In regards to working with industry environmental groups, print service providers are taking the initiative to become members of these organizations and gain chain-of-custody certification through some of them. The Forest Stewardship Council had the largest adoption rate among the offerings presented in our survey.
Nevertheless, we believe that the percentage of FSC-certified printers from our survey (32.4 percent) may be high. At this time, there are around 1,090 FSC-certified printers out of more than 20,000 providers in the United States. That means, in reality, that only about 5 percent of print-for-pay businesses, including commercial printers and quick printers, are FSC-certified today.
The adoption rate may be higher due to many of the survey respondents having certifications. Nevertheless, it could also mean that printers do not fully understand what it means to be chain-of-custody certified. For example, printers may use FSC-certified paper and consider themselves FSC-certified as a business, but certification usually requires an independent audit from one of these organizations.
Regardless, providers can leverage certifications and memberships to green-focused groups when trying to attract new customers. Many print-for-pay companies are trying to attract other businesses that have their own requirements on sustainability, and a recognized "green" organization can possibly be a deal-breaker when choosing printers.
(See Figure 6.)
As more print buyers implement green and sustainable strategies, it will directly affect how printers do business. While 30 percent of printers may not be FSC-certified today, it may reach that within the next few years. The same can be said for organizations such as the Rainforest Alliance, SFI and the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership.
Because printers are pushing for ways to become more green and sustainable, vendors will also follow suit, finding ways to decrease the environmental impact of processes. While offset and toner-based processes are well on their way to reducing their impact, ink-jet seems to be the next big hurdle in finding a sustainable solution.
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