The printing market is awash in green print initiatives at all levels. Certification allows printers to clearly state and market their position on ecological sustainability – reduce, reuse, and recycle. According to an ECO Print Survey by Marketplace Insights, the reasons to pursue the various green certifications are a bit surprising.
- The Brand's Image
- My Belief System
- Consumer Demand
- My Boss or Client
- Marketing Efforts
- Competition
- Retailer Requirement
- Profit Margins
The top two choices for the greening of a print shop relate to integrity for the brand and personal integrity of the decision makers. Both personally and professionally, printers are feeling the external pressures to bolster their perception of "doing the right thing" as it relates to the environment. In the pursuit of trying to do the right thing, many printers have found that the path is not as well paved (with recycled tires of course) as originally thought.
One of the first questions in the pursuit of green print is simply, "How can my company become more environmentally sustainable?" The most obvious choice, because it is the biggest waste stream for any printer, is paper. Coincidentally, this is the area of focus for the most recognizable green certifications such as Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), and the Rainforest Alliance. Luckily for most print shops the certification process for paper handled by the paper suppliers. For printers, it is as simple as calling your paper supplier and requesting certified paper. The recycling, like the sourcing, of paper is fairly easy as there are many local companies that offer the service. A lot of local municipalities mandate paper recycling, so many print shops have had this service in place for quite some time.
Although most of the work has already been done for the paper waste stream, the responsibility of the other waste streams largely falls on the printer. Most certification programs, like the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP), require a minimum level of chain-of-custody for all quantifiable resources that go into making the finished print products. Minimally these resources include energy consumption, water usage, solid waste production, hazardous waste, air emissions, and liquid/chemical waste.
- Where are the materials sourced?
- How are the materials sourced?
- How can I measure each waste stream?
- How much am I consuming during a month of production?
- How much reduction could be gained through education, equipment purchases, etc?
- What contaminants are involved? Plate/press chemistry?
- How do I currently dispose of solid and hazardous waste? Any possibility for reduction or reuse?
- Where are my opportunities to reduce inputs while keeping the same production?
After the basics are covered and any certification process is started, it is also critical to not overly state any green initiatives or fall into the "greenwashing" trap. Greenwashing is the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service.
Greenwashing is the act of misleading consumers regarding the
environmental practicies of a company or the environmental benefits of
a product or service.
According to terrachoice, an environmental marketing company, there are seven sins of greenwashing that are common in the marketplace of green goods and services.
Sin of Fibbing – Claims that are simply false, such as claiming a paper is FSC certified when it is not.
Sin of Lesser of Two Evils – Claims that may be true in one product, but distract the consumer from the risk of the larger product segment or group. This argument about chemistry free plates is posed in a blog post by Derek Awalt of Kodak here.
Sin of Irrelevance – A claim that may be truthful but is confusing for the consumer, such as 'CFC-free' which has been banned by law since 1996.
Sin of Worshiping False Labels – The impression or use of an endorsement that does not exist by either using a certification's logo illegally or using fictitious labels.
Sin of Vagueness – A claim that is broad or poorly defined such as 'All natural'.
Sin of No Proof – A claim that cannot be supported by easily accessible proof or reliable 3rd party certification. Printers who market being green but cannot substantiate any claims would run the risk of committing this sin.
Sin of the Hidden Trade-off – Stating a product or service is green based upon a narrow set of attributes – 'putting the blinders' on the consumer. An example could be paper that is harvested from sustainable tree farms but is then bleached using elemental chlorine.
There are many points to consider before undertaking any green initaitves but education is the first. It is imperative to learn about all of the aspects of becoming, supporting, and marketing print services as a green alternative prior to posting a few logos on a website. Choosing the right green ceritifcation is also a difficult choice as any require significant budgets and time, so the perceived return on value must be evaluated. No matter what the initial reason(s), the decision to become more environmentally responsible can be a good decision.
