Mon, 07 Jan 2008 08:17:57 GMT

Latest NewsFTSE 350 destroy over 55 acres of forest

Annual reports produced by Britain’s biggest companies are directly responsible for destruction of forests the size of St James Park in London every year, according to a study released today. The research, conducted by The Interactive Annual Report Company [www.interactiveannualreports.co.uk] found each FTSE 350 company destroys 168 trees on average every year*.

Simon Noakes, managing director of The Interactive Annual Report Company: “In an age of environmental awareness it is an outrage that so many trees are needlessly destroyed. A small number of companies are doing a significant amount of damage, and the most frustrating thing is it’s so easily avoided.”

Increased focus on the environment [the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change] has put the spotlight on businesses and organisations. As a result, companies are waking up to the opportunities associated with reducing their carbon footprint for the good of the earth, as well as their corporate reputation.

 “We are only scratching the surface of identifying poor environmental practices, particularly when it comes to paper wastage. Companies are producing more reports every year. Not just annual reports but interim reports, reviews and, ironically, corporate social responsibility plans. We need to start somewhere and the Annual Report & Accounts, being the flagship publication of these companies, is a very good place to start,” Noakes said.

Each annual report in the UK destroys an average of 168 trees. Increasingly, companies looking to do their bit and send a positive message to shareholders, customers and other relevant communities are turning to Interactive Annual Reports™, which leave a carbon footprint 60% less than traditional printed reports.

“As the global lobbying continues to attack Government policy on the environment, we will all soon be forced to do our part. Why not start now and benefit from the goodwill of your investors and shareholders - and give them something more to believe in?” Noakes said.

To highlight the effects Annual Reports have on the environment, the Interactive Annual Report Company has released a Tree Calculator (TreeCalc™) which organisations can use to see how many trees they are destroying by continuing to print their Annual Report (and for that matter any printed publication).

To see how many trees are being destroyed by your company, go to www.interactiveannualreports.co.uk/treeCalc. It takes less than 30 seconds.

* - figures calculated using 146 average report size (pages), and a print run of 25,000.

 

Source: Interactive Annual Reports