Thailand based Green Life Printing House has become the first printer in Asia to purchase a carbon neutral press from Heidelberg.

Heidelberg Thailand worked closely with Green Life on the purchase of a Speedmaster SM 102 four colour printing machine, Praphan Jiramongkol, president, Green Life Printing says, “Our press is one of the great Heidelberg CO2 neutral machines. Heidelberg is the only supplier to offer a carbon neutral press. Our mandate is to reduce our use of natural resources and reduce waste. Everything in our plant is bought with this philosophy in mind. If it’s not ‘green’ then we won’t use it, so the Heidelberg press fits in with our strategic direction.”

The Bangkok based Green Life was formed in 2012 as a joint project between two established Thai printing companies HN Group and Print City, with the objective to promote green printing practices and to offer and environmentally responsible solution for those customers looking to reduce their impact on the environment. Green Life’s clients are ecologically oriented and include the government sector for which Green Life prints a range of commercial print jobs which include books, calendars, flyers, brochures and catalogues.

Following to the international eco balance standards, Heidelberg and the technical University of Darmstadt have formulated a method for calculating the CO2 footprint of printing presses.

The CO2 footprint of printing presses is calculated according to cradle to gate and additionally the transport to the customer. Depending on the equipment, approximately 149 tons of carbon dioxide are generated during the manufacture of the Speedmaster SM 102-4, as an example. Heidelberg says the largest CO2 component does not come from the steel but from the electronic components.

Jiramongkol says, “We believe we can have our CO2 emissions in the future and the Heidelberg press allows us to go to the market as the first carbon zero printing company in Asia. We are proud of our objectives for Green Life, which include producing the first carbon zero book – ‘Mha Phan Thang’ – printed by our Heidelberg CO2 neutral press.”

Teerapol Techavichian, CEO and chief sustainability officer, Green Life says, “We have the confidence to go to the market with our Think Green offer because we have Heidelberg’s support and can access their expertise In environmental matters. Heidelberg also offers a range of range of eco-friendly consumables under the Saphira Eco brand as well as other equipment and solutions designed to reduce a company’s environmental footprint across the production stream.”

“There is growing concern for the environment across all businesses and industry sectors. We have a solution to offer our customers and we are pleased to work with them to realise their environmental goals. It is an exciting tome for our company and we are positive for the future,” Techavichian concludes.