Get “Down to Earth” with International Paper

By Gail Nickel-Kailing on June 30th, 2009

Get “Down to Earth” with International Paper and pick up your copies of these publications. A definite must read is Pixels vs. Paper since there seems to be some confusion as to which is “best.” Actually neither is best, both have their places in modern communication.

David Struhs, International Paper’s vice president, Sustainability says, “With the Down to Earth series, we hope to clear up some of the myths and misconceptions about our paper and the forest products industry and provide thought provoking educational pieces that help our customers better understand important environmental topics.”

• Pixels vs. Paper: Are pixels greener than paper? Pixels and paper both have a place in our communications future. By linking paper with the efficiency of electronics, we can streamline our communications and help maintain the best environmental balance possible.
• Certification: Where does your paper come from? This report encourages the reader to question the source of the fiber used in their paper.  It stresses the importance of effective forest management and explains what certification is and how multiple certifications lead to improved availability and cost control.
• Recycled vs. Virgin: Is recycled paper the best you can do? Advocates finding a balance as it relates to virgin and recycled content. Noting that more recycled content isn’t always best.  This report highlighting these complementary fibers and the various factors should be considered.
• Carbon Footprint: How big is your carbon footprint? Learn more about “carbon footprints” and what you can do to reduce your own impact through the purchase of products that are manufactured through the use of carbon-neutral fuels, recycling, and energy conservation.

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Summer’s Here; Time to Get Started on Your Summer Reading List!

By Gail Nickel-Kailing on June 29th, 2009

Got a little vacation time planned? A few days on the beach? A little get-away to the mountains? Lest you get bored with all that relaxation, here is a baker’s dozen to choose from when you pack your summertime reading. There are lots more on the WhatTheyThink Going Green Reading List, if you need a few more selections. Enjoy! Read the rest of this entry

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The Message IS Getting Through

By Gail Nickel-Kailing on June 26th, 2009

Patty Calkins, VP of Environment, Health & Safety for Xerox, regularly publishes her thoughts on sustainability and today she addresses the importance of thinking big when thinking green.

Good news on the environmental front: The message IS getting through.

Global warming and climate change are real threats to the future of the planet. And businesses around the world are responding by working hard to reduce their impact on Mother Earth.

Pollution control and reduction … recycling initiatives … energy conservation … the development of biofuels and renewable energy sources … waste-free manufacturing … innovative green products and services … the design and construction of high-performance green buildings and facilities … cap-and-trade market incentives.

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Posted in Lean and Green Operations, Marketing Strategies, Uncategorized - 1 Comment

Back to the Future, Where Small is Beautiful

By Gail Nickel-Kailing on June 23rd, 2009

(Click here for the virtual tour of Bison Bookbinding and Letterpress)

Who would have thought you could find a small printing company that runs seven presses and nine pieces of bindery equipment - most of which date from the 19th century - next to a polymer platemaker and a Xerox DocuColor, circa the 21st century?

Somehow time got confused in this small Bellingham, Washington, print shop. The DocuColor and a Gordon Old Style Platen Press can indeed occupy the same space. And occasionally the proprietors of Bison Bookbinding and Letterpress, Carly James and Kevin Nelson, even use the two on the same job!

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Where are YOU on the sustainability spectrum?

By Gail Nickel-Kailing on June 22nd, 2009

Are you absent? Ambitious? Where are you on the sustainability spectrum? Better yet, where are your customers?

Appleton Coated has put together a handy guide - The Green Outlook 2009 - to help you move along the sustainability continuum.

And while you’re making your plans and checking your list, open the booklet to the centerfold where you’ll find “5 possible opening lines to use with your client.”

Each one is intended to break the ice and start the conversation with these different angles: competitive, empirical, urgent, opportunistic, and proactive.

Nothing like a “script” of opening and follow-up lines!

Get your copy here from Appleton Coated, Utopia Paper.

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SGP Round Table - Four Printers Talk About the Process and the Benefits

By Gail Nickel-Kailing on June 21st, 2009

Several weeks ago, we published yet another checklist for going green and Thomas Lasik, one of our readers, pointed out: “There’s already an extremely comprehensive ‘checklist’ available as part of a holistic green certification program called the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership.”

