Park Communications is starting to print The Trade magazine, a business publication for asset managers and investments banks because of the sustainability that the east London printer can offer as environmental issues rise up the agenda.
Park managing director Alison Branch says: “Pre-Covid people were starting to become more environmentally conscious, magazines were choosing compostible wrapping, they wanted FSC papers. Then we found during the first part of Covid, price was king and it was all about surviving. During lockdowns people were watching more documentaries about the environment and awareness has started to build again. We are getting more inquiries from both B2B and independent magazine publishers.”
One of these led to wining the contract for The Trade, which is read by around 10,000 in the banking business. Jonathan Watkins, its publisher, says: “Inspired by the environmental initiatives across the industry we cover, we wanted to ensure our own processes are as climate friendly as possible, and through this new partnership with Park Communications we’ve been able to address that in every aspect of the printing process.”
More prosaically, unless the publisher was able to demonstrate sustainability, some of the merchant banks had indicated they would no longer want to see the magazine. Park has also won the contract to print sister title Global Custodian, which has a readership in the international securities services business.
Park was able to show that electricity used is sourced from renewable sources, that VOCs are negligible, that 95% of onpress chemicals are recycled, that only 1% of waste is directed to incineration to generate energy and that FSC papers would be used. It is also offsetting the carbon generated through Climate Partner and a project to fund clean drinking water in India.
“I went to a conference a couple of years ago where another publisher explained its sustainability process and initiatives they had taken,” says Watkins. That has led to Park starting to print the quarterly titles, another magazine for the publisher and other reports.
The interest is not restricted to publishers, says Branch. “We are seeing corporates and the report and accounts sector becoming more conscious about the carbon generation and how they can offset this,” she says. “We have one report and accounts project where they want to see a list of what is possible to pick from this. That is going to be a useful piece of work that we can offer in other markets.
“It starts with questions about paper, but customers are also focusing on the production process, the VOCs and energy consumed. Today 99% of all waste is recycled and we control VOCs very tightly.”
