Business Management - Sustainability

Our core business isn't necessarily printing, it's educating students," declares Bill King, Supervisor of Printing and Publishing at Mesa Public Schools. "We ask ourselves, 'How can we shape our operation to mirror the core values of the school district?' "

If we want to determine how our actions impact the earth—environmentally, economically and socially—we need to create goals that are relevant, flexible and measurable. These goals need to be relational to an ongoing effort at becoming a more sustainable operation.

An ongoing “hot topic” these days is this: just how sustainable does a business practice or an organization need to be in order to be considered “green?” If you’re a printer (in-plant or commercial), is it simply enough to use recycled paper?

We have been in a long period of profound anxiety and uncertainty. Everywhere we look we see that administrators, executives and leaders are examining all aspects of the core business they are responsible for, looking for ways to cut costs due to shrinking revenue streams and smaller budgets. What can an in-plant do to keep itself out of the target sights of the cost cutters?

I was invited to participate in a panel at the State University of New York Council for University Advancement (SUNY–CUAD) conference. SUNYCUAD represents professionals employed in advancement areas at every New York State University campus.

Green this, green that, sustainability, recycle, global-warming, ice-melts, polar bears—do you ever feel that you’re just sick of hearing about all these things?

Welcome to my blog, “Keeping it Green - Sustainability in the In-Plant.” First, I thought I should introduce myself by telling you a little bit about my background.

The June PaperSpecs webinar “Understanding the New FSC Labels” could have been called “Everything You Wanted to Know about the New FSC Labels But Were Afraid to Ask” except that attendees weren’t afraid to ask anything!

Guest speaker Monika Patel, FSC Canada’s program officer served up answers to your biggest concerns about the new labeling standards and graphic formats. And while you may see some of those new labels (FSC-STD-50-001) in use today right along with the original format (FSC-STD-40-201), the updated labels are not required until January 1, 2011.

IT WAS a reunion well worth waiting for. Two years after its last conference in Florida, the Association of College and University Printers (ACUP) finally met again in April in Charlotte, N.C., bringing old friends and newcomers together for an enjoyable and enlightening event.

There's a perception — especially among some smaller printers — that sustainability programs are expensive and time consuming. Think again.

“Sustainability is more than using recycled paper and soy inks...it's a holistic approach to running a business,” says Gary Jones, director of environmental, health and safety affairs for Printing Industries of America (www.printing.org). “With this approach, many printing operations have been able to save significant costs due to waste prevention, improved product quality and reduced operating expenses.”