Archive for the ‘Environmental responsibility’ Category

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No cuckoo

Tuesday, May 17th, 2011

No cuckoo again this year, four or maybe five years since I heard one calling. When we first moved here it was a regular anticipated sound in early May. Atavistic? It marked the soul. Swallows now fewer each year not helped by townies buying up and converting old barns and others who net off their eves because they say bird make a mess.  I would feel so privileged if they were to build on our little cottage but alas the eves too low.

Fortunately in twenty one years, not much has changed around here, no real development greenbelt. Thirteen houses and three farms, mostly dairy and sheep. Two of them now been organic for more than twenty years, as a result the hedgerows are alive with an amazing variety of wild flowers. Primroses have done especially well and now the bluebells creeping in.

For a couple of years we had skylarks in a large field not a mile away but huge works undertaken by Severn Trent has scared them off.  The curlews have returned having been absent for two years but their numbers like the Lapwings are well down. One critter that is multiplying significantly is the rabbit and the hedge rows on the lanes I walk Sam, our rescue Lab, are honeycombed with burrows. I gave up counting the number I see when I got to a hundred.

Around dawn I will see odd fox or badger and occasionally water voles and pine martins, they say there are otters on the river but I have never seen one. But twice I saw a kingfisher.  In abundance are Herons, buzzards, duck, snipe, geese, swans, and something I’ve missed. There are huge varieties smaller of birds unfortunately for them we have a pair of peregrines and in an explosion of feathers one took a ring collared dove in our garden, and the sparrow hawk is a regular visitor to the bird table.  After sunset tawny, little and barn owls and what I took to be a night jar. Sadly I have not seen or heard a nightingale since I lived at the The Boot in Willington, but we have hedgehogs.

Recently on our way home from Oswestry we saw a Red Kite, the first I have seen within forty miles of here.

Posted in Environmental responsibility, Fox, Garden Birds, Kingfisher, Living well, Local information, Organic farming, Sadness, Shropshire, Wildlife | No Comments »

Fraud risk from direct mail – ‘gone away’ mail

Thursday, March 24th, 2011

Recyclers Face Junk Mail Fraud Risk

140,000 householders fall victim to identity fraud each year

Do you just put your junk mail into the recycling without even opening it or shredding it? Then you are among the 80% of the population who are putting themselves at risk of identity theft.

Every year we are bombarded by a staggering 15 billion pieces of junk mail, equal to 626 unsolicited letters per British household, but the consequences are more than just to the environment.

Those of us who admit to recycling our junk mail without even taking it out of the envelope are putting ourselves at high risk of fraud. All an opportunistic thief needs to cash in on our identities is a name and address.

Over a lifetime we will each throw 49,000 letters away unread – effectively giving fraudsters 49,000 opportunities to steal our identities, according to a shocking poll by CPP.

A staggering 140,000 householders fall victim to identity fraud every year and 13% of us are caught out due to stolen mail.

But the statistics reveal we are most at risk when moving house. 16% of us fail to tell people when we move, with a quarter of us getting so wrapped up in the trials and tribulations of changing homes we forget to tell banks, utility companies and the DVLA for at least 2 weeks.

Four out of 10 movers won’t bother to inform catalogue companies when they change address and 8% forget to tell their local council, risking personal information being sent to the wrong door. With the average person now moving 16 times in their lives most of us are leaving a clear paper trail for thieves to follow.

But despite previous address fraud being the most common method of identity theft, accounting for 42% of cases, almost a third of us naively rely on the new occupants of our old homes to forward our mail on to us. But shockingly less than half of new owners bother to send on any correspondence at all.

A spokesman from CPP said: “The results from this survey are terrifying – people don’t realise that by dropping 49,000 letters in the bin, they are effectively giving fraudsters 49,000 opportunities to steal their identity.”

Published by: http://www.reducereuserecycle.co.uk/greenarticles/recyclers_face_junk_mail_fraud_risk.php

Reduce Reuse Recycle
- Your Green Guide

Reduce Reuse Recycle
- Your Green Guide

Posted in 'Gone away' mail, DMA, Direct Mail, Environmental responsibility, Identity Fraud, Postal returns, Recycling paper, Returned and Undelivered Mail | No Comments »

Gone Away & Returned Mail – Cutting the Costs

Thursday, February 17th, 2011

Gone away & returned mail processing service you can now cut costs dramatically by using CodEffect (2d barcode) a data capture system designed initially specifically for returned or gone-away letters.

