New Generation Driven by Attitudes to the Environment
Robert Gordon University has embraced the concept of environmental awareness and improvement. To attract a new generation of students the University recognises the need to demonstrate environmental excellence. It’s now showcasing how an eco-conscious choice or printing material can help companies and institutions to significantly reduce their environmental impact.
Print Manager, Bill Walker, has 48 years of experience in the printing industry. He explains that he’s seen a huge change in attitudes towards recycled papers, now widely used across RGU printed materials.
Bill says:
“I’ve seen a significant shift in perceptions of recycled papers. This is in part because of improved performance and whiteness but it’s also being driven by our environmental policies and the attitudes of a new generation of students who are much more environmentally conscious”.
To drive additional recycled paper use, the print department selected and tested several recycled papers. Cocoon from Arjowiggins Graphic was chosen for its excellent print performance and its comparable whiteness to non-recycled paper, while the University uses Cyclus papers when a more obvious recycled look and feel is needed for certain jobs.
The University is committed to sustainable practices, minimising impact of all its activities on the environment. This approach absolutely extends to our printed material and the role of the print department in ensuring we are as sustainable as we can possibly be. But we also ultimately need to maintain the high quality standards of our printed material and both Cocoon and Cyclus have helped us deliver on this”.
Print projects have included the Under Graduate Prospectus 2018 which was printed on Cocoon Offset. A 'Look Again Visual Art and Design Festival' Guide, which stipulated a newspaper style finish was printed on Cyclus Offset to maintain a natural feel. Both projects received excellent feedback from internal customers.
Another significant benefit to RGU of working with Arjowiggins Graphic recycled papers is the unique Eco calculator and the Environmental Benefit Statement (EBS) that help the print team demonstrate the environmental savings made by printing a specific job on recycled paper. In addition to printing the savings on each job a yearly EBS can also be produced, for example, during 2017 by using Cocoon and Cyclus 100% recycled paper rather than a non recycled paper, RGU reduced its environmental impact by*:
- 18,100 kg of landfill
- 2701 kg CO2 and greenhouse gases
- 514,511 litres of water
- 29,567 kWh of energy
- 29,406 kg of wood.
Source: Carbon footprint data evaluated by Labelia Conseil. Virgin fibres from non-integrated mill data latest European BREF data.