.

Who sets the parameters for lifecycle assessment?

A lot of printers will be aware of ISO14001 for paper. The ISO14040 series recommends and details what’s included in environmental management and principles of life assessment. Using international standards means it’s clear what should be included. Our approach is, if something wasn’t built for use in our lifecycle, we wouldn’t include that material. For example, we include the energy used by a consumer doing an online search, but not the energy that would have gone into making their computer.

Would you consider abandoning printed directories altogether?

Forty per cent of Australians still use the printed version each week. We’re unapologetic in that we give consumers choice. If they don’t want a directory, they can opt out. Paper was part of the reason for going carbon neutral, but there are also a lot of good qualities about using paper, like its recyclability.

How much are consumers driving the push to carbon neutrality?

Australians don’t tend to take to the streets, they just stop using products. If businesses are smart they will get ahead of the curve and make sure they are as sustainable as possible.

Why did you do the Sustainable Growth book?

Ninety per cent of our advertisers are small businesses. From all the research we’d done, small business genuinely wanted to do something, they just didn’t know how. They’re time poor and they don’t have the resources to seek help from consultants.

How important is having third-party independent verification?

That’s critical. It gives credibility to the program.

What are your Scope 3 emissions and how do you look to reduce them?

As part of our [carbon neutral] claims, our supply chain is included. Our job is a lot easier because most suppliers have started doing their own lifecycle analysis and looking at ways to reduce emissions. The number of printers using waterless printing, vegetable-based inks, and working on reducing electricity, is extraordinary. But all new tenders and contracts with major suppliers have sustainability guidelines in them. It’s a triple-bottom-line approach which details how we expect them to treat their staff and how they interact in the local community. But it also details how we expect them to take responsibilty for their environmental footprint.

What sustainability expertise have your designers Studio Periscope offered for your sustainability report?

They recommended reducing pages, chemicals and glues in our binding, and making sure the amount of trim is minimised. From our directories perspective – which are designed inhouse – how we paginate can have a significant impact on the number of pages we have, [especially when you] multiply that by 20 million directories.

What are some easy first steps for the design community? 

There are lots of resources for small businesses: order a free copy of our Sustainable Growth guide (http://about.sensis.com.au/Small-%20Business/Free-Sustainable-Growth-book) or visit the Carbon Down website (www.carbondown.com.au)

Some day – and that day will come if it hasn’t already – your client will ask you about what sustainability measures your company has in place. If your answer includes the phrase ‘and we’re offsetting our excess carbon emissions’, then you probably don’t need to read on.

If, however, the question elicits some combination of nervous shuffling, uncomfortable silence or creative stalling, help is at hand.

Evidence that fossil fuel consumption contributes to global warming has lead many companies to investigate becoming carbon neutral.

Even if you recycle paper and ride a bike to work, it may not mean you are carbon neutral. To know where you stand, it’s best to get an independent assessment. This means your company’s products, operations and activities have had their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions measured, calculated, reduced and then ‘offset’ through the purchase of carbon credits (which means, if you are emitting five tonnes of carbon per year, you then buy the equivalent amount of credits in tree planting or treating methane gas at landfills until your position becomes neutral).

To do this properly, a company’s carbon footprint can be measured through independent life-cycle assessment (LCA). This guards against the risk of losing credibility with the public and clients, who may suspect ‘greenwash’ – making claims that can’t be verified. To avoid this, a number of government approved agencies can assess and verify your company’s greenhouse credentials, particularly the carbon emissions you produce.

These independent verifiers can be found on the federal government’s Department of Climate Change website.  It’s here that you’ll also find out about the new National Carbon Offset Standard (NCOS), the updated version of the highly respected Greenhouse Friendly program.

Depending on the size of your company, ‘cradle-to-grave’ life-cycle assessments can cost a few thousand dollars. This is audited annually by the same company who first assess you (at additional, though reduced cost) to see if you are meeting the targets you set and if more carbon offsets have to be purchased.

Getting independent verification can seem like a double-up, but it’s all about providing rigour and integrity to the certification process. The ACCC’s  Green Marketing and Trade Practices Act details the rules around green claims. (Visit www.accc.gov.au and www.climatechange.gov.au/greenhouse friendly for more info). And to get an idea of the parameters involved, the ISO14040 provides the framework for conducting LCAs (www.iso.org).

The benefits to businesses are obvious. But not just in terms of reputation within the community, or a reduction in costs via improvements in the production process. As a supplier to bigger businesses, being carbon neutral may be a matter of economic survival.

