The room was full and they all had the same question: how do I design, spec, produce, and use print in the most environmentally responsible way? More than 200 designers, printers, and corporate marketers met November 19 at Simon Fraser University in downtown Vancouver to learn more.

Speakers at Runningreen focused primarily on paper—its manufacture and reuse—because it is a key component of printed graphic communications; only a small percentage of printed material consists of ink or toner on a substrate other than paper. For any given print job, the cost of the paper may account for 30-50 percent of the overall project cost. Because paper is key to all things print, it’s clearly in everybody’s best interest to pay close attention to how it’s used—and any process that uses paper sensibly saves money.

Two key players—Hemlock Printers and BC Hydro—brought the event to fruition. Hemlock Printers, a recipient of numerous awards, including Most Environmental Printer in Canada in 2006 and 2007, an Ethics in Action Environment award, and a City of Burnaby Environment Award, provided a lot of the “man power” (or “woman power”) in the form of Kate Scholz, Hemlock’s Sustainability Research and Communications Coordinator to manage Runningreen. It was Cathy Bullen, a private consultant working with BC Hydro, who first suggested the event to Dick Kouwenhoven, President/CEO of Hemlock Printers.

BC Hydro is committed to becoming a leading sustainable energy company by producing and delivering electricity in environmentally and socially responsible ways, however Cathy looked inside BC Hydro’s “house” to find ways the company itself could operate in a more sustainable manner, and she discovered the opportunity to address issues around the use and production of printed materials. While developing a detailed questionnaire to evaluate environmental performance and social/community responsibility in conventional printing services, Cathy and Dick became committed to helping other companies source “responsible” printing.

Harry Potter – the “Other” Success Story

Beginning with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Raincoast Books, publisher of Harry Potter in Canada, went “green” and the last three books were published on recycled and Ancient Forest Friendly paper.

Allan MacDougall, President/CEO of Raincoast Books, has been an Ancient Forest Friendly signatory since 2001. Allan is convinced that the adoption of recycled and ancient forest free paper, while not intended to be a marketing initiative, has resulted in more books sold. Though the series has come to an end, Allan is looking forward, “We’ve had a great ride, but the ride is over. Now we’re on to more.” Raincoast Book uses Ancient Forest Friendly paper in more than 90 percent of the books it produces.

Green Design Choices

Applying sustainable principles to graphic design considers all impacts—and potential savings—at the beginning of the document lifecycle. Richard Kouwenhoven, VP Digital solutions, Hemlock Printers and chair of Hemlock’s Sustainability Committee and of the Fraser Basin Council’s Sustainability Purchasing Network, suggested that designers bring in their print service partners early in the design process and look for suggestions to optimize resources, maximize value, and lower costs.

Some opportunities include:

- Optimize press sheet utilization

- Gang projects on common substrates

-Adjusting piece sizes to maximize the number on a page

- Design in standard sizes

- Order custom sheet sizes for high volume jobs

- Avoid bleeds or solid borders to allow for “dead cuts”

- Carefully consider your order quantity; make-up quantities can be cheaper than the cost of the initial overrun thanks to advancements in digital printing and direct imaging technologies

- Reduce the number of printed pieces by targeting communication with versioning and personalization rather than generic, mass marketing

- Richard also offered a number of resources to learn more about design considerations for a greener print project:

- AIGA—Center for Sustainable Design (http://sustainability.aiga.org)

- Design Can Change (http://designcanchange.org)

- Partners in Design (www.pidseattle.com)

- World Changing (www.worldchanging.com)

Picking Responsible Paper

A panel made up of Kathy Abusow, President/CEO of SFI (Sustainable Forest Initiative), Tony Marcil, President of FSC Canada (Forest Stewardship Council), Nichole Rycroft, Executive Director of Markets Initiative, and Constance McDermott, Program Director of Yale University School of Forest Policy and Governance, discussed and debated the range of environmental paper impact controls available to paper buyers and users.

What SFI and FSC standards deliver:

- Avoidance of illegal timber

- Identification of special biologically or culturally sensitive sites and/or heritage sites

- Management strategies to protect species at risk and to maintain wildlife habitat

- Sustainable harvest levels and prompt regeneration

- Social, economic and environmental representation in decision-making

- Third party accredited certification audits

- Audit reports publicly available with corrective action clearly highlighted.

Certification Programs

The “Chain of Custody” (CoC) certification provides a guarantee to print buyers and users that any product with the FSC or SFI label can be tracked back to an approved source. To become certified can take as little as 4 weeks and requires five steps:

- Contact an accredited certifier

- Submit an application to the certifier

- Complete an on-site audit

- Receive certification approval

- Complete an on-site audit annually to maintain certification

Whether or not a printer chooses to submit for CoC certification, the certification requirements are good business practices; printers should consider implementing CoC management and record-keeping procedures. Many of the procedures can be incorporated in ISO 9001 or ISO 14001 certification.

FSC Chain of Custody Requirements

Quality System—These requirements cover the company’s internal procedures, staff training, record keeping, and the scope of the certificate—that is, the groups of products and product lines that are included in the certificate.

Wood and Fiber Sourcing—Identification of the materials that can be included in FSC certified products, the company’s written specification for materials, and the requirements for receiving and storing these.

