A green annual report is an annual report on a company's financial status that is printed using production processes that save energy, trees, water, and also reduce waste and

greenhouse gases A greenhouse gas (GHG or GhG) is a gas that absorbs and emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range, causing the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere are water vapor (), carbon dioxide (), methane ...

. According to a 2005 survey that studied trends in annual reporting, the average number of pages in an annual report was 65, and the number of copies produced averaged between more than 5,000 to less than 50,000. Green annual reports are frequently printed using eco-friendly

soy ink Soy ink is a plant-based ink derived from soybeans (''Glycine max''). Unlike traditional petroleum-based ink, soy-based ink is environmentally friendly, provides precise colours, and makes it easier to recycle paper. It is slower to dry than many ...

s. In comparison with traditional petroleum-based ink, soy inks are

environmentally friendlier Environment friendly processes, or environmental-friendly processes (also referred to as eco-friendly, nature-friendly, and green), are sustainability and marketing terms referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that clai ...

, are available in brighter colors, and make it easier to

recycle Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...

paper. Petroleum-based inks contain 30-35%

Volatile organic compound Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic compounds that have a high vapour pressure at room temperature. High vapor pressure correlates with a low boiling point, which relates to the number of the sample's molecules in the surrounding air, a ...

s (VOCs), while soybean oil-based inks typically range from only 0-5% VOCs. New processes also had to be developed to make the de-inking and recycling of paper easier, and soy-based inks perform better in conjunction with modern de-inking procedures. Green annual reports are also frequently printed on FSC (

Forest Stewardship Council The Forest Stewardship Council A. C. (FSC) is an international non-profit, multistakeholder organization established in 1993 that promotes responsible management of the world's forests via timber certification. It is an example of a market-ba ...

) Certified Printers. The FSC is an independent, non-governmental, not-for-profit organization established to promote the responsible management of the world's forests. On February 17, 2009, the WWF (

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wo ...

) announced that they were reaffirming the FSC as still the best environmentally responsible certification scheme for business. An eco audit statement is placed in the final document that estimates the number of trees preserved, pounds of water-borne waste that was not created, number of gallons of waste-water flow saved, pounds of solid waste not generated, net pounds of greenhouse gases prevented and the amount of energy in million

BTU The British thermal unit (BTU or Btu) is a unit of heat; it is defined as the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. It is also part of the United States customary units. The modern SI u ...

s not consumed. An eco audit is "a management tool comprising a systematic, documented, periodic, and objective evaluation of how well environmental organization, management and equipment are performing with the aim of contributing to safeguarding the environment by: facilitating management control of environmental practices and assessing compliance with company policies, which would include meeting regulatory requirements."http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/ec/eco-audit.html

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Green Annual Report Environmentalism