Year of scope: 2022

Introduction

At BALTO print, we genuinely care about our planet. That's why we ensure that every aspect of our book manufacturing process, from production to packaging and delivery, is carried out with the utmost consideration for the environment.

This report serves as a summary of our efforts towards this ambitious goal, with the hope of inspiring others to embrace similar responsibilities. You can download the full version here: Download PDF.

Quality Management

Taking care of the details requires standard procedures, measuring tools and approved references, knowledge and dedication.

Our way to provide high-class quality includes four main principles:

In 2022 we were fully audited on 4 fields (Quality management, Environmental care, Working safety and FSC chain of custody) and complied with the highest standards in the printing industry. As a result, we renewed our certifications for 3 more years and are certified:

  • ISO 1400: Environmental management certification.
  • ISO 9001: Quality management certification.
  • ISO 45001: Occupational health and safety.
  • FSC: Chain of Custody certification. Nr. C107574
  • All our materials comply with REACH European standard for the use of chemicals.
  • We assure full traceability of raw-materials used in our production. If needed, BOM (Bill Of Material) will be provided.
  • Climate partner: as we can measure the CO2 footprint of our printed jobs, we can help our customers in the process of offsetting such footprint and receiving official carbon free product’s certification.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Health & Safety, Ethical and Comfortable working environment: it is our responsibility to take care of all our employees.

To make sure our employees have a Safe and Ergonomic working place, we invest in their training: in 2022 we trained 100% of our employees in prevention and reaction in case of floods, fire, accident, and nuclear disaster. We also trained all our employees on how to act in case of fire and how to extinguish it and organised a seminar on health issues, specially related to the effect of alcohol and smoking.

BALTO print is proud to be among the first 30% of Lithuanian companies who back in the past first had a Works Council elected by our employees. This Works Councils ensures, among other rights, compliance with the Right of Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.

As a step forward in the fight against any discrimination, in 2022 we approved and enforced a new Policy on “Prevention of violence and harassment”.

Environmental Protection and Sustainability every day!

  • Corporate Policy & Strategy on the protection of the environment

    BALTO print has a well defined Corporate Policy on the protection of the environment, which clearly sets the need of taking into account the impact that every decision will have on the environment in order to avoid or (when it is not possible) minimise it. The Policy also serves as a guide to our employees and partners on our common effort to protect the environment. You can download the full version here: Download PDF.

    Our Corporate Policy is applied through a defined Strategy:

    1. Commitment: Corporate policy on the protection of the environment;
    2. Definition of Strategy and Implementation:
      • We measure the impact of our activity into the environment;
      • We invest: Since 2019 we have invested 11 mln € in new, more efficient equipment and another 1.5 mln € is planned for 2023. Also, from mid 2022 we are buying green electricity only;
      • We communicate with our Customers and our Employees the importance of taking care of the environment at every decision we make;
    3. Implementation of 4 areas of special focus: electricity, water, Waste reduction & management, CO2 emissions reduction.
  • The 4 main areas of action: electricity, water, waste and CO2 reduction

    Electricity

    As a result of the work and investments we have made, we have reduced the use of electricity per produced book by 15 % from the reference year (2019)!


    Together with a reduction in the use of electricity, from mid 2022 we are purchasing 100% green electricity only. This investment in a more ecological source of energy helped us to save 310 t CO2! This is the equivalent of 10.685 trees planted, 95 flights around the world by plane for 1 passenger or 466 trips by car from Vilnius to Lisbon.

    Water

    We continue searching ways to diminish the use of water in our processes without compromising quality.

    These efforts allowed us to reduce the use of water by 9% from 2021 and 24% from the reference year (2019)!


    Waste reduction & management

    At BALTO print, we prioritise efficient waste sorting and responsibly direct it towards recycling or proper disposal, thus safeguarding the environment.

    More than 96% of our waste is totally recycled. The remaining part is sorted and then partially recycled, partially incinerated or sent to landfill.

    CO2 emissions reduction

    Back in 2021 we set our goals for 2022 & 2023 (per year and per kg of book produced):

    • Reduce electricity consumption by 3%;
      - During 2022 we again reduced the amount of electricity consumption per ton of paper to 366 kWh/ton, which was 0,6% lower than the 2021 value.
      - We have reduced 15% the consumption of electricity per ton of paper.
      - We are using 100% electricity only.
    • Reduce water consumption by 3%;
      - in 2022 we used 9% less water than the previous year.
    • Improve sorting of paper waste (white vs printed) by 15%;
      - We have increased by 44% the % of white (unprinted) paper waste as a % of the total paper recycled (from 5,1% in 2021 to 7,4% in 2022).
    • Reduce the use of acetone and isopropyl alcohol by 10%.
      - We have succeeded in reducing the use of these two chemicals by 21% already in 2022 (from 23.710 liters in 2021 to 18.622 liters in 2022).

    As an important part of such CO2 management, we are offering our Customers the use of FSC certified materials from guaranteed exemplarily managed forests.

    We have seen an increase of 17,8% of the amount of paper processed in FSC paper, which now amounts to 47,5% of the total.

    We are also proactive suggesting to our Customers choosing a paper with the lowest CO2 footprint, and our standard is as the following:

    Lessebo Zero Offset (Lessebo Paper) 25 kg/t CO2
    WFC matt - G-print (Arctic Paper) 63 kg/t CO2
    WFU - Multi offset / UPM Fine (UPM) 100 kg 100 kg/t CO2
    WFC silk - Multi art silk / UPM Finesse (UPM) 130 kg/t CO2



We know that reducing emissions is not enough, thus we encourage our Customers to consider offsetting the CO2 footprint of the books produced. In 2022 we started working with the renowned ClimatePartner organisation and we are offering Carbon neutral products. Our new standard can provide each book with a “Carbon Neutral” label with a unique ID-Tracking number, which helps end customers to understand how and where carbon emissions have been offset.

Year of scope: 2022