Carbon Reduction Commitment scheme

Archive for the ‘Carbon Reduction Commitment scheme’ Category

CodEffect™ Returned Letter Data Capture – What is it?

Tuesday, March 29th, 2011

CodEffect - pronounced Code Effect – is a data capture system designed specifically for returned or gone-away letters. CodEffect includes full name and address information, plus it enables mailing customers to include large amounts of their own data in the barcode.

CodEffect was originally designed to perfectly capture name and address information and to reduce the capture cost. However, when customers began adding their own data into the encoded barcode, this additional information became a great way to streamline many back office functions. For example, some applications our customers use CodEffect on include updating customer databases, validating the postal addresses, segmenting documents based on their commercial value and speeding up the process of collecting survey information.

Veridata is a division of Totalpostplc www.totalpost.com

Tesco Clubcard was the first customer. The CodEffect process reduced Tesco’s cost of capturing returned letter data by 50% – read the Case study. Look in the window of your next Clubcard envelop and you will see two little square boxes, they are the CodEffect barcodes. Since its beginning, CodEffect has continued to grow and develop. The software now has features for letters, packets and parcels, encryption, automated data feeds into accounting, database and document management systems.

In 2008, CodEffect was shortlisted at the World Mail Awards – the Oscars of the postal industry – in the Technology category.

Veridata gone away and returned mail handling are licensed by Arbutus Ridge as users of CodEffect. We thoroughly recommend this bar code it can save considerable amount of money and provide valuable marketing information.

We recycle all waste paper that results from processing, which helps to lower your carbon footprint. 80% of the carbon footprint of a returned mail piece is in the end of life solution

Posted in 'Gone away' mail, 'gone aways', Carbon Reduction Commitment scheme, Catalogues, DMA, Direct Mail, PAS2020, Postal returns, Returned and Undelivered Mail, Royal Mail, Sustainable Mail, TNT Post | No Comments »

Royal Mail could put up postage on direct mail by up to 19%

Tuesday, March 1st, 2011

This is not good news as the non-transactional direct mail sector is already struggling and it will probably mean that the private courier sector will follow suite and hike their prices. However there are ways to reduce the costs of direct mail.

We include catalogues in this context.

Most direct marketers would agree that embracing best environmental practice is a sensible idea. There are rewards for doing so but whether you agree that PAS2020 an onerous standard or a good discipline, the potential for reduced costs, reduced waste and increased campaign performance makes good business sense.

There also the benefit of Royal Mail’s ‘Sustainable Mail’, which offers postal services at a discounted rate if a company is proved to be compliant with PAS 2020. This can save mailers up to 4.7 percent off the standard mail tariff.

As a company dedicated to processing returned and gone way mail since 1996 we have to declare an interest in hoping that volumes of direct mail do not decline too quickly. In our part we have reduced the returns/’gone aways’ of one our larger customers (at their peak mailing 140 million pieces a year) from over 6% to under 2% saving them thousands of pounds.

Our aim is to minimise waste and thereby cut cost, by removing unnecessary volume, and by ensuring the ‘end of life’ solution where 80% of the carbon footprint occurs is addressed responsibly. We recycle all waste paper. It can also provide brand protection and reduce the opportunity for fraud – overlaying information from returns can identify hot spots/addresses and help to mitigate identity theft.

Taking care of your returns also offers a safety net from consumer backlash, because despite the economic times, consumers and the media are still being tough on brands that do business while ignoring the environmental impact.

Posted in 'Gone away' mail, 'gone aways', Carbon Footprint, Carbon Reduction Commitment scheme, Catalogues, Charities, DMA, Direct Mail, PAS2020, Postal returns, Recycling paper, Royal Mail, Sustainable Mail, TNT Post | No Comments »

Bringing down the cost of gone away mail

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

Save up to 50% on your returned and ‘gone way’ mail/catalogues

In partnership with Arbutus Ridge we process their CodEffect 2d barcode, a powerful method of encoding large amounts of data. Successfully used by many organisations including HMRC and Tesco, the latter in the first six months that they have been using it have seen a 50% reduction in its operational costs for returned mail.

It attracts a lower charge rate to capture than standard alpha/numeric data and we can return the data files on a daily basis if required.

Veridata now offers this encrypted 2d bar-coding system which means that capture of name & address, campaign codes etc. is considerably cheaper and enables us to offer our customers great savings for processing their returned mail.

CodEffect capture solution offer a fixed charge, regardless of the amount of data captured. There is no charge for the software or the creation of the barcode.

The CodEffect service has two distinct elements – simple data capture from returns and

data verification & enhancement. If required it can explain the reason for returns by

running them against a number of industry wide data sets.

