How Barnwells became Norfolk’s first Certified Carbon Balanced printer

Lincoln and Julian Barnwell.

As part of an occasional series focusing on local traders, ACE looks at what local shops and businesses are doing to reduce their carbon footprint – Barnwells Print based in Dunkirk, Aylsham, is run by brothers Julian and Lincoln Barnwell.

Ten little-known facts about the business according to Barnwell’s Business Development Manager Chris Rea:

Barnwell Print is the oldest family-run printing business in the UK, established in 1840.
In 2012 they became Norfolk’s first Certified Carbon Balanced printer.
Since May 2014, Barnwells have been powered by a Biomass system – the first SME (Small and Medium Enterprises) Biomass installation in the print industry. This has reduced their carbon footprint by 20 tonnes of CO2 annually and produces almost zero C02 emissions.
They are Environmental Innovation winners in the Broadland and South Norfolk Business Awards 2023. The Environmental Innovation category is sponsored by the University of East Anglia. The judge’s summary was: “The award goes to the business that demonstrated the most detailed and holistic approach to sustainability across all aspects of the business. Judges were impressed with their real-world implementation of a carbon reduction strategy that has led to them halving their carbon footprint. They showed a real leadership for carbon reduction that hopefully others can take lessons from.”
As a Certified Carbon Balanced Printer, Barnwells have been using carbon balanced paper since January 2012, offsetting 2,534 tonnes of CO2 , and enabling the World Land Trust to protect and restore 172 acres of threatened tropical habitat. (The World Land Trust is an international conservation charity based in Suffolk which protects the world’s most biologically important and threatened habitats.
Between 2023 and 2024, Barnwells will have balanced (offset) the equivalent of 48.28 tonnes of CO2. This will enable the World Land Trust to protect and restore a further 9,222 square metres of threatened tropical habitat.

The company has an action plan for a sustainable future with a number of important targets.
They plan to:

– reduce on site grid electricity use by 5 per cent per year.
– reduce business-associated vehicle emissions by 5 per cent.
– reduce on-site biofuel (for heating) use by 5 per cent per year.
– achieve 100 per cent recycling rate.
– reduce their on-site CO2 footprint by 5 per cent per year

An industry first. ‘What the World Needs Now: Trees!’ – Barnwells have printed a sustainable children’s book by Cheryl Rosebush, part of the author’s environmental children’s book series “What the World Needs Now“. This was the first children’s publication to have all CO2 emissions balanced by the World Land Trust, printed on 100 per cent recycled paper and covered in oxo-biodegradable film. All of the money raised through carbon capture goes directly to the WLT.
Barnwell Print has published material for Wimbledon and the late Queen.
Other eco-awards Barnwells has collected: Norfolk Carbon Charter Gold award; finalist in Norfolk Business Awards in the Environment and Sustainability category; Norwich and Norfolk Eco Awards Winners (Small/Medium Business category) 2018.
Business Development Manager Chris Rea’s surname may just possibly mean that he could be descended from a Roman soldier. His family have traced their unusual surname to a particular part of Italy.
Here’s a thought: could Chris’s ancestor have been one of the Romans occupying Norfolk? Could he even have been part of Aylsham’s Roman settlement? We may never know . . .

Sue Sharpe for ACE, August 2023