Adare supports Legal and General in move to recycled material
Adare has helped Legal & General strengthen its environmental credentials with a move towards an increase in the amount of recycled content used in its marketing literature.
The move has signalled a substantial reduction in the amount of virgin pulp used in the insurance giant's extensive range of UK-wide marketing material, with far reaching and immediate environmental gains.
Adare, Legal & General's approved print management company, was part of a cross-divisional project team set up to review the possibility of increasing the amount of recycled content in the company's coated marketing literature.
Adare researched the UK and European paper market to find a range of suitable paper stocks. The project team then refined the options presented down to a shortlist of three that met both the commercial and quality criteria of the Legal & General marketing and brand management teams.
The three paper stocks were print trialed by Adare, and reviewed by the project team, with only one taken to the final stage of testing.
It contains 55% recycled fibre of which 25% is post consumer waste and 30% is pre consumer. The existing paper, by comparison, contained 100% virgin pulp.
Adare worked with paper manufacturers to obtain the "certified" evidence of the stock's origins and content ensuring that the new stock lived up to its recycle-able billing and that the 'recycled' content satisfied the NAPM definition of recyclate. The requirement that the 'balance content' was also environmentally sound was satisfied by the achievement of FSC accreditation by the mill and paper merchants. The UK Forest Stewardship Council (FSC-UK) has confirmed that Legal & General can publicly state that it 'specifies FSC certified paper'.
The first marketing campaigns using the new paper rolled off the presses early in 2006, deliberately involving a variety of paper weights and finishes to cover many areas of marketing activity. The Customer Experience Communications' Guide, which was issued to all staff on 13 February, contained the strap line 'this paper contains at least 55% recycled content'.
Following the successful trial to market, Legal & General made the decision that as from June all of its coated cut sheet marketing paper would also be produced on the new material. Legal & General has also pledged to continue trialing with web printing and will review the results later this year.
Linda Skinner, Legal & General's Corporate Procurement's Risk & Project Manager, said: "Working collaboratively with Adare on this project has been extremely successful. Their expertise and market knowledge have proven invaluable to the delivery of this important initiative. We are continuing to work in partnership with Adare on other paper projects and environmental opportunities across Legal & General's business."
Adare is keen to keep up momentum and is currently reviewing options to increase the amount of recycled content in Legal & General's uncoated paper including letterheads and envelopes. Their current letter headed paper already contains 15% recycled content.
Adare Client Services Director, Steve Pomeroy, said: "We had no hesitation in supporting this exciting initiative. Over the past five years we have developed a strategic business partnership with Legal & General and innovative environmental projects like this are very much part of that partnership. It's important for Legal & General's business, and our own that these initiatives are taken seriously and our team has worked hard over the past year to deliver a sustainable, commercially robust environmental solution for Legal & General."
Paul Lee, Legal & General's Purchasing Director, adds: "Adare's commercial experience and negotiation of the recycled paper price contributed greatly to the success of this project".
The project has been delivered in conjunction with WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme) and PIRA International. WRAP is a major UK programme established to promote resource efficiency. Its particular focus is on creating stable and efficient markets for recycled materials and products and removing the barriers to waste minimisation, re-use and recycling. A not-for-profit company, WRAP is backed by substantial Government funding from Defra and the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Adare is keen to introduce similar environmental initiatives into more of its clients businesses. Mr Pomeroy says: "Legal & General have seen significant benefit from the project and we will be focusing on incorporating this type of scheme as part of the solutions we offer to our clients in the future."
