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It is aimed at companies carrying out unaddressed doordrop mailings and will give them the opportunity to reduce and then offset the carbon footprint of their activity. A Royal Mail carbon-neutral logo will be displayed on all mailings which adhere to the scheme's standards (see box) as well as a Recycle Now logo.

Royal Mail will offer advice on the types of paper, inks and varnishes companies should use as well as effective targeting and suppression. Once the carbon impact of the campaign has been minimised, the remaining CO2 emissions will be offset through organisations such as the Woodland Trust.

"We are in an ideal position to lead change in the direct mail industry and are prepared to spend money to incentivise our customers to make their unaddressed mailings carbon-neutral," said Ross Drake, general manager of Royal Mail's unaddressed service.

There is every evidence that businesses need incentivising to go green, judging by a recent survey by Abacus. Its Q1 Business Outlook survey of Abacus Alliance members found that 40 per cent of respondents viewed going green as an impediment to business. Only 16 per cent thought that government policy and increasing public demand for green accountability had a positive impact on their business.

Denise Richmond, marketing manager at Abacus, said: "Companies recognise that the environmental impact of their activity is a key part of business going forward, but their concerns stem from uncertainty about exactly what they should be doing."

Robert Keitch, director of media channel development and environmental affairs at the Direct Marketing Association, agreed: "We've found there is so much fog and misinformation that surrounds the environment that it's very difficult for companies to isolate what is the most appropriate thing they should be doing."

To cut through this confusion, last month the DMA launched the first in a set of environmental guides which will cover different topics and be published every quarter. The first guide covers paper and ink, dispelling myths and offering clear advice.

"We are taking our information from experts, closely scrutinising it, challenging it and then putting it into a format our membership can digest," adds Keitch.

Most companies recognise that there is no quick-fix solution to going green. Dan Pike, marketing and business development direct at digital print specialist Lorien Unique, said: "We're working hard to ensure our working environment and in particular our production facility are as environmentally friendly as possible. What can be recycled will be."

- See Feature, page 43

DOORDROP CARBON-NEUTRAL SCHEME

- The use of paper with a minimum of 50 per cent recycled content. Any virgin paper used should be sourced from a forest certification scheme

- Ensuring packaging is made from recycled, recyclable or reusable materials, and is reduced where possible

- The use of production partners with recognised environment management accreditations

- The use of vegetable-based or recycled inks and aqueous (non-oil-based) varnishes

- The exclusion of polywrap and window envelopes because consumers cannot easily recycle them.