In the movie Fletch, Chevy Chase, as Fletch, famously bluffs his way through a dicey situation by claiming, “It’s all ball bearings nowadays.”
The days when it was all ball bearings have passed. What is now a major issue in law firms is keeping things green, or promoting sustainability, or whatever other buzzwords people are using this week. Whatever you call it, what it all boils down to is that people are deciding that it’s time for businesses to take a step forward and do something to help protect the environment.
Those of us in the communications business are in a special position to take steps to help save our planet’s resources. Printing presses are major consumers of energy, paper, and other consumables. They’ve long caused pollution and other environmental ills. But in recent years the industry has taken major strides toward reducing the multihued swath it has cut through our environmental landscape down to a narrower, eco-friendlier green one.
Fortunately, you or your marketing firm can make a major impact on the ‘greenness’ of a project by simply letting your fingers do the walking—it takes nothing more than a few phone calls to find vendors who offer the following Earth-friendly services.
FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification. This certification is bestowed by The Forest Stewardship Council, an independent, not-for-profit organization, upon vendors who can show that the paper they use has passed through an environmentally friendly chain of custody, beginning with a responsibly managed forest. This certification system is voluntary and certified vendors may be identified by the FSC logo.
Paper and ink. If you’re unable to work with an FSC-certified vendor, you can still spec Earth-friendly papers and inks for your projects. Good paper is available in a variety of percentages of post-consumer waste (PCW), from as little as 30% on up to 100% recycled. Recycled papers are still generally more expensive than their nonrecycled counterparts, but the gap is narrowing as recycled papers become more popular and economies of scale take effect. In addition to recycled paper, you can choose chlorine-free paper, helping to reduce environmental dioxin, a known cancer-causing agent. Several paper manufacturers have moved toward making production carbon-neutral, as well. Water-based, rather than petroleum-based, inks are now industry standard.
Energy. Where a vendor buys its power is also a concern. Printing presses and the various electronics needed to run a modern print shop are notorious energy hogs. If you buy print from a shop that buys its power from renewable or sustainable sources, you’re doing your part to reduce emissions. Some vendors tout that they run on “100% wind power.” This doesn’t necessarily mean they have a phalanx of windmills on the roof of the plant, but they are buying their power from a source that generates its power that way.
The upside to the planet for going green is obvious. What might not be so obvious is the potential boost to your bottom line. By showing a willingness to embrace eco-friendly technologies, you’re reaching out to like-minded businesses. Many firms take sustainability very seriously; even incorporate it into their mission statements and seeing that their customers respond favorably to environmentally forward thinking. Fortunately, vendors are making it easier and easier for all of us to go green as they themselves chart new approaches to sustainability.
