The Survey Says. . . Emerging Green Strategies
August 2008
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To kick off our inaugural survey, we chose a topic that has been gaining a lot of recognition over the past year: "green" printing and sustainability. With many buzz words and views being tossed around by industry leaders, we decided it was time to check the pulse of the industry itself to get its view on the subject and see how it is adapting to rapidly changing trends.
The survey was conducted to gain a better understanding of emerging green print adoption and strategies in print production environments. InfoTrends explored print-for-pay businesses, as well as in-plant trends, and used NAPCO as a resource to reach more than 400 print-for-pay companies and more than 200 in-plant locations.
While this article only focuses on the results of our print-for-pay respondents, the full report (including the full range of results for both print-for-pay and in-plant environments) is available on InfoTrends' Reports Store at http://store.info-trendsresearch.com , as well as PRINTING IMPRESSIONS' Bookstore at www.piworld.com/bookstore .
Key Findings/Analysis
Setting out to examine the reach of green initiatives in the graphic arts industry, we wanted to see how many print service providers were in motion and creating a more sustainable workplace. Asking if companies had taken any steps to become more environmentally friendly, we found that more than half of the providers surveyed had implemented some form of green policy. Furthermore, we noted that nearly one-third of those with these policies in place have also completed one or more certification programs.
(See Figure 1.)
Why have half of the providers surveyed put these initiatives in place? Overwhelmingly, we find that printers feel that social responsibility is the most important factor for adopting green strategies. Companies also rated customer demand, marketing and public relations as having a greater impact on implementing green policies.
Nevertheless, expected legislation was not a driving force for printers to institute green policies. It appears that many service providers are used to imposing state and federal regulations into their shops, as they are often enforced by OSHA, the EPA, and other local and federal agencies. As a result, expected legislation becomes exactly that--expected and, therefore, becoming less of a factor.
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Go Green Profitably
Emerging Strategies: Green Printing and Sustainability
