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Awards for sustainability in the graphics sector are not particularly common, and few have lasted more than a couple of years, despite the industry’s need for positive environmental messaging. But since the inception of the Sonora Plate Green Leaf in 2013 awards Kodak has continued to acknowledge customers for their commitment to improving the environmental impact of their businesses. For the 2019 Sonora Plate Green Leaf awards Kodak has recognised 52 printers, an astonishing increase in the number of recipients over the last few years. The programme started in 2013 and in 2016 there were eight winners. This year’s crop of 52 represents a more than 600% increase. That says a lot for the technology, but also for the commitment of printers to improve their sustainability.

Drupa 2020 is off until April 2021, which hopefully will give the organisers time to rethink their sustainability strategy. The event originally conceived for this year was to have had other priorities than sustainability. The speaker programme includes relatively limited sustainability input, for instance Achim Halpaap, a senior advisor from the United Nations Environmental Programme was to have been talking about sustainability in the printing and packaging industry with a particular focus on trends, tools and leadership.