Take the example of J. C. Penney, which made marketing headlines today when it announced that it would be discontinuing its semi-annual Big Book catalog after the Fall-Winter 09 season. Over the years, J. C. Penney was finding that its catalog was less a direct selling channel than a way to prime the pump for online sales. Instead of wasting volumes of paper, ink, and coating — not to mention the fossil fuels to deliver the 800-1000-page books — it decided to slim things down.

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From the experience of the City of Palo Alto, participants will gain independent, real-world information on how to approach and plan for implementation of a carbon management system. Karl Van Orsdol, sustainability leader and energy risk manager for the City of Palo Alto, will describe the city’s recent experience implementing carbon management software (from Hara Software, Inc), including a discussion of target reduction goals, motivating factors, system selection and implementation, new processes and organizational responsibilities, key challenges, and achievement of $300-600,000 in annual cost savings.

For a broader look at carbon management information systems as a rapidly emerging solution class, Don Bray, president of AltaTerra Research will provide background analysis on business drivers, concepts, practices and system capabilities. “Palo Alto’s experience demonstrates that manually gathering baseline information and using spreadsheets to calculate and track results is not sustainable,” said Mr. Bray. “Achieving meaningful, long-term reductions in resource use, emissions, and associated dollars requires new processes, tools, and operating responsibilities.”

Further information and registration for the event are available by clicking here.

Like this post? See all my “Greening Print Marketing” posts.

Image: Courtesy of The Stock Exchange (image uploaded by hisks) 

While my family and I make every effort to eat local and lower on the food chain – mostly vegetarian – when we travel, we occasionally become “flexitarians” and enjoy a seafood dish or two when we’re at the edge of a vast ocean, perhaps with a wharf at the end of the street. At Passionfish, a restaurant nestled in the scenic Monterey Peninsula just a mile from the Monterey Bay Aquarium, we connected with the Pacific Ocean by both its salty breeze and through the food we savored.

Opening in 1997, Passionfish is the brainchild of Chef Ted Walter and his wife Cindy Walter. Besides being restaurateurs, the Walters’ might as well be called “marine activists.”  This dynamic duo have ambitions of changing the world by educating people about what they eat, especially if what they eat comes from the sea. Using their restaurant as the alluring (and delicious) platform, the couple promotes sustainable seafood as well as locally sourced, fresh, organic vegetables and fruits. Even their meat products are pasture-raised.

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Speakers will be:

Don Carli
Senior Research Fellow
Institute for Sustainable Communications

Brian Kozlowski
Director, Sustainable Development
NewPage Corp.

This free webinar will discuss the tools, processes, and success stories that exist to help direct marketers determine not only which media best fit the job at hand but also how to improve the carbon footprint of all channels.

Topics to be discussed include:

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But up in Canada, they do things a bit differently. And so, for the 6th Gaining Ground Summit, this one focused on Resilient Cities, Chief Bill Williams of the Squamish First Nation, on whose tribal land the Vancouver Convention Center was built, led opening ceremonies with a traditional drum chant.

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According to the study, “The Green Revolution” (September 2009),

• 84% of consumers say that either some or most of the products they purchase are green (mainstream)
• Only 1% say that they used to buy green products but no longer do (sticky)
• Only 8% of consumers make green the primary factor in their purchase decisions (not deep)

The number one reason people are deterred from buying green products? They are perceived as being too expensive, with 69% of respondents giving this answer. Forty percent view green products as not offering enough variety and choice.

What is the difference between the moderately interested (light green consumers) and the very committed (dark green consumers)?

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The audit, produced using New Leaf Paper’s Eco Audit Calculator, uses New Leaf EcoBook paper, which uses 100% postconsumer waste. This is something new in the book market, which is normally so sensitive to price.

While the paper does cost more than virgin, these costs are offset by the extreme environmental benefits of switching to paper made with 100% postconsumer fiber. Because virgin paper costs less than recycled papers, the book industry has traditionally gone almost exclusively with virgin stocks. But Scholastic decided to make an environmental statement — a big one.

According to the audit, on the 950,000 print run, this simple switch resulted in a savings of 29,600 trees, 12.4 million gallons of water, 20,300 BTUs of energy, 1.4 million pounds of solid waste, and 2.7 million pounds of greenhouse gases. That’s more than just a drop in the bucket.

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Good start — as we walked in and registered the staff handed me a recyclable, biodegradable, compostable lanyard.