The discreet two-dimensional barcode can be set in various places in or outside the envelope

Also included in the cost is the destruction and responsible disposal of all waste paper, which is recycled locally; this helps reduce your carbon footprint. Our service also helps you to comply with EU Directives on Landfill PAS2020 and Royal Mail’s Sustainable Mail.

Technical Requirements

Veridata in partnership with Arbutus Ridge will provide all software required to manage the printing of the CodEffect 2d barcodes free of charge and will work alongside the Client and chosen print company to install and test the process. Full technical requirements will be produced on agreement of contract.

Supplied as Windows DLL’s, which you can integrate using Visual Basic

For further information please contact

Tim Craig Business Development Director

Tel:01925 242360 email: tim.craig@veri-data.co.uk

PS As part o our service we destroy and recycle all paper helping to lower your carbon footprint

Posted in 'Gone away' mail, Carbon Footprint, Carbon Reduction Commitment scheme, Catalogues, Charities, CodEffect 2d bar code, DMA, Direct Mail, Environmental responsibility, PAS2020, Recycling paper, Sustainable Mail, Totalpost PLC | No Comments »

WEEE Producer Compliance Registration

Monday, January 10th, 2011

Producer Compliance Registration

Total Postweigh International Ltd

(WEE/KG0294UR)

Introduction

This document is a declaration that Total Postweigh International Ltd is registered with Northern

Compliance as a producer of EEE presented for sale in the UK. For further clarification please contact

0845 257 7024 or info@northerncompliance.org .

Producers Details

Company:

E Mail:

Telephone:

Total Postweigh International

Ltd

john@postweigh.com

01434381182

Address: 1 Skelgillside

Alston

CA9 3TR

Cumbria

Producer

Defined as manufacturer, importer and/or re-brander of EEE made ready for sale in the UK

Declaration

Posted in 'Green Tax', Carbon Footprint, Carbon Reduction Commitment scheme, Electrical waste disposal, Totalpost PLC, WEEE & RoHS Compliance, WEEE Directive, Waste Electrical Electronic Equipment | No Comments »

WEEE & RoHS Compliance with Totalpost

Monday, January 10th, 2011

Totalpost produce and distribute electrical equipment onto the market and as such we are bound by *WEEE regulations. Many people may not be aware of what WEEE is and/or how it affects them, that is why Total are registered with a WEEE compliance agency to help our customers, when they wish to dispose of old unwanted electrical items.

* The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE Directive) was introduced into UK law in January 2007 by the Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment Regulations 2006.WEEE

See http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/topics/waste/32084.aspx

WEEE is a huge spectrum of products from computers, mobile phones, (and in our house equipment chargers), printers and faxes, to washing machines, fridges and even fluorescent tubes. At least one million tonnes of WEEE from domestic and commercial sources is discarded in the UK every year. And this figure is growing. If you care about the environment and your carbon footprint we all need to take action now. (Also see our recycling process for Veridata Direct Mail ‘gone aways’ and returns process)

The WEEE Directive is European environmental legislation. It aims to address the environmental impacts of WEEE, and to encourage its separate collection, and subsequent treatment, re-use, recovery, recycling and environmentally sound disposal.

Another piece of environmental legislation, with which Totalpost has to comply and be aware of, is the RoHS Directive (the Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic equipment) which came into force on 1st July 06.

This Directive bans the placing on the EU market of new electrical and electronic equipment containing more than agreed levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants. With the new regulations impacting on us all, we take our responsibilities with regards to the correct disposal of electronic equipment very seriously and again have facilities in place to make sure that we comply fully and can help our customers every step of the way.

For further information please call Tim Craig on 44 (0)1925 242360

Posted in 'Green Tax', Carbon Footprint, Carbon Reduction Commitment scheme, Electrical waste disposal, Environmental responsibility, WEEE & RoHS Compliance, WEEE Directive | No Comments »

Totalpost plc Managing Director David Hymers received his MBE at Buckingham Palace from Her Majesty the Queen 8th December 2010

Thursday, December 9th, 2010

8^th December 2010 at the Buckingham Palace

Congratulations from Tim & Kirsty Craig at Veridata

David Hymers has been awarded an MBE for “services to Industry and International Trade” in the 2010 Queen’s Birthday Honours List. David is Chairman & Managing Director of Totalpost Services Plc, a well respected privately owned independent market leader specialising in mailroom solutions to Companies in over 18 countries around the world. The award recognises David’s hard work and commitment in the field of business, & for working with Business Link in the North and also with the management & Vice Chairmanship of an Export Club for Cumbria via UK Trade & Investment.

