Make sure your eco message is heard

Printers have been very proactive in gaining environmental accreditations, but the evidence suggests they have been less adept at communicating the benefits of these schemes to their customers. Words Simon Creasey

It’s not what you’ve got, it’s what you do with it that counts. This statement could apply to many things in life, but one area where it’s particularly pertinent is environmental credentials held by printers. A decade or so ago, abbreviations like PEFC, EMAS and ISO 14001 were rarely heard in the printing industry. However, in today’s business climate, if you don’t boast a host of green accreditations, it’s likely that you will struggle to win new customers, many of whom put the environment at the top of their requirements list. Which is why pretty much every print business in the UK has at least one environmental accreditation to its name.

And therein lies the problem. The industry has reached a green status quo in which buyers struggle to differentiate one ‘green’ printer from another. It’s a situation leading some to question whether this tangled ball of numbers and random letters is hindering rather than helping printers to communicate their environmental aspirations. However, some say the issue is not the fault of the myriad of accreditations, but in how the printer communicates their chosen badge. Either way, it’s clear there is a problem to be addressed – print is still considered less eco-friendly than its media rivals, according to PrintWeek’s most recent Power of Print survey.

Two Tomorrows consultant Rob Pearson, for one believes that there are too many certification schemes targeted at the printing industry and that this could be causing confusion. “We do need certification, but perhaps not to the level we currently have,” he argues.

But until this issue is resolved is there anything that printers could be doing to help their customers safely navigate the accreditation minefield?

PrintWeek's 60-second guide to eco badges

Carbon Neutral Numerous offsetting schemes allow businesses to ‘offset’ the carbon that a company produces as a result of its manufacturing processes
EMAS The Eco-Management and Audit Scheme is the gold standard and recognises those businesses that go beyond minimum legal compliance. Only a handful of printers have attained EMAS status
FSC Printers who have been approved by the Forest Stewardship Council Chain of Custody scheme can produce work carrying the FSC logo
Green Dragon Similar to Greenmark in that it’s aimed at companies looking to boost their green credentials, but aren’t geared up for ISO 14001
Greenmark Appropriate for SMEs who lack the resources to go for ISO 14001
ISO 14001 One of the commonest certifications in the printing industry, this provides a framework for on-going monitoring and continual improvement