The Austrian company is a printing and communication company which aims to reach the highest possible standard for ecological and healthy printing. The company produces high-quality sheet-fed offset and digital printing products ranging from business cards to books.
Ten years ago they started a circular economy project to develop print products that are free from harmful substances and can be returned to the biological cycle based on the Cradle to Cradle Certification Standard. Cradle to Cradle (C2C) means that resources circulate from the cradle to the cradle, instead of going one way from the cradle to the grave. All resources are technically or biologically recycled and none are wasted. This is a truly sustainable production: not trying to be less harmful, but to actually be eco-effective and do the right things straight from the beginning. Materials are considered to be like nutrients that can circulate in cycles on a permanent basis so that no waste is produced.
The production process of print products has been checked against Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Product Standard for its environmental impact throughout the whole product life cycle. To implement the concept, existing materials had to be replaced with healthy and eco-sensitive materials. As this was not possible in all cases, some components even had to be newly developed by the company. Cradle to Cradle print products have been developed for the biological cycle. They are suited for composting, combustion and cellulose recycling without harming human-beings or the environment.
After getting the C2C certification, the Austrian company founded together with partners from Denmark and Switzerland a sustainable printing community in 2019 with the headquarters in Austria with the legal form of a pan-European cooperative. The goal of this community is to share existing expertise, to promote C2C-print in Europe and beyond and develop together further printing components. Through the cooperative it will be guaranteed that the eco-effective and healthy printing products are produced locally where they are needed and therefore don't have to be shipped over long distances. The cooperative, among others, builds a buyers’ group, which makes it possible to encourage the suppliers to change and to improve their products and raise the awareness of all customers for the necessity of changing the way of producing products in order to reach a truly sustainable economy.
Therefore the cooperative is interested in any kind of research results, technologies and products focusing on sustainable printing applications.
Specifically, the cooperative is looking for research and technical cooperation agreement with companies or research institutions active in the field of circular economy along the printing value-chain. Together they aim to partner in order to develop new products and materials. The cooperative is also looking for new suppliers or partners wishing to establish a commercial agreement with technical assistance or new partners wishing to offer C2C services and certification, carry out assessments of new products and benefit from the know-how of the cooperative.
