Royal Mail has launched an initiative to make direct mail campaigns - or junk mail as recipients know it - more environmentally friendly.
The Carbon Neutral Door to Door scheme makes it easier for companies to reduce the carbon footprint of their mailing by providing advice on the types of paper, ink and varnish to use, as well ensuring more effective targeting.
After the carbon impact has been minimised, Royal Mail will calculate the remaining carbon dioxide emissions generated by the campaign.
Royal Mail then pays to offset the carbon through schemes such as the Woodland Trust's Carbon Plus+ which plants native trees in the UK.
Mailings made under the scheme will carry a Royal Mail carbon neutral logo to demonstrate to customers that the company concerned is taking its commitment to the environment seriously.
The first campaign will appear in September aimed chiefly at businesses that use direct mail, but it will also urge recipients of junk mail to recycle the mailing rather than throw it away.
Businesses will also be asked to include the Waste and Resources Action Programme's Recycle Now logo to encourage the recipient to dispose of the mail in the most environmentally friendly way.
"Royal Mail is in an ideal position to lead change in the direct mail industry, and is prepared to spend money to incentivise customers to make their unaddressed mailings carbon neutral," said Ross Drake, general manager of Royal Mail Door to Door.
"And all this can be done without compromising the quality of a campaign."
Standards which companies must adhere to before they can register with the scheme include:
- Using paper with a minimum of 50 per cent recycled content, or virgin paper sourced from a forest certification scheme
- Ensuring that packaging is made from recycled, recyclable or reusable materials and is reduced where possible
- Using production partners with recognised environment management accreditations
- Using vegetable-based or recycled inks and aqueous (non-oil based) varnishes
- Excluding polywrap and window envelopes because they cannot be easily recycled by consumers
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