CRYSTAL Printing Solutions has become the first printing firm in the state to obtain international Forest Stewardship Council accreditation.
CRYSTAL Printing Solutions has become the first printing firm in the state to obtain international Forest Stewardship Council accreditation.
At a time when companies are tightening their purse strings, Crystal, trading as Worldwide Online Cannington, has voluntarily paid thousands of dollars to gain FSC recognition, which owners Arnold Whiteside, Mick Skender and Jon Dorotich likened to the Heart Foundation's nutritional gold standard tick of approval.
Treasurer Troy Buswell welcomed the company's initiative at its Cannington factory last week, saying he supported businesses prepared to be innovative in the way they operate and the services they offer customers.
The FSC is an independent not-for-profit organisation established worldwide to promote the responsible management of the world's forests.
Costing up to $5,000 in audit fees each year, plus the costs incurred to satisfy all levels of the stringent chain of custody accreditation system, Mr Whiteside said the decision was an environmental one as well as a strategic business decision.
"There's no commercial need for us to do this at this point in time although it is a benefit to the environment," he said.
"There's a constant cost involved in keeping track of the compliance measures, but with climate change measures the government is putting in place, when there is the commercial benefit down the track, we will be in a place to deliver the benefits without having to play catch-up."
Mr Dorotich said FSC accreditation was a symbol of assurance to customers that the product they are buying was contributing to the spread of responsible forest management.
"There is no doubt that the growing issue of climate change is forcing businesses to change the way they go about their printing needs," he said.
FSC Australia has almost 170 members, including some of the country's major forest product companies, wood and paper wholesalers as well as major commercial print companies.
Crystal's Cannington factory is one of the biggest printing facilities in Australia.
The company entered a complex franchising agreement with Worldwide in 2001, which rents floor space at the 4,000-square-metre facility and one machine.
In 2008, the 23-year-old business, which employs 48 people, was re-equipped with three new presses, an automated cutting system and replaced an ageing air-conditioning system at a cost of $4 million.