A surprised, delighted and humbled David said “Whilst I have received the award, I feel it is a testimony to all the employees at Totalpost as I know that without such a great team, we would not be doing so well, so each and every one of the team – in UK/Europe and USA – deserves a share in this recognition and I said so in my acceptance call to Her Majesties representative.”

A spokesperson for Totalpost said “We are delighted for David; the award of MBE is extremely well deserved. David has made a significant contribution to Business and to International Trade and the wider community and he has developed Totalpost Services Plc to ensure it is a substantial force in the mailroom market.”

People whose names are published in The Queen’s Birthday Honours and New Year Honours lists usually receive their award from The Queen at an Investiture in Buckingham Palace. There are usually 20 Investitures held in the Ballroom at the Palace each year. Up to 150 recipients attend each ceremony, and each recipient can nominate three friends or relations to sit in the audience to witness the occasion. The Queen enters the room attended by two Gurkha Orderly Officers, a tradition begun by Queen Victoria in 1876. Also on duty are members of The Queen’s Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard, which was created by Henry VII in 1485.

Veridata returned & ‘gone away’ mail handling … a Totalpost Services plc company

Posted in 'Gone away' mail, 'gone aways', Business Link, Carbon Reduction Commitment scheme, Catalogues, DMA, Direct Mail, PAS2020, Postal returns, Queen's Birthday Honours, Royal Mail, Sustainable Mail, TNT Post, Totalpost PLC | No Comments »

Direct Mail can reduce carbon emissions

Friday, October 22nd, 2010

The percentage of waste in the UK that goes straight into landfill sites is 60% compared to just 20% in Switzerland, a good proportion of this waste is coming from business.

Direct marketing material estimated to account for approximately 550,000 tonnes of the household waste. Of this, 181,500 tonnes is estimated to be addressed direct mail with the remaining 368,500 tonnes being unaddressed direct marketing material.

At Veridata we process returned and undelivered mail, – i.e. mail sent back with ‘RETURN TO SENDER’ often embellished with more spicy comments! Also mail that is inaccurately addressed, mail refused and mail for which the postman deems no such address exists. All this mail, if it is one our customers, is returned to the PO Box number on the reverse of the envelope and directed by Royal mail to our premises. We open, sort, scan, and return the information to our customers. This saves them mailing to the same people again. It also provides valuable marketing information, which helps to achieve greater focus on campaign performance.

AND it saves considerable amounts of money.

Just as importantly it helps to lower their carbon footprint and meet their corporate social and environmental responsibility, for included in the cost of or service is the safe destruction and recycling of all the waste paper we process. 80% of the carbon footprint of a piece of mail is in the ‘end of life’ i.e. when it’s dumped. So if you are sending out large amounts of mail or catalogues, you should be talking to us because you too could help the planet and save money. Paper has been identified as a material where reduced waste and greater recycling can yield significant environmental benefits.

When it comes to the subject of Climate Change: If you think you are too small to make a difference try sleeping in a room with a mosquito.

Veridata returned mail handling …a Totalpost Services plc company

Posted in 'Gone away' mail, 'Green Tax', 'gone aways', Carbon Footprint, Carbon Reduction Commitment scheme, Catalogues, DMA, Direct Mail, PAS2020, Postal returns, Recycling paper, Returned and Undelivered Mail, Royal Mail | No Comments »

Are Direct Mail Businesses Thinking About Green Issues Enough?

Tuesday, September 28th, 2010

Veridata is trying to educate the Direct Mail industry about the benefits of processing their returned and undelivered mail. For 14 years we have been processing the the returns to MBNA who enlightened and well a head of their time have been ensuring that their returns have been and are handled responsibly.

Too many companies that send out large quantities of mail/catalogues do not address this issue of corporate social producer responsibility for the ‘end of life’ solution for their undelivered and returned mail.

A contributor to CO2 waste in the UK is, Returned, unwanted and undelivered mail its produces vast amounts of waste paper and 80% of the carbon footprint for a piece of mail is in the ‘end of life’ solution. The DMA’s BSI Standard PAS2020, the Royal Mail’s Sustainable Mail, TNT’s Greenpost and the new EU directives on landfill are going some way to address the issue of ‘producer responsibility’ that all waste paper generated is disposed of acceptably.

Veridata provides a specialist and automated quick turn around service for processing Returned and Undelivered Mail.

It saves money not mailing the same customers again, helps mitigate the opportunities for identity fraud and it is friendly to the environment as all waste is recycled thus reducing carbon footprint.

See article by

Are British Businesses Thinking About Green Issues Enough?

