What does carbon neutral printing mean?

Carbon neutral printing means the greenhouse gas emissions tied to a job, or to the paper used for it, have been balanced out. That can happen in two ways, and they are not the same.

• Reductions lower the emissions in the first place, for example a paper mill that runs on wind power.
• Offsets pay for projects elsewhere, such as forestry or renewable energy, to make up for emissions that still happen.

Some mills make paper lines with wind power or carbon neutral production, including certain Mohawk and Monadnock papers. When a printer or a paper is described as carbon neutral, ask what was offset (the paper, the printing, the shipping or all three) and how much of the claim comes from actual reductions. You can ask about specific stocks when you request a quote.