Printers Green Up Despite Oil Price Drop
-- Graphic Arts Online, 8/11/2008 7:31:00 AM
Printing firms are moving quickly to reduce their carbon footprint. Even the steep drop in oil prices that sparked a 331 point run-up in the Dow is unlikely to cause printers to steer away from greener practices—partly because price hikes in ink and paper are locked into the supply chain. But also, sustainable manufacturing is becoming standard operating procedure for the industry. Arandell Corp., the Menomonee Falls, WI catalog printer, announced last week it has become a partner in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) SmartWay program, an alliance between the EPA and the freight industry to improve the efficiency of freight transport to benefit of the environment. It is the second printing firm to participate in the voluntary program, joining Quad/Graphics. The goals are to reduce fuel consumption from trucks and rail delivering freight, operating costs associated with freight delivery, emissions of CO2 and emissions of NOx, PM and air toxics. Arandell is also part of a Wisconsin Green Tier environmental program.
Quad/Graphics installed auxiliary power units on its trucks to reduce idling engines by drivers waiting in cabs to unload.
In recent days, printers as diverse as RR Donnelley, Edwards Brothers and the Garvey Group announced expanded sustainability programs centered around chain-of-custody paper certification programs.
Attraction to the green printing movement is driven not only by social responsibility, but also by printer's looking for a solid bottom line. FedEx Kinko's lost a major contract to Ginny's Printing, Austin, TX, as nearby Trinity University says it selected the Texas printer to serve as the official campus print provider and copy center operator. Ginny's is FSC Certified and has strong green credentials, using vegetable- and soy-based inks. It also gets 100% of its electricity through the Austin Energy Green Choice wind power program, and is and major recycler.
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