104 | Wellington Gold Awards: Bluestar Group BUSINESS NEWS Nothing but Blue Skies ... Ange Davidson Responsible forest management certification and other environmental programmes are integrated into Blue Star’s business operations. y Labels CommercialPrint D IndustrialPackaging Synthetic Graphics Packaging Graphics O cePaper Digital Print Stationery Indu SignandDisplay Synthe C i lP i t O P spicersnz.co.nz A finalist in the 2022 Dominion Post Wellington Gold Awards sustainability sector, Blue Star printing company is walking the talk with its multi-dimensional sustainability programme that goes beyond best practises for its people, products, customers, and community. Called Blue Skies, the programme is the company’s commitment to making the right decisions and taking the right actions for the social and environmental wellbeing of all, a commitment that has seen the Kiwi owned company grow and diversify since starting out as a print group in 2006. For Darren Comrie, Wellington Region’s Group General Manager, the Blue Skies programme means every business decision, operational practice and relationship is shaped by the question; how can we produce products and services as seamlessly as possible so that we make a positive difference rather than a negative one? “We’ve taken a very systematic approach to our environmental management systems and Blue Star is now the first major multi-site print and marketing company in New Zealand to gain Toitū Enviromark Gold Certification. This helps keeps us accountable and all five of our manufacturing sites are now 100% Gold certified,” says Darren. “We identify and measure our environmental impacts across everything we do and create plans to prevent or reduce those impacts.” Responsible forest management certifications and other environmental programmes are integrated into Blue Star’s business operations and are strongly supported by staff who are equally committed to environmental excellence. Investing in the latest manufacturing technology reduces power, paper, water and finishing processes, and Blue Star’s recycling practises have demonstratable benefits to both the business and the environment. Chemical recycling has reduced actual waste by 85%. “We measure and manage our greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate unavoidable emissions, and we have recently signed up with CarboNZero, which will provide our customers and our business valuable information for the future. We invested in the research and development of vegetable-based inks in the 1990s and worked with local suppliers to develop safer solvents, which are now commonly used throughout our industry,” he says. Darren believes that Blue Star’s 550 staff across the country are the company’s greatest asset and that they are actively looking at employing more apprentices to join the team as part of the company’s succession plan. Employment conditions help retain staff who enjoy many benefits from wellbeing checks to numerous development and training programmes. Staff training through the industry body Competenz ensures high standards of learning on the job and theoretical. Blue Star isn’t just a print company, it also works across manufacturing, print management, design, marketing digital and logistics. The company works for large and small entities in business, the community and government with manufacturing plants in Wellington, Auckland, Napier, Masterton, and Christchurch. The Wellington business has been the recipient of many industry awards including the top prize in the Annual Pride in Print Awards four times. “Because we are the market leader, we are keenly aware of the positive impact we strive to have in the community and take seriously our contribution to a better world.” “We’ve taken a very systematic approach to our environmental management systems and Blue Star is now the first major multi-site print and marketing company in New Zealand to gain Toitū Enviromark Gold Certification.”
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=