August 2012 –

“Demonstrating a responsible approach to the environment and adopting a reduced carbon strategy, can deliver a competitive advantage,” says Premier Paper Group Marketing Director David Jones

The Premier Paper Group, the UK’s largest independent paper merchant with sixteen regional branch offices, currently supplies 180,000 tonnes of paper a year to a diverse customer base with one common goal – an intrinsic requirement to meet stringent CSR and sustainability policies.

Premier is offering its customers the opportunity to capture the CO₂ emissions from their paper purchases by planting and conserving native woodland right here in the UK.  In addition, for those customers who may also wish to further capture their CO₂ emissions through the Woodland Trust, Premier will offer advice and guidance on how this can be achieved.

As a corporate partner of the Woodland Trust, Premier signed up to its UK Woodland Carbon Code. This programme sets a new standard for carbon capture, removing it from the atmosphere through the creation of native woodland across the country.

Using guidelines and figures from The Carbon Trust and DEFRA, Premier has calculated the amount of CO₂ the business emits per tonne of paper sold. Working with the Woodland Trust enables Premier to capture the CO₂ from the distribution of several popular paper ranges including Evolution, Multicopy and ProDesign.

“We recognise that both our and our customers’ commercial activities have an environmental impact and this initiative supports our business ethos of taking a responsible approach to mitigate some of this impact,” says Jones.

It is estimated that 25 square metres of native British woodland captures and locks up one tonne
of CO₂. As part of a national plan by the Woodland Trust to double the UK’s woodland cover, which is currently one of the lowest in Europe, Premier’s contributions are supporting the planting of 160 hectares of native trees including ash, aspen, oak and rowan at the Defence Training Estate at Warcop in Cumbria. Warcop is one of the Woodland Trust’s Carbon Removal projects that comply with the Government’s Woodland Carbon Code.

The Woodland Trust looks after over 1,200 woodlands covering in excess of 60,000 acres throughout the UK. The vast majority offer free and easy access with over 15 million visitors each year. The Woodland Trust replants and conserves UK native woodland, creating habitats for many diverse plant and animal species and providing woodlands that we can all enjoy.

The Woodland Trust’s Woodland Carbon scheme is supported by the Forestry Commission and is independently verified by leading auditors Price Waterhouse Coopers. All newly created woodland will be managed under Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) Standards. Together, these measures will ensure the delivery of projected carbon capture.