Sustainable Printing in Australia: What Real Sustainability Actually Requires
It’s easy for printers to claim that they’re ‘eco-friendly’, but being a truly sustainable printer in Australia requires higher, more specific standards than adding a few green leaves to your logo and having vague citations of using ‘sustainably sourced materials’ in your website.
If you’re in the market for a sustainable printer that really walks the talk, then this guide is made for you. Here, we’ll break down why it matters, the specific certifications, material choices, and facility standards that separate a verifiable claim from a marketing statement, and how Forest Print in particular is meeting these standards.
The Greenwashing Problem in Australia
Globally, rising eco-consciousness is driving Australian consumers and businesses to be more discerning about choosing providers that adhere to greener standards and practices. Unfortunately, many businesses only pay lip service (otherwise known as greenwashing) so that they can benefit from the demand without making any truly beneficial changes.
In 2022, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) reviewed businesses making environmental claims online and found 57% had made claims considered potentially misleading. Its 2023 guidance document makes the standard explicit: claims must be truthful, specific, and substantiated under Australian Consumer Law. Vague terms like “eco-friendly” or “planet-conscious”, used without evidence, can constitute misleading conduct.
In the printing industry, greenwashing usually comes in the form of selective disclosure: only using recycled paper on certain jobs, but presenting it as though every job uses the same paper – or describing a facility as being ‘environmentally-conscious’ because it has a recycling bin, but it doesn’t meet any audited standards. It’s simple: sustainability claims need to be auditable and verifiable by legitimate third parties, or they don’t mean anything.
Four Printer-Specific Sustainability Criteria To Look Out For
While there are various factors that determine how serious a printer really is about sustainable printing, here are four key criteria that you should look out for:
1. FSC Chain of Custody Certification on Paper Sourcing. The Forest Stewardship Council’s Chain of Custody (CoC) certification is the most widely recognised standard for paper sourcing in sustainable printing Australia-wide. It tracks certified materials from forest to finished print job through third-party audits.
Critically, “we use FSC paper” is not the same as “we hold FSC Chain of Custody certification”. A printer without their own CoC certificate cannot legally put the FSC logo on your finished piece. Ask for the certificate number and verify it on the FSC website.
2. Plant-based inks. Conventional inks use petroleum-derived mineral oils that release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and complicate paper recycling. Meanwhile, plant-based inks derived from soy, linseed, or other agricultural sources produce lower VOC emissions and are easier to remove during the recycling process.
While choosing to use the latter doesn’t immediately make a particular printer a paragon of sustainability, it does mean that they’re more likely to take environmental impact seriously throughout production, not just at the paper sourcing stage.
3. Biodegradable finishes. It doesn’t matter if a brochure is printed on FSC-certified stock if it’s laminated in standard plastic, because the lamination makes it non-recyclable. This also applies to conventional gloss and matte laminates, which are polypropylene or polyethylene films that contaminate the paper recycling stream.
To avoid this, verifiable sustainable printing typically uses water-based coatings, compostable laminates, or matte aqueous finishes instead, which are biodegradable and don’t impact the product’s recyclability.
4. Audited facility standards. When in doubt, don’t take the printer’s word for it – look at government or internationally-recognised third-party assessments. Two that are worth knowing include:
● ISO 14001: a global standard for environmental management systems that covers waste, water, and energy at the production facility.
● Green Factory certification: a Chinese government-administered program that assesses manufacturing facilities against defined thresholds for energy consumption, water efficiency, and hazardous waste management. This can be especially relevant for Australian businesses sourcing from Chinese manufacturers.
If a printer has earned these official certifications, it indicates that they have put in the work to stand up to official assessments, which is significantly different from one that simply uses sustainability language.
How Forest Print Measures Up
Now that the standards and what to look out for are clear, how does Forest Print measure up? Let’s take a look.
| Credential | What It Means |
| FSC Chain of Custody | Third-party audited. Every certified job is tracked and documented. Eligible to carry the FSC trademark. Ask us for our certificate number for verification. |
| Green Factory Certification | Government-assessed. Covers energy, water, hazardous waste, and environmental management at our manufacturing partner Landl Print’s Taizhou facility. |
| ISO 14001 Certification | Documented quality and environmental management framework across production in the Taizhou facility. |
| Plant-Based Inks | Used across our product range to reduce petroleum-derived inputs and VOC emissions at the production stage. |
| Biodegradable Finishes | Our available finish options don’t introduce non-recyclable plastic films into the waste stream. |
| 100% Recyclable Materials | All our paper stocks are recyclable. Our FSC-certified boards and recycled fibres are also sourced throughout a certifiable supply chain. |
These credentials apply across our full range of services: books and publications, sustainable packaging, paper bags, and marketing materials. Our Melbourne and Sydney teams are always on hand to manage client communication, proofing, and project oversight on Australian time, combining local account management with audited offshore manufacturing from our Taizhou facility.
Embrace Real Sustainability For Future Growth
These days, print procurement doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Mandatory climate disclosures under Treasury’s sustainable finance framework mean supply chain decisions — including print — are subject to ESG scrutiny. B-Corp certification requires accounting for environmental impact across operations, and print is not exempt. And with ACCC greenwashing enforcement intensifying, the printer you choose can really have an impact on the authenticity of your own business’s sustainability claims.
As far as sustainable printing goes, the gap between a verified sustainable print job and one that simply uses sustainability language is highly measurable. So if you’re sourcing genuinely sustainable printing in Australia, choose a printer whose certifications are public and verifiable, whose facility standards are audited, and whose material choices cover the full production chain. Ready to work with a printing partner that holds up to the sustainability scrutiny? At Forest Print, we hold FSC Chain of Custody certification, operate from a Green Factory-certified, ISO-certified facility, and use plant-based inks and biodegradable finishes across every job. Get a quote for your next sustainable print project now.