Tiina Pajula, Hanna Pihkola, Minna Nors
Carbon footprint has become a key element in evaluating the emissions of greenhouse gases related to manufacturing of print products. The study defines carbon footprint of a Finnish weekly magazine and discusses the significance of the results and ways to diminish greenhouse gas emissions occurred during the product's life cycle. Energy needed in the pulp, paper and printing processes creates the main part of the emissions. Furthermore, transporting the product to customer becomes a remarkable contributor. However, current methodology involves open questions and e.g. landfill data estimations bring in great variation. The calculations provide a baseline against which the development can be measured and communicated. Lots of emphasis should be given on the communication of the results and the carbon footprint should be expressed as a range of values rather than as a single figure.
Keywords: Carbon footprint, life-cycle assessment (LCA), Printing technology, Environmental impact