Australian grand format printing and out of home advertising company, Mesh Direct, has partnered with Carbon Neutral for its carbon neutral signage, which the company has called an Australian first.
Mesh Direct is the business that recently worked alongside the HBS Group and the City of Sydney to wrap the iconic Sydney Town Hall in signage while it underwent restoration.
The partnership with Carbon Neutral enables Mesh Direct to support initiatives dedicated to preserving and regenerating natural ecosystems. By doing so, the company said it is ensuring that all signage has a net carbon footprint of zero.
Mesh Direct calculates the highest amount of carbon that could be generated by any signage purchase – the result is known as a carbon yield number. Using this number as a guide, it uses each purchase to fund sustainability projects managed by Carbon Neutral.
“Being carbon neutral means our net release of CO2e into the atmosphere is zero. Any CO2e you emit is cancelled out by a process called offsetting – which means we support the amazing projects that reduce global CO2e emissions, like regenerating precious forest,” Mesh Direct said.
“We are committed to a more sustainable future. This is why we are proud to be Australia’s first 100 per cent carbon neutral signage company.”
Every year, Mesh Direct customers will be given the chance to vote on which projects will offset its carbon emissions over the next 12 months.
For example, Mesh Direct is supporting Carbon Neutral’s Yarra Yarra Biodiversity Corridor project which aims to create a 200km long green corridor from inland all the way to the coast, reconnecting remnant vegetation with 12 nature reserves across a 10,000km2 area.
The second project that it is supporting is near the ‘Arc of Deforestation’ in the Amazon Biome. The Fortaleza Ituxi Project aims to protect forests in the Amazon that have been decimated by the expansion of agriculture and cattle ranching.
“Our contribution to this project will help prevent the deforestation of 5,391.6 hectares over 30-years. That’s about the size of the Sydney harbour.” Mesh Direct said.
Mesh Direct also outlined a five-step approach that it will be taking to reduce its emissions and further commit to a more sustainable future:
- Lay the foundation and lead the way in the signage industry Australia-wide.
- Continually invest in new technologies and materials that will contribute to a more sustainable future.
- Aim to have a carbon neutral supply chain by 2025.
- Develop a recycling collection scheme in order to reuse and repurpose signage.
- Continuously nurture our in-house culture and values which champion sustainability.
“We are excited to partner with Carbon Neutral to combat climate change in Australia. The signage industry is pretty harsh on the environment and we want to do our bit to change that and promote Mesh Direct’s pioneering values. We look forward to sharing this journey with our customers,” Mesh Direct director Andrew Doenicke said.
Mesh Direct first embarked on its sustainability initiative with the release of its EcoVinyl 100 per cent fully recyclable billboard signage and EcoBoard solution, which is a greener alternative to corflute.
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