Counting Carbon: How CarbonQuota is Inspiring Print to Change for Good
Dominic Harris, co-founder and CEO of CarbonQuota, firmly believes that precision carbon accounting will do for sustainability what ISO standards did for quality. In a recent FuturePrint podcast, Harris outlines how a combination of science, software and demand is pushing printers, brands and suppliers to measure what they have long preferred to estimate.
Founded in 2019, CarbonQuota emerged from Harris’s frustration with “generalised” approaches to sustainability claims. “You just can’t manage what you don’t measure accurately,” he says. So CarbonQuota set out to build a carbon-measurement engine precise enough to calculate the footprint of a single print job, yet fast enough to be useful in the commercial cut-and-thrust of quoting and production.
That required rethinking the data model for print. Instead of relying on well-intentioned but inaccurate industry averages - broad emissions factors for paper grades or generic transport modes - CarbonQuota’s platform collects and applies data specific to a customer’s actual supply chain: the mill that made the paper, the electricity mix in the pressroom, the exact distribution routes, etc. “The devil is in the detail,” Harris notes. “Two sheets of the same paper grade can have wildly different footprints depending on where and how they were made.”
The result is a life-cycle analysis (LCA) platform tailored for the peculiarities unique specifications of print. It calculates carbon from cradle to grave - pulp sourcing to end-of-life disposal - yet delivers the output in seconds. This, Harris argues, changes the conversation from vague aspiration to actionable choice. A printer can, for example, demonstrate to a client that switching to a different substrate, or altering the run length, reduces emissions without compromising quality or price.
Such granularity is more than a technical flourish; it is becoming a competitive necessity. Harris points to a convergence of regulatory pressure, corporate ESG commitments and consumer expectation. In the EU, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) will compel thousands of companies to disclose scope 3 emissions - the indirect emissions from supply chains - 2028. For print buyers, that means demanding accurate data from their suppliers. “If you’re a printer without the ability to provide robust carbon figures, you risk being excluded from tenders or losing existing clients to competitors that can,” Harris warns.
The cultural challenge is just as formidable. The print industry, he concedes, is wary of new cost layers and suspicious of outsiders preaching reform. Carbon accounting, after all, has long been the domain of environmental consultancies, not job-estimating software. CarbonQuota’s strategy has been to meet printers where they are: integrating carbon calculation into familiar quoting tools, aligning results with existing MIS systems, and ensuring that the output is in the language of print - tonnes, sheets, impressions -rather than abstract climate jargon.
It helps that Harris is not a zealot. He frames decarbonisation as a business opportunity rather than just a purpose led. Lower emissions often align with lower costs: reduced waste, leaner logistics, better press efficiency. “We’re not here to lecture,” he says. “We’re here to help printers win business and keep it.”
Still, the numbers can be uncomfortable. Harris recalls working with a major brand that believed its marketing print was relatively low-impact. CarbonQuota’s analysis revealed that a particular campaign, thanks to the chosen substrate and distribution method, carried a carbon footprint equivalent to driving a car around the equator several times. The client promptly altered specifications, achieving a 40% reduction in emissions without delaying the launch.
The implications extend beyond individual jobs. With a reliable dataset, a printer can model long-term scenarios - shifting to renewable power, investing in more efficient presses, sourcing paper from mills with lower-carbon energy - and quantifying the return on investment in both carbon and cost terms. For brands, it enables transparent reporting and the ability to substantiate on-pack claims such as “Printed with 30% lower carbon”.
CarbonQuota’s methodology is rigorous enough to withstand audit. It is based on internationally recognised LCA standards, peer-reviewed where applicable, and updated to reflect changes in energy grids, material production and logistics. “We’re constantly refreshing the model,” Harris says, “because what was true last year may not be true this year- especially in energy .”
This dynamism is crucial as the sector grapples with wider changes. The decarbonisation of national grids can sharply alter the footprint of energy-intensive processes. Geopolitical shifts can upend paper supply routes. Even weather patterns can influence pulp availability and pricing. A static carbon factor, Harris argues, is an illusion; only continuous measurement captures reality.
For all the science, Harris remains a pragmatist about adoption. Carbon accounting, he admits, will never be the top priority for a printer fighting tight margins and delivery deadlines. The key is to make it frictionless: embed it in the workflow, automate the data gathering, present the results as a by-product of normal quoting rather than an extra chore. Over time, he believes, it will become as routine as colour management.
Here, Harris sees alignment with the Manifesto for More Sustainable Print - an industry-led initiative that sets out practical commitments to reduce print’s environmental impact without undermining its commercial viability. The manifesto, supported by a coalition of technology providers, printers and brands, acts as both a rallying point and a roadmap, urging stakeholders to adopt measurable targets and transparent reporting. For Harris, it is an example of how collective action, grounded in robust data, can turn sustainability from an abstract ambition into an operational reality.
The momentum is not confined to Europe. CarbonQuota is fielding inquiries from North America and Asia, where multinational brands are applying global sustainability requirements to local suppliers. The firm is also exploring partnerships with MIS vendors, paper merchants and packaging groups to widen the reach of its data model. Harris hints at an ambition to become the de-facto standard for carbon measurement in print - a role that would place it at the heart of sustainability reporting for thousands of companies.
Yet he is careful to manage expectations. Carbon measurement is only the first step; reduction is the real goal. “We can’t offset our way out of this,” he says, dismissing the idea that carbon credits are a panacea. Instead, he advocates a hierarchy: measure accurately, reduce where possible, and only then address unavoidable emissions. In print, that means everything from optimising imposition layouts to re-thinking logistics and collaborating with suppliers on lower-impact materials.
The conversation with Harris leaves the impression of a sector standing at the edge of a necessary transformation. The technical tools now exist to make carbon as visible and manageable as cost or quality. The challenge will be cultural - persuading an industry steeped in tradition to treat carbon as a design and procurement parameter, not an post-ad-hoc footnote.
Harris is optimistic, if realistic. He likens the shift to the adoption of digital workflows in the 1990s: resisted at first, then rapidly embraced once the commercial benefits became clear. “In ten years’ time,” he predicts, “you won’t win a major print contract without providing credible carbon data. It will be as normal as quoting a price.”
For printers, that may sound like yet another burden in a crowded competitive landscape. For Harris, it is a chance to future-proof an industry he believes still has huge amounts to offer the world. “Print isn’t going away,” he says. “But the way we make it - and the way we account for its impact - has to change.”
Making it as easy as possible for printers to measure and provide accurate data has got to be a winning idea for printers, print buyers, and for the good of the print industry as a whole.