A Sussex printing firm has become the first in the UK to join an environmental supply chain scheme designed to protect the world's forests.

Beacon Press, a multi-award winner for its environmental management, has won Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) endorsement which means it can offer customers products printed on paper guaranteed to have been made from wood from well-managed forests.

The FSC, an international non-profit making organisation is an alliance of foresters, environmental organisations, manufacturers and retailers.

It was formed to give consumers reliable information about forest products.

The FSC qualitymark now appears on thousands of products and shows materials used in their manufacture have been tracked through a rigourously-assessed supply chain from the forest to the finished article.

Beacon chairman Mark Fairbrass said the mark would be a customer's guarantee printed materials were produced on paper known to have come from an FSC-approved forest.

He said: "We have to prove, all the way through our production, nothing other than FSC-approved paper is used for the job.

"In effect, we have joined a certified chain of custody completing the loop between the paper pulp and the printed product.

"This does away with the confusing and often dubious claims about the so-called sustainability of paper product.

"If the FSC logo appears on the product, then it proves it originated from a forest manager to internationally agreed standards."

All Beacon Press customers would be made aware of the scheme.

Mr Fairbrass said: "Paper is our stock in trade and we use an awful lot of it.

"So we're delighted to be involved in an international scheme that can help halt this sort of environmental decline."

It is estimated that more than half the world's original forest have been destroyed and 26 hectares are lost every minute.