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Improving the carbon footprint of a company is always a work in progress, no matter the size of the business. It’s the same for people. And its the same for supply chains, but that perhaps is the hardest work-in-progress of all because it involves so many vested interests and habits, patterns of work that are hard to reshape.
With apologies to Jane Austen, it’s a fact universally acknowledged that a single individual in possession of a well padded credit card must be in want of stuff. Especially now in the crippling times of Covid-19 that stuff is often printed books and magazines, and this is a very good thing. As well as entertaining us, printed media are environmentally sustainable because they can be recycled into new raw materials. Books, magazines and other forms of print can also be produced on demand, avoiding waste in the first place.
We recently completed a week’s worth of global online meetings, discussing ISO standards for the graphics industry. In many virtual sessions spanning multiple time zones, we looked at everything from the comparative performance of spectrophotometers to managing viewing conditions for soft proofing in modern pressroom environments. In the working group addressing the environmental impact of print, we completed preparations of the draft of ISO 22067-1. This is an important document for ensuring that ecolabels use accurate data when evaluating printing companies and printed matter. The next stage is a vote on 22067-1 and the chance for people to comment on the draft, a process that should be completed by the end of the summer.
Ecolabels are a useful way to signal a company’s commitment to sustainable and environmentally friendly business practises. They confirm to customers, shareholders and staff that a company really is committed to managing its environmental impact. And the discipline required to achieve certified compliance with an ecolabel invariably yields other business benefits, such as process control and efficiency. The business benefits from the process of getting ready for certification audits just as much as the assignation.
Flexography is often considered a sort of industrialised version of letterpress printing, and capable of producing only rudimentary quality. But that hasn’t been true for years. Flexographic printing has evolved considerably over the last few decades and has been quietly stealing market share from gravure, offset and even digital printing applications. Flexo printers produce the largest share of print used for packaging applications today and that includes flexible packaging, corrugated and labels. Thanks to advances in materials and imaging this printing method has also become increasingly sustainable over the years.
