CASE STUDY: CAMBRIAN PRINTERS
Established in 1860, Cambrian Printers is a family-owned business that prides itself on high quality service and technical excellence. The business is based in Aberystwyth and employs 75 people. Cambrian achieved ISO 14001 in March 2004 and Green Dragon Level 5 in August 2004. Advanced data-processing, prepress systems, multi-colour sheet fed, offset litho presses covering B3 to B1 format size, plus digital presses and in-house finishing make Cambrian the printer of choice for a number of the world’s top publishers of journals and books. They also produce magazines, catalogues and a wide range of commercial products, including print-on-demand.
Environmental Management
Cambrian underwent an Environmental Review in 2001 which was performed by their local Business Environment Coordinator. The review highlighted several areas for action, including pollution prevention measures and the need for an Environmental Management System.
This led to chemical stores being bunded to prevent potential pollution from spills or leaks and staff being trained in preventing spills and emergency response techniques in the event of a spill.
By working towards Green Dragon level 5 and ISO 14001, Cambrian were able to identify several important further areas for action including waste disposal, energy management, materials wastage and monitoring & measuring by reading meters at regular intervals. They also identified the need to train the workforce.
Through ARENA Network, the entire workforce received environmental awareness training and the audit team received IEMA-approved internal audit training. Further visits were also arranged by the Carbon Trust and Envirowise to review their management of energy and waste.
Outcomes
As a result of Cambrian Printers achieving ISO14001 and Green Dragon Level 5, the following savings have been achieved:
Greater productivity and product turn-around times, which leaves capacity for greater throughput and therefore turnover.
55 tonnes of waste paper saved per annum - saving over £66,000 a year in material costs
Two million litres less water used per annum - saving approximately £14,000 a year
A 25% reduction in office waste
Recycling
Office Waste was the first waste stream to be identified and within the first twelve months a 25% reduction in the level of office waste going to landfill was achieved. This included more efficient use of paper, double sided printing and various recycling initiatives.
Energy Management and Waste Minimisation
Carbon Trust and Envirowise visits identified one major area where substantial cost savings could be achieved: each year up to 140 tonnes of paper were wasted during the print run setup. New energy-efficient equipment was identified and purchased with assistance from the Low Carbon Trust Partnership at a cost of £142k. This has resulted in paper savings currently running at 55 tonnes per annum - a direct saving on materials costs of over £66,000 each year.
However, the materials savings are not the only benefit. Make-ready time on the press has been reduced by 30-40% - thus increasing press productivity. It is estimated that the machine will pay for itself within just 18 months.
Utilities Management
As part of the Green Dragon Environmental System, Cambrian monitor & measure their water consumption. Thanks to their proactive monitoring routine, between September and November 2003 a sharp increase in water use was spotted. A site monitoring programme was undertaken, and the cause traced to new equipment which was using far more water than the manufacturer’s specifications. Unchecked this could have cost the company £14,000 per annum, however a water recycling and treatment system was then introduced which dramatically reduced water consumption.
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