It was originally designed to capture name and address information and to reduce the capture cost.  It includes full name and address information but its range has been expanded to include streamlining back office functions.

For example, including updating customer databases, validating the postal addresses, segmenting documents based on their commercial value and speeding up the process of collecting survey information.

Benefits

•          Reduced CRM mailing costs by 5%

•          Response rates increased by 8%

•          Data integrity enhanced

•          Helps to mitigate identity fraud

•          Achieved immediate and tangible cash savings with CodEffect

•          Reduces data collection cost

•          Enhances data base  management

•          Automates suppression process

•          Integrates mailing process with business process to improve cycle times and reduce cost

•          Minimises barcode size

For more information and power pint presentation please contact Tim Craig tim.craig@veri-data.co.uk

PS included in our service is the safe destruction and recycling of all waste paper helping to cut your carbon footprint

Posted in 'Gone away' mail, 'gone aways', Carbon Footprint, Catalogues, CodEffect 2d bar code, DMA, Direct Mail, Environmental responsibility, Identity Fraud, Recycling paper, Returned and Undelivered Mail, Totalpost PLC | No Comments »

CodEffect- Gone away mail management – a better solution

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

SAVE MONEY PROTECT BRAND IMAGE CUT THE RISK OF IDENTITY FRAUD

Returned  gone way  mail (catalogues) represent a waste of money.  If you have 100,000 Return mail items per annum and your average mail pack is 50p, you have wasted £50,000 which could have been put to better use in reaching customers and prospects. Conversely, if you are over-suppressing your mailings due to inaccurate Returns information, you could be losing out on revenue opportunities.

Veridata are licensed by Arbutus Ridgeto use a proprietary 2d bar-coding system CodEffect. As a company we provide a specialist, automated and quick turn around service for processing returned and undelivered mail.  As such, Royal Mail supports Veridata in the delivery of Returned and gone away mail Management solutions.

What is CodEffect?

CodEffect identifies the recipient of undelivered mail. It encapsulates a mailer ID, campaign code, customer URN or other customer related data along with the complete customer name and address information into a two dimensional (2D) barcode. All data is encoded in order to minimise the barcode’s size.

This means that large amounts of data can be securely encrypted, including data that doesn’t appear in the text of the mailing item and enables large amounts of data to be captured cheaply and accurately.

The 2D barcodes are small and discreet and printed to be visible through the window of each envelope. After a letter is returned, Veridata scans the unopened envelope and decodes the barcode to obtain the required information/name and address of the intended recipient and to identify the mailer who originated the piece. This allows Veridata to create a list of undeliverable names and addresses for the mailer.

The barcodes are printed using industry-accepted DataMatrix standards.

The principal users of CodEffect are printers of bulk mailings who are looking for a cost-effective returns handling solution and a straightforward way of integrating returns handling into their systems.

CodEffect has 2 distinct elements – simple data capture from returns and data verification/enhancement. These are 2 distinct and separate services, designed so that users can ‘buy-in’ to both services, however this is not mandatory.

As far as the “core” data capture service is concerned, the pricing model is simply based on the number of scans performed – the amount of data captured is irrelevant as the amount of work is the same. One of the key selling points of a CodEffect capture solution is a fixed charge, regardless of the amount of data captured.

It can carry a considerable amount and variety of alphanumeric data such as – amount, payee, account information, personal identification information, or customer references; however valuable marketing data could also be added giving detailed information on geographic/demographic success rates of campaigns.

For more information Call Tim Craig 0n 01925 242360

PS We recycle all waste paper/catalogues  helping the environment and you to lower your carbon footprint.

PPS Catalogues can be saved for reuse if required

Posted in 'Gone away' mail, 'Green Tax', 'gone aways', Carbon Footprint, Catalogues, CodEffect 2d bar code, DMA, Direct Mail, Environmental responsibility, Identity Fraud, PAS2020, Postal returns, Recycling paper, Returned and Undelivered Mail | 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 & 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 »

TNT Post joins forces with DMA to promote green direct mail

Thursday, December 2nd, 2010

LONDON – TNT Post and the Direct Marketing Association have signed a letter of understanding pledging commitment to working together to promote environmental best practice within the direct mail sector.

