The Notting Hill based printer took home an award in the Small Business category as well as receiving the overall Premier’s Recognition Award at the event on 22 April.

Commercial manager Rob Nugent told ProPrint: “This is a great thing for the printing industry. We’ve all had a tough time and for the industry to get this kind of recognition is fantastic.”

The company has notched up a series of environmental results, most recently becoming the first Australian business to gain ISO 14064 for greenhouse gas verification.

“We don’t go out there pushing our own barrel all the time,” Nugent said. “We want to do the right thing. We want to do the right thing by our customers and the environment.

“It’s a credit to the people who work at Vega and a credit to our managing director, Peter Gude,” added Nugent.

Nugent said he hoped the win would help others make their business more environmentally sustainable by “sharing experiences and explaining that reducing waste and being resource efficient makes good business sense”.

Vega’s other sustainability initiatives include purchasing carbon offsets for operational greenhouse gas emissions, installing closed-loop water-recycling units on its printing presses and moving to more efficient plate-processing kit.

The company has reduced water consumption by over 50%, while ‘Light-Eco’ energy-efficient lighting and power factor correction systems save up to 20% on energy bills.

Vega also has a comprehensive recycling program, with waste produced from the printing process being recycled, including paper, cardboard, metals, plastics, wood and rubber. Since mid-2005, Vega has reduced the amount of waste sent to landfill by more than 50%.

Pictured: Rob Nugent (right) accepting an award from Victorian premier John Brumby.

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