EarthColor Again Ranks Highest in Canopy Report of Most Sustainable North American Printers

VANCOUVER — May 6, 2016 — International non-profit Canopy released an update (Opens as a PDF) to its award-winning Blueline Report, which profiles and ranks the environmental performance of North America’s largest printers. It ranks major printers on a set of 28 key criteria and directs consumer brands to the sector’s leaders in environmental performance. The update comes within a year of its original publication and reveals significant improvements in the environmental performance by numerous large players in the sector, as well as a widening gap between the leaders and those who are "slow to move."

“Seven of North America’s largest printers are now in the top 10 of Canopy’s Sustainability Ranking — proving that being successful and growing your market share goes hand and hand with sustainability,” remarks Canopy Executive Director Nicole Rycroft. “The Blueline Report and Ranking has become a ‘go to’ resource for many large print customers looking to make the most sustainable choices.”

Printed materials like flyers, annual reports, and press releases are part of a company’s face to the world. Increasingly brands have recognized that they can also be a source of significant environmental impact, depending on the papers chosen. It is well documented that the high carbon footprint of printing is mainly attributable to paper choices, much of which comes from logging of high carbon forests, much more so than from processing or transportation. As a result, for many brands working with sustainable print partners and using sustainable papers is becoming an increasingly important aspect of brands meeting their own sustainability targets.

Numerous printers have responded to the Blueline Ranking and their customers’ encouragement to improve their sustainability practices and transparency. As a result, many have ranked higher in this year’s update. Highlights from the report:

• North America’s Top Three:
  • For a second year in a row, U.S. printer EarthColor has the highest Blueline ranking, impressively scoring all possible points in each category.
  • Canadian printers Hemlock Printers and The Printing House are tied in the ranking for second place.
  • The third highest score goes to North American print giant, TC Transcontinental.
• Sandy Alexander is the printer that enjoyed the largest ranking jump — springing from #25 in 2015 to #15.
• 20% of North America’s largest 50 printers have now developed endangered forest commitments with Canopy whilst only seven of the largest 30 printers are still to put endangered forest commitments in place.

View the full Blueline Rankings (Opens as a PDF) and update (Opens as a PDF).

About Canopy
Canopy is an international not-for-profit environmental organization that collaborates with more than 750 companies to develop innovative solutions to make their supply chains more sustainable, and to help protect our climate and world’s remaining endangered forests. Canopy’s partners include H&M, Sprint, Penguin Random House, Zara, TC Transcontinental, The Globe and Mail, and Scholastic. Canopy’s work relies on the support of individual donors who share our passion for the planet.

Source: Canopy.