The PAS 2020 standard, which was introduced yesterday, is a new voluntary industry code aimed at reducing the environmental impact of junk mail. Speaking at the launch of the standard, Roy Hathaway, Defra's Head of Waste Management, described the new code as "a road map for direct marketeers to higher environmental standards."

Defra has long been urging marketeers to adopt greener practices. In 2003, the department agreed a voluntary agreement with the Direct Marketing Association aimed at increasing recycling levels for junk mail. More recently, junk mail had a prominent place in the Waste Strategy White Paper, published in May 2007.

Tense relationship

Since the publication of the Waste Strategy, the relationship between Defra and the Direct Marketing Association has at times been tense. In November 2007, Mr Hathaway told marketeers that if they would fail to come up with a 'green' voluntary code of practice the government would consider imposing measures upon the industry, including the introduction of an opt-in system for direct mail. He also urged the industry to advertise the Mailing Preference Service on all addressed junk mail – something which the junk mail lobby group rejected as "unsophisticated" and "blunt".

The website brandrepublic.com reports that Mr Hathaway now indicated that if the industry succeeds in making a success of the PAS 2020 standard, the Government may not impose such measures upon the industry: "If it can do so, the industry will be on the way to showing that it can deliver its share of the Waste Strategy objectives […] without the need for additional intervention by government. The ball is in your court."

Commenting on the voluntary producer responsibility agreement between Defra and the Direct Marketing Association, Mr Hathaway said: "It remains to be seen whether the industry will achieve the 55% recycling target for 2009 set out in the agreement. I hope the industry will redouble their efforts to reach that important target and that PAS 2020 will help them to do so."