Auckland’s Soar Printing, a third generation, family-owned print company collected the top prize in the Sustainable 60 awards, which recognise companies that embed sustainability in their strategy and governance; workplace; marketplace; environment; and community.
Nominated as a finalist in all five award categories, Soar Printing won the strategy and governance and environment categories; placed runner-up in marketplace, won the overall medium business award; and took out the supreme award, marking the first time Sustainable 60 has bestowed the accolade.
Fred Soar, managing director and grandson of the company founder, attended the awards with sisters and fellow directors Vicky Soar and Jenny Carter and a group of Soar colleagues. He says, “Seven years ago we decided to become a different type of printer: one that would ensure our environmental impact was the lowest possible, our stakeholders were at the forefront of our business planning, and our strategy was sustainability.”
“The Sustainable 60 awards recognise a genuine and outstanding commitment to sustainability across a business. We went into the night knowing we had done pretty well – making it into the finalist circle in all five categories of the awards. Being a finalist in all these categories is pretty much unheard of in the history of the awards, and certainly not a common accolade for a printing company.
Jenny Carter, financial director and environment officer at Soar Printing, says the company’s 70-strong team has bought into the drive to become New Zealand’s most environmentally responsible printer. She says, “The printing industry has historically had a high environmental impact, but our investment in new technology and dedication to change has made it possible to help protect New Zealand’s environment and contribute to our wider community.”
New Zealand’s first print company to achieve carboNZero Organisation certification in 2010 and Product certification in 2011, Soar Print has earned numerous other environmental certifications. In doing so, it has reduced energy costs by 40 per cent but improved gross profit as a percentage of sales; reduced waste to landfill by 33 per cent in the last year; continued to reduce greenhouse gases; and moved to almost 100 per cent vegetable inks.
Soar Print’s long-standing drive to continuous improvement in New Zealand’s declining sheet fed print sector sees the company poised for growth as a result of new contracts won, in part, owing to the company’s dedication to sustainability.
Fred Soar adds, “We are not only hugely proud of the achievement, but want our clients in particular to know that at Soar Printing, we don’t just talk the talk, we actually walk the talk. We are committed to being the country’s best, most sustainable offset printer and passing on the cost savings we have uncovered in that process to our clients, along with fantastic product and great service.
“For us, these awards reflect the many years of focusing on corporate responsibility in all its forms and wanting to ensure we are the best company we can be, all the time, every day. This result confirms we are on the right track and rewards the dozens of people in this company who have devoted themselves to making the company better in every way.”