Well, Thomas, you’re right! Today we present a round table panel discussion among four companies that are in the process or have completed their Sustainable Green Printer (SGP) Certification.

It turns out you can indeed be in two places at the same time! The latest electronic tools let us meet and communicate digitally, merging time and space. Three of the companies on our panel were on a SKYPE group chat and the fourth inserted his comments a day later. See if you can tell which company did NOT participate at the same time as the rest.

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How do you make “use once” products sustainable?

By Gail Nickel-Kailing on June 17th, 2009

Christine Mau, Associate Director of Packaging Graphics, for Kimberly-Clark, has a unique job: she designs Kleenex® boxes. But that’s not all; Christine is responsible for the packaging for a wide range of products most people use every day, like toilet tissue, paper towels and paper napkins, including Kleenex, Scott®, Viva®, Huggies® and Kotex®.

Recently Kimberly-Clark launched a new line of paper products - Scott Naturals - made with 40% to 100% post-consumer recycled fiber (depending on the product), wrapped on cardboard cores made from 100% post-consumer recycled fiber, and sealed in plastic wrap made of 20% post consumer waste plastic.

To find out more about Kimberly-Clark’s “green” products and sustainable packaging efforts, WhatTheyThink posed a few questions to Ms. Mau. Read the rest of this entry

Posted in Corporate Sustainability Initiatives, Green Design - 1 Comment

Labels - More than Just a Pretty Face

By Gail Nickel-Kailing on June 16th, 2009

Labels of some sort have adorned bottles, boxes, and bags for hundreds of years. The turn of the seventeenth century saw the first “modern” packaging. Hand-blown bottles were wrapped in paper made sheet-by-sheet and printed on a hand press.

Even then the label, which could be a detailed and wordy broadside or a simple informational wrapper, was the “voice” of a package.

Visit the retail store of your choice and imagine a shelf full of plain cans full of fruits and vegetables, row after row of simple glass jars, and wine and liquor in anonymous bottles. All of these, even in shapes as recognizable as the Absolute vodka bottle, have no way to truly communicate with a buyer without a label.

Some may consider the label as just a pretty face on a hardworking package while others may say that the label does the heavy lifting when it comes to getting the consumer to buy. From either point of view, the label is here to stay.

Labels, whether printed directly on the container or affixed to it, are ubiquitous. Not only are labels everywhere, they are one of the major categories of print that will not easily be replaced by an electronic alternative. Read the rest of this entry

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Sustainable Procurement of Wood and Paper-based Products

By Gail Nickel-Kailing on June 12th, 2009

This 150+ page guide and resource kit - Sustainable Procurement of Wood and Paper-based Products (Ver. 1.1, June 2009) - covers everything you wanted to know about sourcing paper and paper products.

According to the authors, the publication “was created to help procurement managers make informed choices;” specifically it:

• Identifies and explains the central issues around sustainable procurement of wood and paper-based products
• Provides an overview of the key tools, initiatives, programs and labels currently available – a “Guide to the Guides”
• Surveys the maze of slang, jargon and “techno-speak” that often stands in the way of effective understanding and communication.

Broken up into 10 sections, the guide covers the “10 things you should know”:

1. Where do the products come from?
2. Is information about the products credible?
3. Have the products been legally produced?
4. Have forests been sustainably managed?
5. Have special places, including sensitive ecosystems, been protected?
6. Have climate issues been addressed?
7. Have appropriate environmental controls been applied?
8. Has recycled fiber been used appropriately?
9. Have other resources been used appropriately?
10. Have the needs of local communities or indigenous peoples been addressed?

Click here for more information and to get your copy of Sustainable Procurement of Wood and Paper-based Products.

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How 2 NY/NJ Print Companies Became “PrintResponsibly”

By Gail Nickel-Kailing on June 11th, 2009

For the first time, as an experiment in online communication, WhatTheyThink Going Green and the principles of PrintResponsibly.com - Christopher Gravagna and Don Miller - conducted a “slow motion interview” with SKYPE chat. Here’s the result.
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