Production Controls, Record Keeping—Monthly records of FSC production that track the quantity, batch number, the average content of FSC material in each product group, and identify the FSC claim period are required. Identification of the materials that can be included in FSC certified products, the company’s written specification for materials, and the requirements for receiving and storing these.

FSC Labels—FSC labels identify the quantity of FSC, reclaimed, recycled, and/or controlled material in the final product.

Documentation—Sales invoices and shipping documentation are needed to track FSC materials and/or product materials.

Get copies of the FSC CoC certification requirements at: http://www.fsccanada.org/ChainofCustody.htm

Get copies of the SFI CoC certification requirements at: http://www.sfiprogram.org/coc.cfm

FSCXpert‚–¢ Program

Designers, print buyers, and others can participate in a new program offered by the FSC called FSCXpert. It is an educational program and designation for individuals who are committed to responsible forest management, and who have the knowledge and skills to successfully source and manage projects that use FSC-certified paper.

To become an FSCXpert, go to www.faccanada.org/fscx to register for the program. Upon completion of the learning program and passing an exam, you will be provided with a unique identification number and added to a published list of FSCXperts.

Picking Responsible Processes

“We’re on the cusp of a fundamental change to the way that we do business,” said Gary A. Jones, Director, Environmental Health, & Safety Affairs, GATF. “This issue will not go away. As first steps to change, Gary recommended process changes in the prepress, press, and postpress areas.

Prepress

While many printers have already converted from a traditional film workflow in prepress, those who have not yet should consider moving to CTP (computer to plate) because it eliminates film and film processing. This single process change can have a huge effect on waste and management of toxics. Flexo printers should look to replace perchloroethane with hydrocarbons or water washable plates.

Explore dry, inkjet, or water-based digital proofing systems, or investigate soft proofing. Soft proofing not only eliminates all the potential environmental risks of producing a proof, it also eliminates the transportation costs of delivery.

Press

For conventional litho and flexo printing, examine inks and coatings carefully and incorporate low VOC, vegetable oil-based, UV, and/or heavy metal free inks. For more on printing ink colors that exceed current EPA maximum on copper and barium, download Partners in Design’s publication True Colors? Copper and Barium in PMS Colors at http://www.pidseattle.com/ECO/rescfaqs.html

Litho printers should move to fountain solutions that are alcohol free or contain no air toxics, and filter them. For both litho and flexo printers, solid laminates or solvents that use an oxidizer or carbon adsorption are good picks. For cleaning solutions—in the press room and around the company in general—use ones containing low VOCs (volatile organic compounds), low vapor pressure, and eliminate toxics. When possible, recover and reuse cleaning solutions.

Digital presses may eliminate some of the environmental concerns present with traditional presses, but they have their own challenges. To meet the challenges from ink jet inks and laminates, use water-based products, those with low VOC, implement UV processing, and replace products that emit HAP (hazardous air pollutants). Capture and control of solvents should be implemented where economically feasible. In the end, always recycle ink jet or dry toner cartridges and imaging oil from Indigo wet toner.

Postpress

During postpress, examine workflows to reduce makeready and setup waste and recycle all spoilage. Implement low or no VOC or recyclable coatings, laminates, and adhesives.

Picking Responsible Vendors

Posing the question to designers and print buyers who want to make a good environmental impact, Tom Gorham, President and Managing Partner of Envision Compliance, an environmental consulting firm, suggested that there are four questions to ask before choosing a printer:

Does my client—or do I—want to promote a “Green” marketing position?

Does my client—or do I—have a moral obligation to look for “Green” products?

Do we have to be revenue neutral in finding a responsible printer?

Am I, as a designer or print buyer, willing to spend time bringing my client or my company up to speed on the need to procure printing that has been produced using sound and environmentally responsible practices?

If the answer to all four questions is “yes,” then build a questionnaire—an “audit” if you will—that will help you identify printers who will meet your criteria. How do they manage the air quality, water quality, and waste—inside and coming out of the plant? Does your printer embrace new industry practices such as CTP? Do they have a management system in place that includes written management protocols and an environmental initiative with an internal champion? A holistic management system will cover operational procedures and health, safety, and environmental programs.

There are general business practices that are usually good indicators of environmental responsibility:

- The printer has a very organized and clean working environment.

- The printer is sought out by reputation for being a leader in technical advances.

- The printer has a demonstrated commitment to social issues such as environment and employee relations.

- The printer communicates new printing ideas and practices with his clients.

To learn more about criteria offered by green procurement specialists:

- Ecologo (http://www.ecologo.org/en/seeourcriteria/)

- EPA (www.epa.gov/cpg/)

- Environment Canada (http://www.greeninggovernment.gc.ca)

- Sustainable Green Printer Partnership (http://www.sgppartnership.org - will be launched March 2008)

Conclusion

It’s in everybody’s best interest to pay close attention to environmental issues. Printers can affect the environment in so many ways because there are so many choices that can be made on the production floor. Select those actions that are cost effective and will make the biggest impact in the operation.

Opportunities to go green are plentiful, as right now is the beginning of a new movement and a great time to become involved. Getting ahead of the game puts you in a good competitive position and you can use your accomplishments to help drive standards going forward.

For designers and corporate marketers, consider that the best possible point to reduce waste is from the point of demand generation. Better planning means that printed products are designed, produced, and used in the most efficient and effective manner to eliminate the production of waste.