60 SECONDS: Is Print Green? We'll Soon Find Out.

The demand for green is an overnight sensation that's been 20 years in the making. Arguably, the green or sustainable movement is the most important issue to ever impact the printing industry. It will transform the printing industry in ways not imagined just a few short years ago.

Sustainability and green are commonly interchanged but they do not mean the same thing. Sustainability goes beyond ecological issues and includes the concepts of corporate social responsibility. It is a continuous improvement process with no defined endpoint.

For the printing industry, sustainability has been building for years and has reached a critical mass of interest driven by the demands of environmental groups, investment firms, government agencies, consumers and, most importantly, customers.

We are on the cusp of a paradigm shift in the manner business will be performed in the future. While price, quality and service will always be key, the element of sustainable performance has become a new and important customer requirement. In addition to meeting these demands, printers are now being asked to have “green credentials.”

When looking at sustainability within the printing industry, there are three key elements to consider: the product, the process and the envelope. The product involves the materials used to create the product, such as ink, paper or adhesives. The process refers to the manufacturing process, and the envelope includes the building, energy consumption, employees and other supporting activities, such as solid waste removal and transportation. All of these elements are critical when defining green printing and a sustainable printer, and it goes far beyond becoming FSC and SFI certified.

The forces driving sustainability are powerful, and printers must understand and respond positively or they risk the ultimate consequence—the loss of business. Sustainability is providing a golden opportunity for the industry to address misconceptions about the environmental impact of print. Most importantly, sustainability will allow the industry to reposition print as the green alternative in the new media mix.

To bring clarity to the chaos surrounding sustainability, PIA/GATF has partnered with the Specialty Graphic Imaging Assn. (SGIA) and Flexographic Technical Assn. (FTA) to form the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership, an independent third-party organization that will establish criteria for defining sustainability and serve as a central registry for those printers who meet the criteria.

The most important question that printers are asking is: How do I respond? The first step is to recognize that sustainability needs to be incorporated into your operation. This is accomplished by creating a response plan and a policy; conducting a facility assessment, including a baseline; preparing metrics to understand the impacts; and reporting progress, sharing your success with customers, employees and other stakeholders.

Sustainability is not a threat but an opportunity to excel and position your company as a leader in the movement. www.sgppartnership.org