The letter contains a call for the responsible use of direct mail and proposes the implementation of at least two joint initiatives over the next 12 months.

TNT Post claims to have a firm track record of bringing ethical innovations to the market, including its CarbonNeutral mailing service and greenPost product, which will provide a foundation for future projects.

88% of the carbon footprint of a piece of direct mail is in the ‘end of life’ solution.

The projects will be developed by a strategy group formed of TNT Post and members of the DMA’s Mailing Houses Council, and will be aimed at businesses of all sizes.

In line with the PAS 2020 environmental standard, TNT Post and DMA will work together to deliver advice, recommendations and information to help minimise the environmental impact of direct mail.

Gillian Lyall, chair of the DMA’s Mailing Houses Council, said: “The signing of this letter of understanding indicates the DMA and TNT Post’s commitment to both the continued growth of the sector and the environment.

“It sets out a positive framework of how we, and the rest of the industry, can work together to create a more advantageous situation for all organisations operating in the sector.”

Nick Wells, chief executive of TNT Post UK, said: “As a trusted provider of postal and direct mail services and solutions to thousands of organisations large and small, TNT Post is well placed to generate interest amongst businesses and mailing houses.

“This expertise, coupled with the DMA’s market position, underpins the strength of this joint effort.” nam et ipsa scientia potestas est – For Knowledge Itself is Power

by TrueBlueTerrier » Sat Dec 19, 2009 1:31 pm http://www.brandrepublic.com/Discipline … 900409/TNT

Veridata have been committed to providing a GREEN gone away mail data capture  service for 14 years and all waste paper generated by our process  is confidentially destroyed and recycled.

Posted in 'Gone away' mail, 'Green Tax', 'gone aways', Carbon Footprint, DMA, Direct Mail, Environmental responsibility, PAS2020, Postal returns, Recycling paper, Returned and Undelivered Mail, TNT Post | No Comments »

TNT Post joins forces with DMA to promote green direct mail

Wednesday, October 27th, 2010

LONDON – TNT Post and the Direct Marketing Association have signed a letter of understanding pledging commitment to working together to promote environmental best practice within the direct mail sector.

The letter contains a call for the responsible use of direct mail and proposes the implementation of at least two joint initiatives over the next 12 months.

TNT Post claims to have a firm track record of bringing ethical innovations to the market, including its CarbonNeutral mailing service and greenPost product, which will provide a foundation for future projects.

The projects will be developed by a strategy group formed of TNT Post and members of the DMA’s Mailing Houses Council, and will be aimed at businesses of all sizes.

In line with the PAS 2020 environmental standard, TNT Post and DMA will work together to deliver advice, recommendations and information to help minimise the environmental impact of direct mail.

Gillian Lyall, chair of the DMA’s Mailing Houses Council, said: “The signing of this letter of understanding indicates the DMA and TNT Post’s commitment to both the continued growth of the sector and the environment.

“It sets out a positive framework of how we, and the rest of the industry, can work together to create a more advantageous situation for all organisations operating in the sector.”

Nick Wells, chief executive of TNT Post UK, said: “As a trusted provider of postal and direct mail services and solutions to thousands of organisations large and small, TNT Post is well placed to generate interest amongst businesses and mailing houses.

“This expertise, coupled with the DMA’s market position, underpins the strength of this joint effort.”

This article was first published on Marketing Direct

Nikki Sandison, Marketing Direct, 23 April 2009, 08:00AM

We hope you enjoy using Brand Republic. Please do not hesitate to send any feedback to us at: brandrepublic@mail.haymarketbusinessinteractive.com

Posted in 'Gone away' mail, Carbon Footprint, DMA, Direct Mail, Environmental responsibility, PAS2020, Postal returns, Returned and Undelivered Mail, TNT Post | No Comments »

Every tonne of recycled paper saves approximately 17 trees and 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space

Wednesday, October 27th, 2010

At Veridata as part of our service we recycle all the waste paper generated by the returns from the mail/catalogues that we process. Our service  minimizes waste and therefore cost, protects brand image, mitigates fraud and cuts carbon footprint. We process returned mail from anywhere in the UK or Europe.

