The Good life (cycle)

Paper trail

Good is printed on BJ Ball Forest Stewardship Council -approved paper, which has been independently certified to verify it comes from sustainable, well -managed and legally harvested sources. The paper is made up of fibre from certified forests, controlled sources and recycled wood. In addition, Good’s paper is acid-free and bleached without the use of chlorine, which minimises the impact on the environment as it breaks down.

A dead cert

Good was launched on World Environment Day, June 2008 as New Zealand’s first carbon neutral magazine. Good remains a carbon Zero-accredited magazine. The magazine’s carbon footprint is comprehensively assessed each year, including a plan to reduce emissions. Any remaining emissions are offset by purchasing carbon credits – investing in sustainable forestry in New Zealand and offshore.

Bright sparks

Good magazine is part of the Image Centre group – a multimedia communications company with a focus on ‘doing more with less’. The print industry creates waste – so it’s important to reduce the impact. Solvents used to clean the machines in the printing process are filtered for re-use in cleaning products, and high-grade aluminium plates are on-sold to be repurposed. All paper production waste (including offcuts and packaging) is recycled, and Image Centre’s 480 light fittings have just been replaced with environmentally friendly LEDs – saving 49 tons of carbon a year.

Liquid colour

The inks used to print Good come from the Luxembourg-based Flint Group, a company committed to promoting sustainability in its products and to reducing their environmental impact. The Novavit F 950 Plus-Bio inks are based on ingredients derived from wood resin and vegetable oils. Unlike conventional mineral (or petroleum) based printing inks, that most magazine are printed with, Good’s inks use renewable materials.