Written by Ben Thornhill

Friday, 16 July 2010 13:27

http://www.tchc.net/blog/38-business-operations/226-are-british-businesses-thinking-enough-about-green-issues

Posted in 'Gone away' mail, 'Green Tax', 'gone aways', Banking, Carbon Footprint, Carbon Reduction Commitment scheme, DMA, Direct Mail, Identity Fraud, PAS2020, Recycling paper, Returned and Undelivered Mail, Royal Mail, Sustainable Mail, TNT Post | No Comments »

David Miliband MP, has said that 550 000 tonnes of ‘junk mail’ sent each year is “unacceptable for the environment,”

Thursday, September 16th, 2010

The annual value of direct mail expenditure to the UK economy is £8.6bn and the value of sales generated is £17bn1. Each household receives just over three pieces of direct mail every week; 67% of that mail is opened.

However David Miliband MP, has said that 550 000 tonnes of ‘junk mail’ sent each year is “unacceptable for the environment,” and with the EU land-fill directives coming in to force the need to responsibly process any undelivered mail is now more pressing.

It has long been recognized that the carbon footprint of a Direct Mail piece indicates that 80% of CO2* exposure is at the ‘end-of-life’ stage. Responsible Direct Mailers can help to reduce this by having their returns processed by Veridata. Recycling paper waste has a lower environmental impact than either land-filling or incineration.

Veridata was set up in 1996 to handle and process the returned direct mail of one of the largest credit card issuers in the Europe. We currently provide this service to a variety of mailing companies and the recycle all the waste thus reducing carbon footprint.

* Figures are 1.65 tonnes CO2 per tonne of 100% recycled paper and 2.1 tonnes for virgin paper. These figures include emissions from manufacture, distribution, print process and disposal.

When it comes to having an impact on making a contribution to reduce global warming…………. ‘If you think that you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a room with a mosquito.’

Recycling Direct Mail – some facts from DMA UK & Royal Mail

Wednesday, September 15th, 2010

A report, released by the DMA (UK) and Royal Mail, revealed that 76.5 per cent of direct marketing material is now recycled – well ahead of the 2009 target of 55 per cent and beating the 2013 target of 70 per cent.

Increased targeting and industry initiatives, combined with growing household recycling levels and increased subscription to the Mailing Preference Service (MPS), have resulted in an overall reduction of 348,600 tonnes of direct marketing material being distributed between the signing of the voluntary agreement in 2003 and the end of 2009.

The amount of direct mail entering landfill has fallen by 79 per cent since 2003, with some 382,698 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions saved by increased recycling activity in 2009 alone – the equivalent of one billion miles driven in a petrol car.

This increase in the levels of recycled direct marketing material also reflects a significant behavioural change over recent years, with levels of domestic recycling across all household waste more than trebling during the past decade. Direct marketing material now accounts for just 0.4 per cent of all non-recycled household waste and Confederation of Paper Industries data suggests that the current levels of recycling for direct mail material outperforms general paper recycling.

Since Defra introduced the recycling targets in 2003, the DMA and Royal Mail have supported a number of industry initiatives to support a wider industry drive towards sustainability, including:

PAS2020 – guidelines introduced in spring 2009 to gauge the environmental impact of direct marketing activity
Sustainable® Mail – a Royal Mail service that rewards better-targeted, sustainably produced and easy to recycle direct mail campaigns with lower prices
Expansion of DMA best practice guidelines to tackle environmental impact, and the introduction of a reduced-cost BSI ISO 14001 certification.

Robert Keitch*, chief of membership and brand at the DMA, said: “The huge volume of direct mail now being recycled is not merely mail that travels straight from doormat to recycling bin. Every year, direct mail generates £16 billion in sales for UK plc. Hitting the Government’s recycling targets shows we can do so without hitting companies’ bottom lines.”

Matthew Neilson, Head of Environmental Solutions, Royal Mail, commented: “The direct marketing industry has made a significant effort to reduce its impact on the environment, and the introduction of initiatives such as the DMA’s PAS2020 and Royal Mail’s Sustainable® Mail product have been instrumental in helping the sector to achieve this recycling goal. However, there is much more that can be done to ensure direct marketers are communicating in as sustainable a fashion as possible.”

The targets apply to posted direct marketing material in England, covering addressed items such as direct mail and unaddressed items including leaflets and inserts.

The report is available to download from 1 April at: www.dma.org.uk/recyclingtargets

* Robert Keitch left the DMA earlier this year

Posted in 'Gone away' mail, 'gone aways', Carbon Footprint, Carbon Reduction Commitment scheme, DMA, Direct Mail, Environmental responsibility, PAS2020, Postal returns, Recycling paper, Returned and Undelivered Mail, Royal Mail | No Comments »