Perhaps the most famous example of big business calling the sustainability shots is Walmart, the largest employer in the US. In 2009 it announced a Sustainability Index to which its 100,000 plus suppliers are accountable. The reason behind it, Walmart’s president and CEO Mike Duke explained, was that: “Customers want products that are more efficient, that last longer and perform better. And increasingly, they want information about the entire lifecycle of a product so they can feel good about buying it. They want to know that the materials in the product are safe, that it was made well and that it was produced in a responsible way. We do not see this as a trend that will fade. Higher customer expectations are a permanent part of the future.”

The reason suppliers are being asked these questions all comes back to the lifecycle assessment. Suppliers are part of a business’s lifecycle, which the widely used international accounting tool Greenhouse Gas Protocol breaks down in to three components or scopes.

Scope 1 is all direct GHG emissions. Scope 2 covers the indirect GHG emissions from consumption of purchased power. And Scope 3: other indirect emissions, such as what goes into the production of purchased materials and fuels, transport-related activities in vehicles not owned or controlled by the reporting entity, electricity-related activities not covered in scope 2, outsourced activities, waste disposal, etc. Design is a Scope 3 emission to a business.

But just as you can ask questions of your suppliers – such as printers – as to the sustainability of their business and practices, your clients may, if they haven’t already, ask you what you are doing.

Solutions can lead to stronger business relationships and, of course, a cleaner planet.

With clients like Qantas and Air New Zealand, design firm Buzz Products is acutely aware of the need for environmental sensitivity and the management of carbon offsets.

Among the many products the company designs, the volume of kids’ in-flight activity books can run into the hundreds of thousands. “The carbon input into manufacturing at that scale is quite large,” says Creative Director Doug Buckle. “So we work with our clients to reduce toxic levels initially, then look for sustainable materials, and then, at the end of that, also offer them the opportunity – just as you would your flights – to offset whatever remains with carbon credit.”

Since undertaking a sustainable policy four years ago and commissioning the Carbon Reduction Institute to do its internal audit, Buzz has “reduced its waste, packaging, recycling, and operational areas,” according to Tess Power, brand manager and sustainability chair at Buzz. “Then we went through and instigated a 10-step plan and continued to audit and [use] offsets from them. So we are audited each year to make sure we are reaching targets as well as becoming more sustainable.”

While Buzz don’t undertake a lifecycle assessment for each product they design, Buckle says each product undergoes “a four stage process: right size it, make it clean with no toxins, make it recyclable, and, if possible, make it re-harvestable, so there is no permanent impact on the Earth.”

Immersing themselves in new technology has proved useful as clients adopt green programs. For instance, when US giant Procter and Gamble (parent company to Buzz client L’Oreal) decreed that all its packaging would be sustainable, L’Oreal looked for solutions.

“We were all over clean ingredients and were going out and giving L’Oreal seminars,” says Buckle. “We presented a range of alternatives and showed why PVC was bad, and after a few projects they understood what they can and can’t do.”

Despite the perceived push for green products, Buckle says: “It’s often about doing it in a way that the customer would never notice. For example, with L’Oreal’s packaging it’s about keeping the premium look and feel, but taking out toxic materials which were irresponsible.”

Have you recently completed a project that showcases your sustainability efforts? Have you designed a job that minimises waste? Have you chosen a paper specifically for its environmental credentials? Are you turning off your computers and lights every night? Are your clients submitting briefs with an environmental flavour?

The sustainability category in this year’s Desktop Create Awards recognises excellent work that incorporates sustainable processes and practices. If you answered yes to the questions above, head online to www.createawards.com.au/sustainability and enter your business today! You could win $3,000 in cold hard cash, not to mention bragging rights.

Using a sustainably sourced and produced stock no longer means grey spotty paper, designer Stuart Geddes of Chase & Galley points out. As more clients set environmental standards, Geddes looks to the paper stock ranges that can offer his work something distinctive while maintaining great sustainable credentials. When choosing a cover stock for the Melbourne Design Guide, the range of textures in Tablex offered him an “unusual touch… to represent some of that diversity,” he says, in such a large compendium of information. The use of the Freckles texture, he says, seemed “a funny way of debunking the idea that the whole scene is something really cool and sleek”.

As a white, textured and coloured board range manufactured under the rigorous environmental standards of ISO14001, PEFC Chain of Custody and now available as carbon neutral, these qualities come at a low cost to our planet, and provide for Australian communities by being manufactured locally and distributed by Australian company KW Doggett. Although Geddes appreciates how “remarkably well” it prints, it is the range of colours and textures available that presents unique opportunities and attracts him to Tablex. Colours that are “ordinarily used for office stationery…you get coming through the print, which is really interesting to work with…distinctive and ordinary at the same time,” he muses.

