BSI launches new standard to reduce direct mail waste
Greenwise Staff
28th January 2010
National standards body BSI has launched a new assessment and certification scheme that aims to get marketing companies to reduce waste paper and increase the recycling of direct mail.
The PAS 2020 Direct Marketing Environmental Performance is the first independent assessment and certification scheme to be launched for the marketing sector. It has been developed in partnership with the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), which needs to raise recycling rates among its 900 members. The DMA signed a voluntary agreement with the Government in July 2003 to raise recycling levels to 70 per cent by the end of 2012.
About 5.4 billion items of direct mail and promotional materials are sent out every year by marketing companies with most of it ending up in landfill. In total, the UK disposes of 11.55 million tonnes of waste in landfill sites and, under the EU Landfill Directive this figure has to be reduced to 7.5 million tonnes by 2013 and 5.2 million tonnes by 2020.
“PAS 2020 was developed by BSI in conjunction with the DMA and other key parties to help the industry respond to these pressures," said Victoria Barron, Product Marketing manager for Sustainability at BSI. “Failure to meet [EU] targets could result in millions of pounds of punitive fines. As a consequence there are some strong drivers for the direct marketing industry to demonstrate a more responsible and sustainable approach to these kinds of promotional activities when it comes to protecting the environment."
Barron said the new scheme focuses on establishing a set of environmental objectives, performance levels and indicators for different environmental aspects of a direct marketing campaign. "The indicators provide an indirect measure of a direct marketing campaign’s environmental impact," she said.
Requirements are set out for both organisations with overall responsibility for direct marketing campaigns and to suppliers of activities relating to the provision of a direct marketing campaign, such as direct marketing agencies, printers, mail houses, distribution service providers and field marketers.
BSI will formerly launch the scheme on March 19 at an event in Chiswick. BSI is currently finalising the certification process for PAS 2020, which is expected to be available towards the end of 2009.
To register for the PAS launch event go to www.bsigroup.co.uk/pas2020/launch
For further information about the PAS 2020 standard and BSI’s assessment and certification scheme, visit www.bsigroup.co.uk/pas2020