19 March 2009

PAS2020 ? Green Direct Marketing is on the horizon

A new publicly available specification (PAS) and certification scheme for displaying the environmental credentials of direct marketing campaigns is on its way, could you benefit by becoming a PAS2020 certified printer...?

The latest environmental development to effect the industry has arrived in the form of PAS2020:2009 Direct Marketing - Environmental Performance. This publicly available specification aims to reduce the environmental impact of direct marketing campaigns and looks at each aspect in the value chain, including of course, printing.

This PAS has been developed in response to pressure for the direct marketing industry to take a more responsible and sustainable approach to its own activities and those within its supply chain when it comes to the environment. It enables printers to improve and publicly display their level of environmental performance enabling a sustainable value chain to be facilitated across all elements of a direct marketing campaign.

The specification focuses on setting environmental objectives and performance indicators for each aspect of a direct marketing campaign. Environmental performance at each stage of the campaign is assessed against the specification criteria to give a score of 1 to 3. Simply put; the better the environmental performance then the better the score that is awarded at each stage.

BSI Management Systems is currently developing a certification scheme to PAS2020 through consultation with a range of stakeholders including the BPIF, DMA and Royal Mail. The pilot phase is set to be launched this spring with a full launch of the scheme expected in the summer.

Printers who wish to print work for a PAS2020 certified campaign will need to gain Direct Marketing (DM) Supplier Certification. This will take the form of a single assessment whereby aspects such as Environmental Management Systems and specific print processes will be evaluated and given a score of 1 to 3. Many of the environmental considerations of print job specification such as recycled content of paper and ink coverage will have been predetermined by the print buyer. However for a printer to be considered for a PAS2020 certified campaign then they must themselves be certified to the level requested.

The cost of becoming a PAS2020 certified printer is expected to be approximately £1500-£3000 for initial certification with ongoing assessment costs estimated at around £1500 but this will vary dependant upon the size of the organisation and whether existing EMS certification has been achieved.

Vicki Gomersall, BSI's Product Marketing Manager for the PAS 2020 certification scheme, says ‘ultimately, certification to the PAS will enable printers to demonstrate they meet the requirements, helping them to retain existing clients and win new business'.

Further updates on the development of PAS2020 and the specifics on pricing and registration of certified printers will be released when they have been confirmed.

Click here for further information and click here to visit GreenDM