Staying sustainable with St Austell Printing Company

We're proud to use St Austell Printing company for producing our cards and wrap, not only because they're local, but because of their above-and-beyond methods to keep our planet happy.

St Austell Printing Company are a sustainable factory, who specialise in sustainable printing for a sustainable future

Working with the environment is top of their list, it’s in everything they do. In fact, they’ve been recognised as one of the UK’s most sustainable printing companies, winning four major environmental awards:

UK “Environmental Company of the Year” at the PrintWeek Awards 2019, the “Best Managed Medium Business” category of the Cornwall Sustainability Awards 2018, “Green Company of the Year” at the 2019 national Print, Design and Marketing Awards and “Environmental Project of the Year” at the Cornwall Manufacturers Group Awards 2019.

They specifically built their print factory to be efficient using sustainable materials and were awarded an ‘Excellent’ BREEAM rating – the world’s leading sustainability assessment for buildings.

• They have one of Cornwall’s largest roof-based solar panel arrays, presenting a carbon-saving of at least 45 tonnes per year.
• Their factory is one of the most environmentally-friendly in the UK.
• They harvest rainwater for flushing toilets and have grass-topped roofs.
• They maximise natural ventilation and daylight, and limit heat loss through insulation.
• Their building features passive and natural ventilation. Air conditioning units are limited to 3 small areas of the business where machinery requires cool temperatures. These rooms also have heat air circulation/ ventilation systems in place.
• They measure and manage their waste and use of water and energy.
• They use movement sensors across the building to automatically switch lights on and off, as well as light sensors to automatically switch lights on and off at dusk/dawn.
• They have introduced a delivery planning and tracking system for their fleet of vans, which calculates the most fuel-efficient routes for conducting each day’s deliveries. They also ensure our production schedules accommodate multiple-drop runs, with the aim of minimising emissions.

When it comes to printing, St Austell Print are constantly working to increase their efficiency and capacity to deliver the highest sustainability standards, shrinking their carbon footprint, cutting energy consumption and reducing waste.

• In 2018 St Austell Print made a major investment in a brand new lithographic printing press and associated plate maker – energy efficiency and sustainability were two of the key factors behind their decision. The Ryobi Mitsubishi 9 Series Press uses LED-UV drying technology instead of traditional bulbs. This not only means that the ink is instantly dry, but uses substantially less energy than the press it replaced. In fact, it’s one of the most energy-efficient presses currently available.
• All the paper they use is recycled or produced from sustainably managed forests. St Austell are FSC® certified (Licence code: FSC-C140438), and hold an ISO 14001:2015 certificate for our environmental management system.
• They use effective recycling schemes which are reducing, and attempting to eliminate, print and paper waste in landfill.
• They recycle 100% of their paper waste and 95% of their total waste (and are working on the rest).
• They make any damaged paper into pads and use scrap paper for printing internal emails and documents.
• They use vegetable-based inks, and any waste ink is taken away and used as fuel in furnaces in place of coal, gas or oil or used as a hardening in making concrete.
• Their Suprasetter Platemakers can process chemical-free or processless thermal printing plates. All of their plates are recycled.
• They engage in a number of carbon offsetting schemes through their partners and suppliers. For example, they use Woodland Trust office paper for their copiers and office-use which is produced using zero CO2 emissions from fossil fuels.

They’re doing everything they can to be sustainable, focusing on continually improving their environmental performance. This is an ongoing process for them. They, and by extension Whistlefish, are committed to working with the environment to show that when done responsibly, printing is a clean, green industry that is inherently sustainable.

To find out more about St Austell Printing Company's sustainable past, present and future click here