With 5.4 billion items of direct mail sent out yearly direct marketers have an ideal opportunity to make a major impact because every tonne of recycled paper saves approximately 17 trees and 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space. The public’s perception is important and organisations such as charities, and companies sending out large amounts of Direct Mail and/or catalogues i.e. the mail order sector should take note that consumers and the media do not like brands that do business while ignoring the environmental impact.

Adopting PAS 2020 best practices makes environmental and economic sense.  Furthermore, cost savings can be made through Royal Mail as they offer postal services at a discounted rate to companies that can prove that they are compliant with PAS 2020, this can save up to 4.7 per cent off the standard mail tariff.

Veridata  helps to meet  corporate social responsibility by processing returned, undelivered and goneway mail, which saves companies considerable amounts of  money. Additional huge savings on returned mail handling can be made by using CodEffect 2d barcode call us to find out more on 44 (0)1925 242360

Posted in 'Gone away' mail, 'gone aways', Carbon Footprint, Charities, CodEffect 2d bar code, DMA, Direct Mail, Environmental responsibility, Identity Fraud, PAS2020, Postal returns, Recycling paper, Returned and Undelivered Mail, Royal Mail | No Comments »

And none will hear the postman’s knock

Tuesday, October 19th, 2010

‘Is there any mail?’ or ‘Was there any mail today?’ is invariably one of the first questions we ask of each other when returning home. On the odd occasion that the reply is in negative I admit that I feel a tinge of resentment. Even a piece of ‘Junk Mail’ is better than nothing.

And none will hear the postman’s knock

Without a quickening of the heart.

For who can bear to feel himself forgotten?    W.H. Auden

It’s a curious contradiction that so many people publicly condemn Direct Mail more often referred to as ‘Junk Mail’ and yet as sales medium it is so successful.

On questioning friends and colleagues and even a straw poll in the pub, it seems to me that there are few of us who have not at one time or another bought something in response to a piece of direct mail, I know I have.

Invariably these days on receipt of something that captures my attention I will immediately go on line to check it out and if satisfied with the price make the purchase. The Direct Mail Piece has achieved its purpose, the sale has been made.

Did you know?……

  • In the retail sector more than £102 billion in sales are attributed to direct marketing
  • Fewer people trash unsolicited direct mail when compared to email, 31% to 53% respectively
  • 73% of respondents said they prefer receiving new product announcements by mail, versus 18% for email
  • Direct Mail – UK companies spend £43.3 billion on direct marketing activities every year
  • Nearly £17 billion is earned by workers employed within the Direct Mail industry
  • More than 1.1 million UK workers are employed by or are indirectly connected with the direct marketing industry.

At Veridata the cost of our returned and undelivered data capture service includes the secure destruction and recycling of all waste paper generated.

This helps our customers to cut their carbon footprint, mitigates the opportunity for fraud, protects brand image, increases their campaign performance and helps them comply with BSI Standard PAS2020.

It also saves them a shed load of money……

One of the loudest objections voiced against Direct Mail is the amount of waste paper it produces and therefore the perceived damage to the environment. This a concern to the industry and individual brands but cynically I believe only in so much as it affects their brand image. Despite the economic times, consumers and the media are still being tough on brands/government departments that do business while ignoring the environmental impact.

It is a legitimate concern even if the total amount of waste generated is a relatively small percentage because 80% of the carbon footprint for a piece of mail is in this ‘end of life’ solution. Mail/catalogues at one time they were just dumped into landfill. However EU Directives have put a total embargo by 2015 of this waste going into landfill. This has focussed the minds of business as there is a corporate social and environmental responsibility for the ‘end of life’ solution of any large mailings all waste paper generated is now disposed of properly. Or so we are lead to believe.

Posted in 'Gone away' mail, 'gone aways', Carbon Footprint, Catalogues, DMA, Direct Mail, Environmental responsibility, Identity Fraud, PAS2020, Postal returns, Returned and Undelivered Mail | No Comments »

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