October 2011 – As a corporate partner of the Woodland Trust, Premier signed up to the newly launched 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 and its Woodland Carbon scheme will allow Premier to capture the CO₂ from the distribution of four popular paper ranges – Evolution, Multicopy, Elements and Essential Coated paper.

Over the next 12 months Premier will support the Woodland Trust in creating more than 20,000 square metres of new native woodland in the UK. In time this woodland will remove at least 810 tonnes of CO₂ from the air, locking it securely away in the timber of these broadleaved trees.

Premier Group Marketing Director David Jones said, “Capturing CO₂ through the Woodland Carbon scheme offers a unique opportunity for us to invest in UK-based carbon projects and in particular, it delivers tangible and visible results which can be visited and enjoyed by our customers, staff and the general public, right across the country.

“We recognise that our commercial activities have an environmental impact and this initiative supports our business ethos of taking a responsible approach to mitigate some of our carbon emissions. However this does not negate the need to continually improve our systems and processes in order to reduce our CO₂ emissions on an ongoing basis. We have a number of other projects such as driver efficiency training that will compliment our work with the Woodland Trust.”

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, which the Trust has calculated to be one tonne of CO₂ for every 25m₂ of newly created native woodland.