10 Thousand Trees is an offsetting scheme aimed at all parts of the paper supply chain, including print companies as well as corporates.

Printers can add 1-2% on top of the price of their job, which is put toward offsetting, and are then allowed to use the 10 Thousand Trees logo.

Senior consultant Rajkumar Rajendra said that by adding 1-2% to an invoice, printers could offset all the paper used in the job.

“For a $1,000 print job, they can add $10 to $20 and for that we can offset all the paper for the entire print run,” he said.

Rajendra said that NSW-based PrintWorks was the first printer to sign up, followed by Sydney-based Digitalpress a couple of months ago. Fellow Sydney printer Prografica joined within the last month.

He added that he was in the process of getting more print firms on-board, with a number to be announced in the coming month.

Rajendra said: “ISO 14001 and other certifications can be quite a heavy capital outlay. A program such as ours lets printers charge the customers and also allow the customers to get involved. It’s a more cost-effective way to be environmentally friendly.”

The money goes toward planting new trees, along with paying the administrative costs of 10 Thousand Trees, which is in the process of applying for not-for-profit status.

Prografica chief executive Kerim El Gabaili said: “The program is quite exciting. People can measure their contribution to the environment.”

He explained that Prografica was currently in conversations with customers about whether they wanted to put the 10 Thousand Trees logo on their next cycle of print.

“We like that not only can we boast but our customers can also boast. That’s a great add-on,” said El Gabaili.

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