FOREVER IMPROVING OUR IMPACT
For many years we have been measuring and reducing the impact we have on the environment. Since 2010 we have run a fully independently audited internationally recognised ISO14001 environmental management system. Our aim is to reduce our impact every year through a host of initiatives. It is not acceptable to us to do nothing, we must act to manage our impact on our environment and to help our customers to reduce theirs. It isn’t just good for business, it’s good for all of us.
We only use paper and card materials from FSC® certified managed sources. All of our waste, of which there is very little due to our printing techniques, is recycled. Our factory is powered by 100% renewable sources. We always recommend to our customers more eco sustainable materials and are always introducing new products and materials that are better for our environment. We measure our carbon impact and offset it with the World Land Trust essentially providing our customers with zero carbon impact. Where there are no alternatives to plastics we advise the use of PVC free materials and source reclaimed or biodegradable materials. Our fleet of delivery vans are moving to electric only vehicles and our first van arrived in mid-2022.
We understand that our environmental efforts can always be improved, which is why we are constantly reviewing our practices to improve sustainability. Our annual assessments are split into four key areas including:
If you’d like to learn more about Rapidity’s environmental policies and practices, then please contact us via 020 7689 8686 or talktome@rapidity.com
We measure our carbon impact and in order to offer our customers a fully carbon balanced service we offset this impact with the World Land Trust. Specifically Rapidity contributes to the World Land Trust’s fantastic ‘Conservation Coast’ project in Guatemala. This scheme supports many landowners and local communities to register and obtain their own land and thereby protect thousands of acres of threatened coastal forest. The local organisation FUNDAECO works with over 3000 families to help transform local livelihoods through job creation and ecotourism. We are delighted to be able to contribute to such a fantastic project which also protects many endangered species and supports the protection of the bio-diverse habitat they live in.
Download the full World Land Trust Conservation Coast project brief here.
We encourage our customers to use our certified World Land Trust logo on their printed materials. This logo proudly displays to those using the materials that the printing impact has been considered and offset. As our carbon balancing service is free of charge and standard to our customers the use of this logo is also completely free. Please get in touch with us to find out more.
Measuring and balancing our carbon impact is vital to creating an environmental management system that is meaningful. But it is also exceptionally important that we make every attempt possible to reduce our use of carbon in the first instance. Rapidity has multiple initiatives aimed at achieving lower uses of carbon but fundamentally we believe that utilising available renewable energy is paramount to our mission to reduce our impact on our environment.
We have multiple internal policies on reducing our energy usage such as never investing in combustion engine vehicles again, encouraging staff and visitors to attend our sites via public transport or green methods of transport, ensuring ‘overhead’ power use like lights for example are only used where necessary, never printing more than is strictly required for each print order and many other policies.
The combination of using less power, only using power from renewable sources and other power usage policies mean that we only use what we need and that what we do need is from sustainable future proof sources.
Everyone should care where their paper and wood products come from and because we care we ensure that all of our sourced paper, and wood, come from sustainable managed forests. Unfortunately there are still printers and other companies using materials from unsustainable forests but we guarantee all customers that our materials are from responsible sources as standard.
Whether we are producing a flyer, a book, a brochure or making 500 individually shaped wooden coasters (we really did that!) all of the material comes from managed sustainable forests.
We have been providing FSC® certified printing for many years and we encourage our customers to use our FSC® logo on their printed products where possible. Our inhouse self certification allows for quick application of the logo to ensure the printed products are produced on time.
We are proud of our ISO14001 certification because we were one of the first in the UK to achieve this and were the first in our sector of the print market. Our ISO14001 system is a fully independently audited UKAS certification of which a lot of effort goes into managing and improving on an on-going basis.
We warmly welcome those customers who value our certifications and we are always on hand to explain our systems in more detail should you need it. A copy of our certificate can be found here.
Sometimes we all accept what we do as standard practice. ‘It’s the way we’ve always done it’ is something we hear a lot. But we are here to help you make informed choices about the printing you are producing. We can offer alternatives not only to the material you are using but the product itself. Could you use a PVC free vinyl instead? Could you have a cardboard banner instead of a roller/pop up banner?
We are always here to help and advise. Over the years we have created many alternatives and converted many materials to eco-friendlier versions.
We are a modern print and and communications company. We were among the first to adopt digital printing technology and we have a long history of investing in new and modern technology. Not only does this offer us and our clients the ability to utilise cutting edge equipment but it also ensures our technology is as efficient as it possibly can be.
Our business already operates solely from renewable sources but even though our carbon energy impact is zero we still strive to only use energy when it is absolutely necessary. As such investment in our equipment ensures that we achieve our goals. Our digital printing preference ensures that wastage is minimal and that the energy we are using is also low.
Our equipment providers, predominantly HP and Canon, have many of their own environmental initiatives that ensure the carbon impact of the technology is minimal.
We are always on hand to discuss your next printing project and we can explain further how our technology allows our customers to benefit. Get in touch today.