‘Changing Ireland’ is now the greenest Irish magazine. Nuts!

national | environment | press release Friday November 07, 2008 12:51 by Allen Meagher - 'Changing Ireland', Moyross, Limerick - part of the Community Development Programme editor at changingireland dot ie 'Changing Ireland', c/o Community Development Network, Community Enterprise Centre, Moyross, Limerick 061-458011

- big publications should be setting the lead; instead it's us.

Changing Ireland’ has become the greenest magazine in Ireland. While we're celebrating, we are shocked to find ourselves leading the way.
“‘Changing Ireland’ finds is now ahead of a range of popular commercial magazines that weigh down the shop-shelves with paper from virgin forests and inks derived from heavy chemicals. We should be following their lead into a greener world, not showing them the way,” said editor Allen Meagher.

‘Changing Ireland’, Issue 27, is the publication’s first ‘green issue’. The new edition is now on the web: www.changingireland.ie and the paper version is due out from Monday, Nov. 10th and it is available in Eason’s or directly by contacting ‘Changing Ireland’.

'Changing Ireland' - greenest Irish magazine today

“We’d rather other bigger circulation magazines were setting the lead,” says a Limerick-based magazine that claims to be the greenest on the Irish market.
Using vegetable inks throughout, a chemical-free production process and 100% recycled paper, the national Community Development magazine ‘Changing Ireland’ has become the greenest magazine in the country, it claims.
“‘Changing Ireland’ finds itself ahead of a range of popular commercial magazines that weigh down the shop-shelves with paper from virgin forests and inks derived from heavy chemicals. We should be following their lead into a greener world, not showing them the way,” said editor Allen Meagher.
“We were surprised to find that even Local Planet, a magazine about the environment, didn’t use recycled paper, though they are going to change with their next issue.”
Apart from the occasional report printed on recycled paper, Ireland’s public and private sectors have stuck with environmentally-unfriendly printing.
“Our latest edition is focused on environmental issues and it would have been useless for us to talk ‘green’ if we didn’t ‘go green’,” said Mr. Meagher. “We were prepared to drop a few pages to lower the cost, but we didn’t have to because going green has become affordable.”
“What really surprised us is how slow other publishers are. We never imagined we would be able to call ourselves the greenest magazine on the market, but today we are.
“Maybe we’re in pole position because we were quick off the mark with the dropping prices, but publishers are also slow to change because they’re afraid of losing readers, when if anything, they stand to gain readers as they gain credibility for going green.
“Printers will tell you that few Government Departments or private companies are interested in environmentally-friendly printing methods. We’re behind Europe here.
Mr. Meagher urged local communities groups and small enterprises to lead from the ground up by seeking green printing: “Community groups we know may shortly go ‘green’ with their local newsletters on learning of the greater affordability of recycled paper.”
‘Changing Ireland’ has been congratulated on its work by the Carbon Neutral Company based in London and was urged to work towards becoming fully carbon-neutral.
The Moyross-based magazine – which is available in Eason’s, by post and on the net (www.changingireland.ie) – was established in 2001, is managed by a voluntary board and employs local youths on an occasional basis to pack the magazine. It has, over the years, highlighted community responses to suicide, antisocial behaviour, rural isolation and it regularly provides solutions to supposedly impossible social problems.
Minister Éamon Ó Cuív, whose Department funds the magazine, launched the web and print versions of the landmark 25th edition in April saying: “’Changing Ireland’ not only gives people working in community development a voice, it also provides a central forum for the exchange of knowledge, experience and ideas."
“We’re hoping green printing is one idea that takes off now,” added Mr. Meagher

FURTHER INFORMATION ON LATEST EDITION:
‘Changing Ireland’, Issue 27, is the publication’s first ‘green issue’ and focuses on:
• Community Organic Gardens (Galway, Tipp and Leitrim)
• Sustainable development on our islands (Bofin and Turk)
• Sustaining the language in Corduff (Dublin)
• South Dublin becomes greener, but meaner
• Eco-communities are mostly middle-class: Why?
• One day in Erris: Shell jobs and community anguish
• Toxic toothpaste - two lives “saved” (Dublin)
• You can change your community in 12 hours!
The new edition is now on the web: www.changingireland.ie and the paper version is due out from Monday, Nov. 10th and it is available in Eason’s or directly by contacting ‘Changing Ireland’. T: 061-458090.

FURTHER INFORMATION ON OUR ‘GREEN’ CREDENTIALS:
We believe ‘Changing Ireland’ is the greenest magazine on the Irish market today due to our combination of using 100% recycled paper, vegetable inks and the chemical-free, alcohol-free and low-energy production techniques employed by our printer (the Print Factory in, Five Alley, Co. Offaly).
We have been in communication with the Carbon Neutral Company (CNC) based in London. CNC’s Rupert Manwaring advised us we are close as a company to achieving carbon-neutral status (we would need to carry out a proper audit of our wider company activities). The CNC – going on the information we provided to them regarding our printing – said we seemed right to claim to be the greenest magazine in Ireland.
The greenest certified printer in Ireland is GPS Colour Graphics based in Belfast - they have achieved carbon-neutral status and won awards for their environmental printing. However, they currently do not print any magazines on recycled paper.
Finally, while some magazines use newsprint (eg ‘Ireland’s Own’) which may partly derive from recycled paper and other publications use paper from managed forests (eg Construct Ireland), as far as we can tell we are the only magazine printed on recycled paper today (and 100% recycled paper at that) and using the range of green print techniques described above.

Caption: Video Id: InwmoaZMjzY Type: Youtube Video
Embedded video Youtube Video