Print Leaders Launch Sustainable Print Manifesto
Insisting that sustainability strategies in the printing industry are “inconsistent, unproven, and underperforming,” an industry-wide group yesterday launched The Sustainable Print Manifesto to provide a clear definition and set of shared principles that can be adopted by every member in the print value chain. The goal is to help print businesses, especially smaller ones, navigate the complexities of sustainability by offering clear, actionable steps to reduce carbon emissions, minimize waste, improve energy efficiency, and select responsible materials.
Founding partners of the manifesto include HP, Esko, Sun Chemical, Domino Printing Sciences, Cimpress, FuturePrint, Gallus, Nazdar, and Bespoke. PRINTING United Alliance is a supporter of the manifesto.
The manifesto focuses on nine core principles:
- Optimize designs to minimize material usage, trimming and waste.
- Use renewable and non-hazardous materials with validated lower carbon emissions, minimal resource depletion, and the ability to regenerate or be reused or recycled.
- Minimize waste by avoiding over-production and errors.
- Apply finishing only where it adds value or function.
- Recycle high-value waste such as media and consumables generated during production.
- Shift to renewable or low-emission energy sources to reduce carbon emissions.
- Implement water-efficient processes and ensure discharge is non-polluting.
- Optimize carbon reduction across the lifecycle of print, from raw material selection, inbound/outbound logistics, and recycling/end of life.
- Quantify and communicate CO2e and material impacts transparently to focus improvement efforts and promote better choices.
Bob has served as editor of In-plant Impressions since October of 1994. Prior to that he served for three years as managing editor of Printing Impressions, a commercial printing publication. Mr. Neubauer is very active in the U.S. in-plant industry. He attends all the major in-plant conferences and has visited 200 in-plant operations around the world. He has given presentations to numerous in-plant groups in the U.S., Canada and Australia, including the Association of College and University Printers and the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association. He also coordinates the annual In-Print contest, co-sponsored by IPMA and In-plant Impressions.
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