‘Wear no evil’ is how Etiko brands its fair-trade street wear. Underneath the angelic wings and wise monkey riff are T-shirts woven in India from Fair-trade organic cotton, shoes certified as child labour free and soccer balls (under the Jinta brand) that contribute to the social wellbeing of aboriginal communities. Indeed, it was while working as a teacher in the Northern Territory that Etiko founder Nick Savaidis became interested in social enterprise – creating business by doing good. ‘Jinta’ means ‘winner’ in the Warlpiri language and 5% of retail sales on the soccer balls goes back to the Mt Theo community from where his idea germinated. It’s a triple bottom line approach that won Savaidis the Banksia Award and the Premier’s Sustainability Award in 2008. The Etiko sneaker is based on the classic Converse high top. “The reality is, you have to give people something they want to wear. Earlier forms of ecofashion didn’t have that in mind,” says Savaidis.

While the shoes are in the premium price range, it’s not about exploiting the hipsters either, he says. “People should pay the true price for a product.”

“From my point of view,” designer Stefan Sagmeister has said, “living a full life includes doing no harm, and being aware of the world that you live in on various levels.”

The occasion for the reflection was the launch of Worldchanging: a user’s guide to the 21st century, that he had designed.

A bestselling book of 2006, Worldchanging includes a foreword by such heavy hitters as Al Gore and Bruce Sterling, while its editor, Alex Steffen, runs the influential non-profit web magazine of the same name. If Sagmeister comes across as idealistic, Steffen is very much aware of the bottom line.

“Money spent making greener profits is not a cost, it’s an investment,” says Steffen.

If you want facts and figures, ask Fuji Xerox. Since initiating its Sydney recycling facility, the company has recovered 99% of end-of-life equipment and parts, saving $13 million in new part costs, generated export revenue of $5 million, and created over 100 new jobs. For its efforts, Fuji Xerox is a finalist in the large business category of the 2010 Premier’s Sustainability Awards.

While awards might be confirmation of their corporate social responsibility, surely it’s the million-dollar profits that matter most. Doesn’t a business succeed by focusing on one thing: the bottom line?

Increasingly, businesses – like those on the Dow Jones sustainability index or the FTSE 4 Good, to which the Xerox parent company has been nominated – are realising that profit is only part of the equation. For them, contributing something back to society and being environmentally sustainable is also part of the economic business model – the triple bottom line.

Indeed, the very fact that big companies have chief financial officers or even chief sustainability officers scrutinising the triple bottom line is a transformation in corporate governance.

As the very existence of those stock market indices suggest, corporate social responsibility is not only increasingly prevalent, it’s the basis for a burgeoning shareholders revolution.

Taming the fickle and demanding shareholder is a major enterprise. It’s about having them recognise ‘patient capital’ – acknowledging that greening a company and corporate social responsibility takes time – and that stakeholders, not just shareholders, are affected by businesses. Exponential growth is appealing, but difficult to sustain.

But the sustainability revolution doesn’t need to happen only at the big end of town. As the directors of Etiko and Sustainable Living Fabrics, Nick Savaidis and Bill Jones, testify smaller companies can make a positive contribution as well.

While research by the Mobium group, Living LOHAS, suggests people are prepared to pay price premiums of around 5–10% for sustainable products, Savaidis and Jones believe it’s simply about a fair price for a fair-trade product.

Both directors agree that good products can be profitable with everyone along the supply chain paid fairly, the environment left undamaged, the wider community aided by company charities and the loop completed by educating the next generation.

Under the triple bottom line model, profit is not just the economic value created by the organisation after deducting the cost of all inputs. Value is measured by how society also profits.

As humble stakeholders, we can still create change. As Joel Makower, author of Strategies for the Green Economy, declares: “Every time you open your wallet, you cast a vote – for or against the environment!”

Or, as Stefan Sagmeister is wont to say, “Everything I do always comes back to me”.

Bill and Kay Jones bought a bankrupt fabric company and transformed it into a world leading, environmentally sustainable business. The winner of the 2007 Premier’s Sustainability Award for small business and the United Nations Association of Australia World Environment Day Award two years in a row, Sustainable Living Fabrics produces over 400 fabrics certified with independent green credentials. Bill Jones explains the benefits to the bottom line.

What inspired you to go ‘green’?

We realised customers were interested in going green. Our competitors were saying how green they were, but we had no way of telling. And we didn’t want to talk green without actually being green. The only way to get that message across was to be third-party certified.

