"We now have more than 35 members, including eight forest product companies, 30 merchants, four trade associations and Kodak," Two Sides US president Phil Riebel told PrintWeek. "One of the reasons I'm at Graph Expo this week is that our members cover the whole value chain so we will be adding other sectors as well."

In a press release announcing the early adopters, Charles Ruffing, Kodak's Director of Health, Safety, Environment and Sustainability, said, "We believe that both electronic and print communications will co-exist in the future, and we want to continue educating people about the sustainable life cycle of print and paper."

The Two Sides initiative began in Europe several years ago in part to combat claims from financial services companies and others that electronic billing is far more environmentally beneficial than print. Riebel said that battle is one printers, equipment makers and forest product companies are facing in the US as well, though he noted specific strategies and message will be different from the European initiative.

"The messaging for the US is almost final and we expect to have a dedicated website for Two Sides US up and running in about two months," he added. "It's a very easy concept for me to sell and the reception has been very good, so I'm hopeful it will grow quickly - we already have our board of directors in place and we have a sustainability committee, as well as a membership committee."

As for whether Two Sides US will enlist the support of its members, including publishers, for a consumer-centric campaign on the print/paper industry's sustainable production initiatives, Riebel said, "The marketing and advertising programs will depend on how much budget we end up with."