Green & Sustainable Resources

Green Facts, Figures and Links

Green Books, Webinars, Videos, and Publications

Print in the mix - Green facts

Choose Print-An educational campaign sponsored by Printing Industries Inc. designed to promote the value of print and to reinforce the fact that print is a recyclable, renewable, and sustainable environmental choice.

Quick Facts:
-Nearly 80% of the over 400 paper mills in the United States use recovered fiber to make some or all of its paper products
-65% of the energy in the production of paper in the U.S. is from renewable energy
- -Preferred in Tech Industry: 70% of workers in technology and telecommunication companies prefer reading print on paper.
-Preferred in Financial Industry: 57% of adults employed in banking, finance and insurance prefer reading print on paper.
-More Comfortable: 68% of adults say that reading print on paper is easier than reading on screen
-Easier to Read: 64% of adults say that reading print on paper is easier than reading on screen.
-Here to Stay: less than 50% of adults think that the paperless office will become a reality in the near future.

Print plays well with other media:
-Combination Approach is Ideal: 76% of small businesses state that their ideal marketing mix is a combination of print and digital communications.
-Advertising and Direct Mail are Important Tools: While 68% of small businesses use email most often, 60% rely most heavily on advertising, followed by social media 50%, and direct mail 44%.
-Print is Getting Results: Which channels do small business owners find most effective in terms of response rates, purchases and more? Advertising 43%, email 38% and direct mail 36%.
-QR Use is Growing: Nearly 50% of small businesses are using Quick Response (QR) codes in their marketing mix: 45% on their business cards, and 44% on their direct mail advertising

Print Grows Trees

50 Ways to Green Your Business
Provided by Fast Company

Environmental News Network
Offers online services including daily feature stories, a free press release service, and publications of environmental news.

GreenBiz.com
Offers online news and information resources on how to align environmental responsibility with business success.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
The mission of the Environmental Protection Agency is to protect human health and the environment. Since 1970, EPA has been working for a cleaner, healthier environment for the American people.

Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP)
Founded in June 2007, the SGP Partnership was established by three founding organizations—Printing Industries of America, SGIA, and FTA—as an independent third-party verification organization. Due to a growing demand for sustainable printers, the Sustainable Green Printing (SGP) Partnership was formed to establish a source of credible information related to sustainable business practices across all print platforms. Visit the link in order to find out how your business can become an SGP Printer today.

FSC and Certification

PIA San Diego and other PIA Affiliates Launch 1st Group FSC Certification for Printers

PIA San Diego joined 16 Printing Industries of America affiliates to form the Regional Affiliate Certificate Group offering manufacturing printers access to FSC chain of custody certification at group, which is the first printers group created in North America. Although the group is limited to only accepting manufacturing companies with sales of less than $5 million, there is still a great potential for many firms across the US.  A large number of printers are companies with sales less than $5 million and have struggled with the process and cost of FSC compliance.  By partnering with a group manager and a well-respected auditing firm, we have utilized the advantage of association membership to provide our members a way of meeting their customer’s needs at an affordable price which is less than half of a single certification.

The group has engaged Shonstrom Consulting, a former SmartWood consultant, to manage the group as well as provide trademark review and approval for all members.  American Green, a Burlington, VT based audit and certification firm, and also former SmartWood auditors, conducts the external audits of the group and is assisting with group organization. 

By aggregating participating firms, costs are substantially lower than with individual certification.  The full costs are prorated across the entire group. An additional benefit is the availability of the group manager to assist members with compliance, document preparation, advice on organization of records etc. which is generally not part of single audit procedures.

For information, contact PIA San Diego.

The Sustainable Green Printing Partnership Opens Application Process for SGP Printers

Forest Stewardship Certification (FSC)
FSC is an independent, non-governmental, not for profit organization established to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests.

What is FCS-US?
What is FCS-US Certification?
How do I get certified?
Certifiers

SGS Group
SGS provides inspection, testing, certification & verification services to ensure that products, services & systems meet quality, safety & performance.

Chain-of-Custody Certification
Checklist / Summary of Certification

Bureau Veritas
Bureau Veritas Consumer Product Services, Inc. (BVCPS) is a leading quality assurance service provider to the consumer product and retail markets with expertise in testing, consulting, training, inspection, auditing and social accountability.

Certification

Rainforest Alliance

Who Is the Rainforest Alliance?
Certification

Scientific Certification Systems (SCS)
SCS is a leading third-party provider of certification, auditing and testing services, and standards, founded in 1984.

Certification

Green Forms, Posters and Competitions

http://www.rediscoverprint.com

http://www.piag.org/celebrationofprint

The Green Guide for Graphic Communications: Growing and Profiting through Sustainability NEW

The Green Guide for Graphic Communications is another valuable benefit of membership with PIA/SD and Printing Industries of America. As a member you can utilize the guide FREE of charge. The Green Guide for Graphic Communications provides a step-by-step approach to evaluating and marketing your sustainability profile.

Green Articles

Save A Forest: Print your emails

A Wall Street Journal op ed last week carried this message Save a Forest: Print Your Emails which is great news for those of us that have been waging the battle to convince folks that trees are renewable and that servers take far more fossil fuel than many think. "Growing and harvesting trees provides jobs for millions of Americans. Working forests are good for the environment and provide clean air and water, wildlife habitat and carbon storage." Great message to get out to customers.

Combat Print is Bad
A Washington Post article "iPads and Kindles are Better For The Environment Than Books" beat up printed books. The article provides more ammunition for "print is bad." Printing Industries of America's CEO Mike Makin wrote a response which answered why print has a better story to tell. The data Makin provides in his letter needs to be communicated to more and more individuals to help them understand that being "green" does not mean doing away with paper. Download Makin's letter and share it with as many on your team as possible. Just as important, make sure you find ways to communicate key data in his footnotes with your customer's key decision makers. They need to hear the other side of the story.