Soar Print wins the Excellence in Climate Action (small organisation) award

• Find out more about the carboNZero programme.
• Click here, for information about the Awards and winners in other categories.

Soar Print has won Excellence in Climate Action - Small Organisation category in the Enviro-Mark Solutions Awards in Auckland.

Soar Print has cut its carbon emissions by 32% since 2015 by consistently focusing on carbon-reducing initiatives, such as investing in energy efficient technology, lower emission company vehicles, and by measuring and reporting on its carbon footprint; they also have this independently verified with carboNZero^CertTM certification, through Enviro-Mark Solutions.

Soar Print Finance Director Jenny Carter says Soar Print had an early ambition of leading the New Zealand print industry in reducing carbon when it started measuring its emissions a decade ago.

“We’ve been measuring our carbon output since 2009 with Enviro-Mark Solutions and have been able to track our reductions over time,” says Jenny. “We evaluate everything with an eye to efficiency and the environment, whether choosing more efficient vehicles or choosing print machines based on environmental credentials, energy consumption and waste. As an example, we installed an energy efficient machine that allowed us to replace two less efficient machines, which resulted in energy savings of 20% and a reduction in paper waste of over 50 tonnes per annum.”

“I feel quite passionate about it,” says Jenny. “As a financial person I see the financial benefits of reducing consumption of resources that emit greenhouse gases. If you can make financial savings, it helps the long-term sustainability of the business.  And if we are saving money, that makes it easier to pay our staff more and give back to the community.”

Enviro-Mark Solutions CEO Dr Ann Smith emphasises Soar Print’s dedication, “Soar Print has been working with Enviro-Mark Solutions through the carboNZero programme for 10 years – it’s inspiring to see them work year on year to seek carbon reduction opportunities as established leaders in the print industry. The results reflect commitment, hard work and willingness to innovate; it’s a real pleasure to announce them the winners in the Excellence in Climate Action – Small Organisation category, to recognise their passion for continual improvement.”

Soar Print has a focus on good data and reporting. It has carbon reduction KPIs that are displayed in its factory for all staff to see. It also uses energy solution providers that provide time-of-day metering, so management can monitor and investigate unusual energy consumption.

Jenny says that Soar Print has been able to grow its business, its employee numbers and pay its staff at least the minimum liveable wage, all while reducing emissions.

Staff are involved in initiatives through a dedicated Green Team—staff members from different parts of Soar Print’s business who meet regularly and go through what each department is implementing to cut energy consumption and reduce waste. Soar Print also provides feedback to its drivers on how efficiently they are driving.

“We also have a continuous improvement programme that encourages staff to raise ideas of where improvements can be made,” says Jenny. “One of our values is sustainability. We present an award at our monthly staff meeting where ideas related to our values are recognised, and that includes sustainability. We also have annual awards and recognise sustainability in that context, too.”

Further resources

• Find out more about the carboNZero programme.
• Click here, for information about the Awards and winners in other categories.