Environment
At GPS environmental consciousness is inherent in our company culture and not merely an afterthought. This extends from our policies on waste minimisation through to our many accreditations and has resulted in GPS winning a long list of awards.
FSC® + PEFC
FSC® and PEFC are two international organisations that promote responsible forest management. The two organisations were set up in response to concern about deforestation and demand for trustworthy wood labelling, enabling consumers to identify wood and woodbased products from well-managed forests, or recycled sources.
Only printers that have FSC®/PEFC Chain of Custody are allowed to reproduce the FSC®/PEFC logo respectively on jobs. We simultaneously attained Chain of Custody for both FSC® and PEFC in July 2008, making us the first commercial printing company in Northern Ireland to do so.
Our clients not only have the reassurance of knowing that we are committed to sustainability and the environment but can also demonstrate this commitment to their readership when the FSC® or PEFC logos appear on their own printed materials.
TWO SIDES
The 'Two Sides' initiative explodes the Myths and sets out the facts about print media's sustainability in a clear and concise manner.
GPS is a member of the 'Two Sides' initiative. Our mission is to promote the effectiveness and sustainability of print and paper to the world.
We are passionate about and dedicated to this industry have become increasingly dismayed that the good environment credentials of the graphic communication supply chain are not being properly explained and that a new generation is growing up believing the print and paper is a media which can be replaced by other forms of more sustainable and effective communication.
The Myths and Facts booklet is one of the key resources of the Two Sides campaign. The 24-page A5 booklet addresses popular Myths about print and paper and dispels those Myths with verifiable Facts. If you think it's time to STOP the fake news about the sustainability of Print and Paper contact us and request to request a copy of the Myths and Facts booklet.
CARBON NEUTRAL
In 2006 we were the first printing company in Ireland to attain carbon neutral status. This was achieved by reducing emissions from the Belfast plant to an absolute minimum and taking responsibility for any remaining, unavoidable CO2 emissions by voluntarily purchasing carbon offsets. There was a rigorous audit of our greenhouse gas emissions, covering our entire energy usage – from how we manage our power requirements and waste, through to assessing the mode of transport each employee takes to work. We could provide clients with carbon neutral publications. For each carbon neutral project, we calculated the carbon emissions produced during the manufacturing and shipping of the paper used and manage the process of offsetting on behalf of the client. Documents could then display the carbon neutral publication logo.
Demand for this service in recent years has diminished so we have temporarily suspended this service. We envisage with time demand will return to its former levels when we printed more carbon neutral publications than any other company in the world. In the meantime we can provide documents printed on carbon neutral paper as well as FSC® and PEFC environmental options.
