Telstra-owned Sensis is offsetting the carbon impact of its directories as part of federal government's Greenhouse Friendly program.
Sensis head of sustainability Jill Risely told ProPrint that the company is aiming to reduce its operational carbon output by 5% year-on-year, and offset its emissions through Greenhouse Friendly accredited projects.
Sensis is looking to offset the "entire print lifecycle" of the iconic directories, including production, use, disposal and distribution.
The printed directories represent the largest part of Sensis' carbon footprint, accounting for around 175,000 tonnes of emissions each year. Meanwhile, Sensis' regular business operations yield roughly 30,000 tonnes of emissions.
"The boundary for most companies is just calculating what the company emits," Risely said.
"But our product and its supply chain have quite a significant environmental impact as well, so we wanted to take accountability for that," she added.
URS Australia is calculating the footprint of the directories' production in consultation with PMP and its print supply chain.
"PMP have been fantastic in working with us and calculating our footprint, as have all of our suppliers," Risely said. "You do need the support of your supply chain."
Risely said that most of the emissions take place in the paper production aspect of the print cycle. Sensis is currently reviewing its paper-sourcing through a tender process.
"Some companies have developed really innovative ways of reducing their impact, so there are some real opportunities there," Risely said.
Risely was quick to tout the green credentials of print, despite the fact that print production accounts for most of the company's emissions.
"Carbon emissions are just one environmental indicator," she pointed out. "Printed products have a lot of positive qualities that online products don't, such as recyclability."
Sensis has already started implementing a number of initiatives to reduce its operational footprint, such as enabling video conferencing at 21 of its office locations and introducing IT Purchasing Guidelines that incorporate energy efficiency.
According to Sensis, more than five million Australians use both Yellow Pages and White Pages print directories each week.