Paper Trail To Success

Paul Allen

General Manager Marketing, PaperlinX – Australian Paper

A book can be an engaging read. It can also be a powerful tool. When leading science communicators at CSIRO, Simon Torok and Paul Holper, heard about PaperlinX - Australian Paper’s innovative range of carbon neutral paper they approached Paul Allen about printing their new book entitled ‘Climate Change - What you can do about it’ on it. It wasn’t just the words that made an impact, it was also the paper it was written on creating a turning point in the paper industry.

Allen saw this as the ideal opportunity to launch the ENVI carbon neutral paper range into the marketplace and afford Australian Paper a noticeable point of difference.

Paul Allen - PaperlinX part 1 - Beer
Paul Allen - PaperlinX part 2 – Sustainable Design

How would you describe yourself?

“My wife calls me a musketeer. But I’d say I’m a marketer,” says Allen, who has had senior marketing and sales roles at Lion Nathan, Patties Foods, Tabcorp and more recently Australian Paper. Now General Manager Marketing for Australian Paper, Allen’s development of the ENVI range of greenhouse - friendly and carbon neutral papers has created a new frontier in the printing world.

When did you first become interested in sustainable issues?

It was probably about two and a half years ago. My interest was more of a commercial one working for a paper company in a highly commoditised market place, with little hope or no differentiation. For me, sustainability became a beacon of hope. I saw this movement taking place around the world and a greater consciousness and actually saw this could be a field our company could adopt as a positioning and pathway for growth.

What’s the significance of the Envi range of papers? What ripple have they created in the industry?

“A business needs a platform to grow. It’s about identifying a need in the market place. But that need doesn’t have to be detrimental to the planet. We thought by producing carbon neutral papers we could make a real difference in the whole process of paper manufacturing. It was also a way of getting corporations to identify and market themselves with sustainable practices,” says Allen, who took the unlikely path of speaking directly with clients at the end of the paper chain. “Corporations can now market themselves as sustainable with the brochures they produce with ENVI paper, whether it’s annual reports or bills they send out to customers”.

In the past sustainability was often seen as being detrimental to profit making. We now see sustainability as a friend rather than a foe. How difficult has it been to get people to think in sustainable ways?

“It’s not something we really had to do. There are now managers in government departments who oversee the use of sustainable principles. Figures are regularly provided on ways to reduce our carbon footprint. Al Gore’s film ‘Inconvenient Truth’ certainly hastened the case for a sustainable future”.

The paper industry has slim profit margins. What’s does that mean for marketing?

“Even though the paper industry is worth several billion dollars, profit margin’s can hover well below 10%. There are several people in the paper chain from the manufacturers to the merchants and printers and their clients. My brief when I started at Australian Paper was to grow the shareholder value in 18 months or less. And it certainly doesn’t make the job easy when there are continual fluctuations in the Australian dollar. There are also a lot of different brands out there. So you need a point of difference”.

Sales of ENVI now account for over 8% of Australian Paper’s domestic volumes and a discounted project payback has been achieved within 18 months. The return can also be measured in non-financial terms. “The effect of using ENVI for a year is comparable to removing 2,835 cars from the road”.

“Investors look for guidance. And the media have a duty to report on new developments in sustainability & it’s likely impact on business profitability. Undoubtedly, we’ll be talking sustainability long after the global economic crisis has passed”.

How does branding differentiate in a competitive market?

“It’s the way businesses create their identity. The importance of branding should never be underestimated”.

What do you see as the greatest hurdle facing us at the moment preventing a greener future?

“It’s crucial to make green services accessible, that means price as well. It’s also about making it easy for consumers to go green, whether it’s picking up a ‘green’ pump at the petrol station or choosing a certain beer, or choosing ENVI paper!”

“One of the biggest challenges is getting the ear of the right person. Some CEO’s take a holistic approach to sustainability. They’re not just fixated on price”.

What valuable information can you pass on to Victorian designers?

“If you ignore sustainability, you do so at your own peril”.

Related Links

PaperlinX — www.paperlinx.com.au
agIdeas — www.agideas.net

Paul Allen spoke at agIdeas Avantage, co-presented by Design Victoria, on 6 May 2009.

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1 June 2009


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