All creative people are aware of the unique challenge posed by the screaming silence of a Blank Sheet of Paper. It is a call to arms and an opportunity: an opportunity to create something lasting and memorable, to challenge traditional thinking and to be innovative, creative, even radical. Whatever our profession, we each have the opportunity to use the power of creativity to truly leave our mark. The Blank Sheet Project is the platform for inspirational creative excellence. It is an initiative from Arjowiggins Creative Papers. In partnership with leading global organizations we will ask recognised leaders in their fields to share with us their process for approaching a blank sheet of paper. Creativity is at the very heart of The Blank Sheet Project. It challenges us to address both innovation and sustainability and to provide creative solutions. More importantly, it poses the universal question: ‘How will we leave our mark?' Arjowiggins Creative Papers is proud to launch The Blank Sheet Project in association with D&AD to focus initially on the creative design industry.

The second phase of The Blank Sheet Project, called 1 Minute to Leave your Mark, builds on the testimonies of international creative legends Neville Brody, Sir John Hegarty, Renzo Rosso and Rutger Hauer. Every week, new one minute videos will explore the theme of creative excellence and delve into creative processes, creative activism and sustainability. Starting with Ji Lee, Creative Strategist of Facebook, the creatives to share their views will be photographer Grégoire Alexandre, fashion designers Jean-Pierre Braganza and Wayne Hemingway, illustrator and animator Mr Bingo, producer Lord David Puttnam, designers Sophie Thomas and Nat Hunter, and illustrator and designer Kate Moross. 

To the outside world, the Blank Sheet Project will be famous for celebrating international creativity.

Within Arjowiggins Creative Papers, The Blank Sheet Project is derived from our own endeavours for excellence.

We have an unwavering commitment to work alongside both customers and suppliers to continue to innovate through our range of inspiring papers and in the way we do business.

We have a long, solid history of creating high quality, innovative papers and have always worked with integrity, to the highest standards and values. Our absolute concern for people, prosperity and the planet is not new.

But, in the light of the pressures on the world today and especially on its resources, we asked ourselves a simple question:

‘If we started again; if we had a blank sheet of paper; if we put sustainability at the very top of the agenda; what would we do? How could we do things differently?’

This was the platform upon which we launched our internal Blank Sheet Project in early 2010. It was a chance to rethink. To evolve. To ensure that we always make responsible business decisions, focusing on how we will leave our mark - socially, economically and environmentally. And it was a chance to bring to the forefront the things our people were doing well in certain areas and apply them across the whole of our business.

Sustainability makes sense. The Blank Sheet Project is an overwhelmingly positive initiative. It makes sense for us. It makes sense for our employees. And it reflects the evolving values of all our stakeholders from suppliers to customers, through designers and printers to the final end user.

All great ideas start with a blank sheet of paper. Ours started with a process of consultation culminating in over two thousand blank sheets of paper, filled with ideas and proposals from our employees.

From those two thousand once blank sheets, we identified four pillars which would provide the foundation of our sustainability strategy.

Within those four pillars there are no limits to what we can do. Our employees are free to be just as creative as the designers who use our papers. Everyone within the company is encouraged to suggest innovative ideas, to challenge and to surprise.



The Pillars

Conserve valuable resources
Reduce energy and emissions
Care for people and the community
Optimise the value chain

For each pillar we identified 5 key themes to be rolled out into projects across the business. We now have over 40 project teams putting the ideas into action looking at

1. What we already do.
2. What we said we could do.
3. How we think we can improve.
4. Our target.
5. Our strategy for the future.



The Blank Sheet Project in the future

By tapping into the creativity of our employees and engaging
with our stakeholders we are challenging our business model
and processes as well as our products.

Our internal Blank Sheet Project is both a performance and motivational tool that will enhance our sustainability performance.
We ask our employees for creative “Blank Sheet” thinking to embrace sustainability in all activities, through their commitment, ideas and work they will leave their mark

The Blank Sheets with which we started are no longer blank. Nor are they full. We add a little to each every day.
The Blank Sheet Project is no ordinary project. There is no end date.
We never stop challenging ourselves, setting ever more ambitious goals.

Every step is another step in the right direction.

The Blank Sheet Project is the platform for inspirational creative excellence. It is an initiative from Arjowiggins Creative Papers.


Arjowiggins Creative Papers is the world’s leading manufacturer of creative papers. Products in the Arjowiggins Creative Papers papers portfolio continually achieve best-in-category performance for paper capability and print performance and are available globally.

Find more about our Brands on

http://www.arjowigginscreativepapers.com

D&AD

Arjowiggins Creative Papers is proud to launch The Blank Sheet Project in association with D&AD to focus initially on the creative design industry.

Recognised throughout the world, D&AD exists to inform, educate and inspire those who work in and around the creative industries. D&AD today is a restless, enquiring, agitating organization, determined to perpetuate brilliance in commercial creativity. It constantly pushes boundaries, initiating debate and encouraging experimentation, nurturing a tradition of craft skills and celebrating excellence within the creative industries and beyond.

http://www.dandad.org/