Green Design Agency? You Can Achieve Sustainable Graphic and Web Design

Green design agency. It does exist. Private businesses and government institutions in the UK (as elsewhere in the world) have a number of requirements. Profit is a key driver, as are its people. The planet is the third. The “triple bottom line: as it is called (People, Profit and the Planet) underlines the need for sustainable design within the drivers of any business.

The remit of a green design agency is creating visual impact with less environmental impact, while encouraging clients to consider the environmental impact of their production.

Malcolm Buttel is director of Oxygen Creative, a graphic design agency based in Tiverton Devon.

“We took control of our environmental impact as a business, applying practical environmental management techniques to what we do. Our environmental policy details how we use less energy at work, how we only use paper from sustainable sources with bio inks in our production, and how simple things like a car sharing scheme have helped us save 1000 litres a year in petrol alone.

“I am now a member of the Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management, and our business meets the criteria of BS8555 – the British Standard that is an equivalent to ISO14001. If nothing else, our clients know that they’re dealing with someone who takes being green seriously.”

So internal practices are important, but so is the output. It’s important that an agency considers the use of recycled paper stock with a high Post Consumer Fibre (PCF) recycled content, especially using recycled paper stock that has not been de-inked as well as unbleached or non-chlorine bleached paper stock which releases harmful toxins that could affect marine life. Think about using vegetable based printing inks such as soy inks which are renewable and emit less toxic Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).

So, less ink is better – but a good designer can use less ink and still create maximum impact!

Green papers could be: 100% Post-Consumer Waste (PCW)

Processed Chlorine Free (PCF)

Uncoated

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certified.

Even a graphic design agency web design agency can contribute. In addition to their own green living they can host websites on greener servers where energy and CO2 is offset.

Considerations for any “marketing product” include:

* reducing the amount of materials required for production

* using paper and materials made with recycled, post-consumer waste

* printing with low-VOC inks

* what production methods require the least amount of transport

* which vendors use renewable energy

* if the product can fulfill more than one purpose

* if the end-product is biodegradable or recyclable

* if the end-product can be replaced by a digital, rather than printed, format

* just-in-time production to reduce number of units produced and warehoused

* which vendors sell products certified by third party NGOs.

Always as a design agency to show you its environmental policy and look for their certification to BS8555 or ISO14001 which shows they have independent accreditation of their dedicated to environmental management; an environmental graphic design agency such as Oxygen Creative in Tiverton, Devon serves as a benchmark.