PrintCity Alliance Preparing 'Carbon & Energy Reduction' Report
October 7, 2010
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GRÖBENZELL, GERMANY—Oct. 7, 2010—PrintCity Alliance members are preparing to publish their latest environmental and energy report "Carbon & Energy Reduction for the Graphics Industry Value Chain" in early 2011. This follows two years of research and "connection of competence" knowledge sharing between members, partners plus external research and academic organizations.
The purpose of this new PrintCity 36-page guide is to facilitate the improved collaborative environmental performance of printers, publishers, brand owners and their suppliers.
PrintCity Alliance members Faist, Kurz, m-real, manroland, MKW, Sappi, Sun Chemical, Trelleborg and UPM, plus project partners including Kodak and Muller Martini, have amassed a large body of technical, scientific and economic research involving several key areas of relevance for the printing and packaging industry:
• Carbon Footprinting - how to understand and use this beneficial measurement tool
• Energy Reduction - examination of complete process chain + best practice advice
• International Harmonization - PrintCity is working in collaboration with other organizations to improve understanding & achieve global standards harmonization
PrintCity members have worked with experts from several international industry organizations to create and peer review this very special cross-industry study.
PrintCity Alliance "Top 10" Carbon & Energy Conclusions
1. Climate change is a dynamic international issue driven by geopolitics, NGOs, legislation, customers, and users. It remains a key global political issue because climate deterioration continues
2. Energy and Green House Gases (GHGs) are important legislative and commercial factors; Energy supply is limited and it will become more expensive; Energy optimization is key to reducing demand, GHG emissions and related business costs
3. ‘Lean’ and ‘Green’ frequently go hand-in-hand to improve both environmental and business performance
4. Carbon Footprinting is an evaluation tool to measure the environmental impact of a product or process primarily to facilitate the reduction of energy use and to lower GHG emissions; and only secondarily to provide a calculation base to offset emissions that cannot be reduced
5. Current sector or national Carbon Footprinting approaches are confusing, costly and complex – they need to be clear, concise and credible; A harmonized international approach to applying Carbon Footprinting across all elements of the graphics industry value chain is required; Carbon Footprinting will be challenging for small companies unless simplified
6. Uncertainty needs to be removed from some Carbon Footprint issues, including definition of scope or boundaries, methods to calculate energy mix and conversion factors, avoided emissions, sequestration, and biogenics – many of these are general issues that, nevertheless, concern the graphics industry
The purpose of this new PrintCity 36-page guide is to facilitate the improved collaborative environmental performance of printers, publishers, brand owners and their suppliers.
PrintCity Alliance members Faist, Kurz, m-real, manroland, MKW, Sappi, Sun Chemical, Trelleborg and UPM, plus project partners including Kodak and Muller Martini, have amassed a large body of technical, scientific and economic research involving several key areas of relevance for the printing and packaging industry:
• Carbon Footprinting - how to understand and use this beneficial measurement tool
• Energy Reduction - examination of complete process chain + best practice advice
• International Harmonization - PrintCity is working in collaboration with other organizations to improve understanding & achieve global standards harmonization
PrintCity members have worked with experts from several international industry organizations to create and peer review this very special cross-industry study.
PrintCity Alliance "Top 10" Carbon & Energy Conclusions
1. Climate change is a dynamic international issue driven by geopolitics, NGOs, legislation, customers, and users. It remains a key global political issue because climate deterioration continues
2. Energy and Green House Gases (GHGs) are important legislative and commercial factors; Energy supply is limited and it will become more expensive; Energy optimization is key to reducing demand, GHG emissions and related business costs
3. ‘Lean’ and ‘Green’ frequently go hand-in-hand to improve both environmental and business performance
4. Carbon Footprinting is an evaluation tool to measure the environmental impact of a product or process primarily to facilitate the reduction of energy use and to lower GHG emissions; and only secondarily to provide a calculation base to offset emissions that cannot be reduced
5. Current sector or national Carbon Footprinting approaches are confusing, costly and complex – they need to be clear, concise and credible; A harmonized international approach to applying Carbon Footprinting across all elements of the graphics industry value chain is required; Carbon Footprinting will be challenging for small companies unless simplified
6. Uncertainty needs to be removed from some Carbon Footprint issues, including definition of scope or boundaries, methods to calculate energy mix and conversion factors, avoided emissions, sequestration, and biogenics – many of these are general issues that, nevertheless, concern the graphics industry
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