Raleigh’s original green printer goes carbon neutral

Barefoot Press, the original green printer in Raleigh, NC, has purchased enough renewable energy credits to offset all of its power consumption through the end of 2008.

This move furthers the offset printing company’s mission to offer the best green printing option to consumers nation-wide.

The carbon-offset program is offered by Renewable Choice Energy in Boulder Colorado and is available to residential customers and green business leaders. Following a simple audit of Barefoot’s energy consumption, the organization prepared an analysis of how many REC’s needed to be purchased. The money from the sale of the credits will be used to fund projects that generate electricity in a carbon-neutral way, such as wind farms and solar installations around the world. The Renewable Choice Energy program is independently audited and is Green-E certified.

Although the program represents an added overhead expense, owner Richard Kilby feels good about the decision. “We’re committed to every aspect of green printing and sustainable business practices. Our customers can now feel even better knowing that in addition to printing on recycled paper using soy based inks and water-miscible, low-VOC chemistry, the electricity used in the production of their marketing material is purchased from non-polluting sources. It’s crucial that we continually evaluate the way we do business, and to always seek new ways to mitigate our company’s impact on our fragile environment.”

Barefoot Press is located in the Triangle area of NC, which encompasses the towns of Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Apex, Garner and Cary. Printing plays a vital role in the economy of this growing region, which has been repeatedly recognized by Money Magazine as one of the top places in the country to live and do business.