The environment is big business that brings opportunities and threats in equal measure. A recent study by Heidelberg found that 40% of print companies now regard the environment as a key issue. At Greenprint, we think that the other 60% are burying their heads in the sand.

Printers tend to be led by their clients and, now that the print management (PM) sector accounts for a significant percentage of print work in the UK, print managers can lead the way by encouraging their suppliers to go green. The three largest UK PM companies now control around £1bn of print spend, but none of them state that they source only from suppliers with a demonstrable commitment to environment improvement.

Greenprint is one of a new breed of PM companies that only use printers with good environmental credentials and materials that meet our strict environmental criteria.

Most of the larger print management groups have demonstrated their commitment to the environment in some shape or form. Communisis has ISO 14001 across the group and FSC/PEFC in four of its sites. Williams Lea’s UK operation has ISO 14001 and has commissioned research on the environmental impact of print.

Commitment phobia
However, it is paradoxical for a PM company holding ISO 14001 and committed to reducing its environmental impact to have its clients’ products manufactured by printers that have not made a similar commitment. If a PM company is serious about environmental performance, then it should insist that its suppliers commit to a continuous environmental improvement programme.

But what about the poor printers, many of whom complain about the meagre returns they see from their dealings with PM customers? The rise and rise of PM companies over the past 10 years has been a major factor in driving prices down, so for them to demand that their printers shoulder the burden of implementing an environmental management system (EMS) might result in printers crying foul. The only logical approach is for print managers to pay a fair market price, gaining competitive advantage through the ability to optimise efficiency by matching every job to the ideal supplier and to offer support and guidance on implementing an EMS to printers, based on our own experience of attaining ISO 14001.

I believe that we will see more PM companies insisting that suppliers put a continuous environmental improvement programme in place and that, in the long term, this will be beneficial both to printers and the wider community. Pressure is being applied from many environmental groups and lobbyists to reduce printed waste, such as eliminating over-packaging on retail items and food produce and stopping junk mail in all shapes and forms – the last thing the print industry needs when it is under pressure from other media and when there is significant overcapacity in all but the most niche sectors. So printers need to show their customers how they can help them to persuade the public that print is being produced in an environmentally-managed way.

Printers who rise to the challenge and embrace an EMS can push the environmental benefits to their customers and target their marketing towards the growing number of businesses which recognise that the environment must now be a key factor in their buying decisions. All environmentally-responsible print management companies should be working closely with all of their print suppliers to support them in implementing a robust EMS.

Patrick Auer is co-founder of Greenprint Consultancy, a print management which specialises in environmentally-managed print sourcing

30-SECOND BRIEFING ON... GREENER PRINT MANAGEMENT

• The environment is big business that brings opportunities and threat in equal measure

• A report carried out by Heidelberg found that 40% of print companies now regard the environment as a key issue

• Printers tend to be led by their clients putting print management (PM) companies in a strong position to reduce print’s environmental harmfulness

• However, while most of the large print management groups have made some form of commitment to environmental responsibility, none of them state that they only source print from suppliers with a demonstrable environmental commitment

• As PM firms are responsible for driving down the cost of print and reducing printers’ margins, expecting printers to shoulder the cost of environmental responsibility seems unfair

• Greenprint’s approach is to offer a fair market price, optimise efficiency by matching jobs to the best supplier and to offer its suppliers guidance on setting up environmental management systems (EMS)

• More and more PM firms are likely to insist on their suppliers having an EMS in place and, in the long run, this will be beneficial to both the industry and the wider community

• Printers that rise to the challenge and improve their environmental credentials will be at a commercial advantage and can expect to win more work