Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
(Heidelberg) recently won the "Most Progressive Environmental
Process" award from Canadian trade magazine PrintAction. Over 400
representatives from the Canadian print media industry were present to
see Heidelberg receive the award for its environmentally friendly
presses.
One aspect that was rated
particularly highly was the company’s holistic approach to
environmental protection, with environmental issues being taken into
consideration at every stage - from the development and manufacture of
presses to their operation in print shops.
The Lowe Martin Group and
Hemlock Printers Ltd. both received gold awards in the "Most
environmentally progressive printers (100+ employees)" category.
Both print shops use Heidelberg
presses and this is the third year that Hemlock Printers has won the
prestigious award. Heidelberg sheetfed offset equipment at Hemlock
Printers includes three Speedmaster SM 102’s, Speedmaster CD 74,
Speedmaster SM 52 and two Quickmaster 46 presses with a total of 40
printing units.
Hemlock Printers also uses the
Prinect Image Control color measuring system and has been able to
minimize its use of resources and the level of waste and emissions it
produces. In 2007, it generated 80 percent less non-recyclable waste
than the previous year.
The PrintAction awards go to
manufacturers, suppliers, print shops, and print buyers with outstanding
green credentials. The awards cover various categories, such as the
development of innovative technologies and processes for environmental
protection and social commitment to the environment. They focus on
projects that extend over a number of years and therefore have lasting
benefits for the environment.
For a number of years,
Heidelberg has been working on solutions for the development, production
and utilization of presses that will limit the depletion of resources,
reduce emissions and cut wastage. The company made environmental
protection a key corporate goal back in 1992, and has recently given
this crucial issue greater strategic weight than ever before.
"After all, we have a responsibility to the environment, to our
customers and - in the long term - to the next generation,"
explains Dr. Jürgen Rautert, Director of Engineering and Manufacturing.
Last year, to push
environmental factors higher up the agenda when designing and developing
new presses, Heidelberg joined forces with Darmstadt University of
Technology to develop an intranet-based environment portal. Developers
working on a new inking unit, for example, can use the portal to obtain
the relevant environmental requirements from a comprehensive database.
Moreover, the developers’ own environmental protection know-how can
also be fed into the database, where it can be used in the medium term
as an example of best practice. The portal is to be launched shortly and
has been designed to anchor environmental protection in the very first
stage of the product life cycle - a stage that is also crucial for
shaping the future and driving standards forward.
In 1996, the foundry in
Amstetten was the very first site operated by a press manufacturer to be
granted an eco-certificate. Environmental management systems to ISO
14001 standard are now in place at all sheetfed offset locations.
Heidelberg sites log a whole range of key environmental data, including
their consumption of electricity, gas and water and the volume of waste
they generate.
This data is regularly analyzed
by both internal and external specialists. There is also an annual
management review covering all these issues to establish the potential
for further improvements and savings. Over recent years, the impact on
the environment on a number of Heidelberg sites has been reduced
substantially, despite a significant growth in production. For example,
the foundry in Amstetten, which is an energy-intensive plant by its very
nature, succeeded in reducing its consumption of natural gas for each
metric ton of output by 30 percent and cutting water consumption by 20
percent - all in just one year. This end-to-end environmental philosophy
also incorporates the suppliers for each site, who are obliged to meet
similar environmental standards to Heidelberg.
Besides its own production, the
company focuses on developing innovative, environmentally friendly
presses. For example, the new Speedmaster XL 105 has increased
productivity by 30 percent with the same energy consumption, and in some
cases even lower. Key peripherals in the Star System also reduce the
environmental impact of the printing process.
The PowderStar AP 500 lowers
powder application and dust levels, the AirStar air supply system
reduces energy consumption by 30 to 50 percent, and the new DryStar
dryers boast significantly enhanced performance levels with the same
energy consumption. Paper consumption is the largest contributor to CO2
emissions, but a Prinect software package can help cut paper waste by
around 400 sheets for each job.