How far has your company come?

When we started we had nothing to offer environmentally. Today, I think the awards prove we are a world leader. We were invited to attend last year’s United Nations World Leaders Summit – 120 business leaders were invited to New York in preparation for Copenhagen. At our table was the head of Philips worldwide.

How have you benefited economically?

Before, our whole ethos was making products at the lowest price we could. It became clear that there would always be someone who would undercut it. We needed to appeal to a wider group of potential customers, which included designers and architects.

Were there additional costs to going green?

Definitely. But we were able to increase our margins so we were at the same price level as our competitors, and we sold to a wider group of people and increased the demand. We wound up getting a higher proportion of our product specified by designers and architects than we had before.

How long does it take to turn a profit?

About three years from when you decide to do something. Economically, we’ve substantially increased our margins by 20% and sales by 30% over three years. But we didn’t go above a market price. It’s not about charging a premium for being green.

What benefits have you seen from the sustainable strategy?

It empowers our employees to spruik what we are doing, because they know it’s third-party certified. We’re now tapping into a lot of designers. We sell overseas, which we didn’t do previously. That is the future for expansion.

Should governments do more?

Governments should be involved in ecolabelling and not standing back, saying private enterprise leads things. The government should also be specifying carbon-neutral products. And its superannuation schemes should be driving companies to think long term, not short term.

How did your supply chain react?

Some were interested in change, others thought we were mad. Over time it has become a bigger issue. You now see some big American labels trying to ensure their supply chain doesn’t employ child labour. Today suppliers are more interested, and that’s why the price differential has gone down.

What changes did you make to the supply chain?

Textiles historically have been bad for the environment because of effluent – mainly from scouring, dyeing and finishing. We changed our wool source to one that was basically chemical-free and the scouring detergents were biodegradable, so the effluent from this process no longer damages waterways. Another result is that solid waste from scouring can be used as fertiliser. A host of dyestuffs has also been eliminated.

What sort of packaging do you use?

We recycle plastics and board, mainly post-consumer waste.

What advice would you give to designers in terms of eco-design?

Seek third-party certification. And maintain the integrity of their green decision. A lot of designers specify something, but it gets changed by clients or manufacturers.

What is the ‘Give back 40’ program?

We give employees 40 hours paid leave a year to work within the community.

Are there any inspirational references you recommend?

The documentary Global Dimming explains why you would want to reduce your carbon footprint.

Like so many advertising agencies, Droga5 received its highest accolades (so far) for doing community work. But even by award-winning standards, the ideas behind the Million and Tap projects are ambitious. Interactive, fun, and delivering a powerful social message, they help the disadvantaged while inspiring others. Both won Cannes Titanium Awards.

The Tap project for UNICEF originally encouraged New York restaurant-goers to donate one dollar for every glass of tap water they ordered, with the money raised going to providing clean water to the impoverished. The project has since gone global and raised $1 million to date.

Meanwhile, the Million project, developed in partnership with Roland Fryer from Harvard University’s Education Innovation Lab, rewards under-achieving New York students with mobile phone credits – call minutes, texts and music downloads – if they perform well. During school hours, the mobiles operate as mini computers, while after school they revert to their usual function.

“Social entrepreneurship is core to what we do,” says CEO Andrew Essex. Clearly, there are financial rewards in the wake of accolades, but Essex says it’s not the motivating factor. “We don’t want the entirety of our creative and strategic firepower used in the service of selling commodities,” he says. As founder David Droga declared on a recent visit, “the backbone of Droga5 is still the capital side, but it can still do good at the same time.”

It began as an alternative to virgin rainforest timbers that are commonly used for picture framing. But after casting moulds of frames in a variety of materials, Tony Knoll’s ‘eureka moment’ was to cast the entire frame and surface as one. The result is a new art medium, PanelPop, that has since developed into the sister product Photo Panel.

Suitable for pencil, charcoal, watercolours, oils and acrylics, photographs can also be printed directly onto the panel. The effect is a framed, non-reflective, glass-less image that’s lightweight and can be hung indoors or out. Using certain materials like charcoal and pigments, they can also be reused several times. The carbon neutral products are made from salvaged timber and Polystyrene packaging, a product that’s difficult to recycle and normally ends up as landfill. “While old-school artists may be reluctant to try the new surface, younger people have that environmental concern in their DNA, so it’s easier to get them working with it,” Knoll says. Its potential applications are in school art rooms with limited resources, with street artists and as architectural panels, he says. Meanwhile, people are encouraged to use PanelPop HQ as a drop-off point for unwanted timber and polystyrene.

www.panelpop.com