The theme for this year’s conference - Sustainability in a Reset World

After admiring our lanyards and breakfast we jumped into packed conversation with Pamela Passman of Microsoft. Of course we considered today’s launch of Windows 7.

The discussion centered on the sustainability of Microsoft. Now, most people will admit that the technology business isn’t the least sustainable or “dirtiest” business. But that doesn’t mean that they don’t press a heavy carbon footprint. Passman discussed that companies need software to track their own carbon footprint.Microsoft may have many ideas for other comanies but they need to look in the mirror as well.

She admitted the two most pressing issues that Microsoft needs to improve in so far as reducing their carbon footprint that includes:

1- Traveling (lots of it)

2 – Data centers — The data centers continue to be electric and water intensive.
Microsoft claims to be attempting reduce the footprint of these data centers.

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Today’s business climate is more competitive than ever.  Several highly qualified MBA grads are vying for fewer and fewer corporate jobs.  According to a 2008-2009 survey by the MBA Career Services Council, business schools have experienced a drop in corporate recruiting of more than 10 percent affecting more than half of the 94 top-ranked business schools in the United States, Canada and Europe.  Scary, isn’t it…especially if you’re one of the many contemplating a return to graduate school.  So what would set you apart or give you the competitive edge to land that corporate gig?  Corporate Social Responsibility

The Aspen Institute just released the 2009-2010 edition of Beyond Grey Pinstripes, a biennial survey and alternative ranking of full-time MBA programs that integrate issues of social and environmental stewardship into curricula and research.  Did your school make the list?

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Last year, the commercial printing industry information portal What They Think released a report on the status of green in the printing industry. This month, in Printing Continues to Go Green, WTT updated the report with fresh data, comparing the numbers year over year.

In the June 2009 survey, WTT researchers found the following year-over-year changes:

• Printers are far more likely to identify themselves in their marketing and promotional materials as environmentally sensitive businesses — 33%, up from 26% last year
• They are slightly more likely to justify new equipment purchases because of their more favorable environmental impact — 22%, up from 20%
• They are more likely to have special “green” certifications from independent organizations (Forest Stewardship Council, Green Seal) — 22%, up from 15%
• They are slightly more likely to say that promoting their green efforts helps their business image — 39%, up from 35%.

But it’s not all good news. Commercial printers don’t see a lot of customer gratitude for their efforts. In the June 2009 survey, they were noticeably less likely to say that it was essential to their customers and more likely to say that it was a major expense without a major business benefit. Only 2% said it was critically important to their customers.

This is a real problem. Why?

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• Lower start-up waste
• Smaller, more targeted production volumes
• Presses with a higher percentage of recycled (or recyclable) parts
• Lower energy use (in certain cases)
• Ability to drive document management models that can reduce print waste and unnecessary print volumes that can reduce your carbon footprint and save money at the same time

All the while boosting your marketing effectiveness at the same time.

But for these digital-print-driven applications to work, it takes more than a digital press. That’s just the tool. It’s the smarts behind them — the marketing savvy and understanding of the technology — that drives results. To this end, Digital Printing Reports can released an October 2009 update to its “Digital Printing: Transforming Business Models & Marketing” training and educational report, incorporating the latest software and hardware technologies from Print 09.

The report is designed to help marketers get their minds around the issues that drive digital print production and marketing applications and make the most of them. It has five sections:

1. Technology discussion from a marketer’s perspective
2. Application classifications with illustrative case studies
3. How digital printing greens marketing
4. More effective ways of evaluating marketing program success
5. Best practices for greatest marketing impact
6. Conclusions and additional resources

Incorporating applications driven by digital printing is not only a step in the green direction. Done right, it’s also smart marketing.

This week Newsweek’s cover story promotes an exclusive ranking of “The Greenest Big Companies in America”. This is an important moment in time. In 2006, Vanity Fair was among a few high profile publications to introduce entire annual issues to the green movement and their readership was reported to have been the lowest of the yearly issues.

Fast forward three years and six months later, the introduction of Newsweek’s list marks an important moment in time. Joining the annually released lists of the Best 100 Companies to Work For (Fortune), the 100 Best Global Brands (BusinessWeek) and The Largest 500 Companies (Fortune), the (presumably) annual list represents a palpable and permanent shift in business ethics and operations. Transparency is a leading value of those engaged in the green movement but it is still interesting to read that 70% of the companies participating voluntarily provided the data necessary to compile the list (otherwise utilizing publicly available information).

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InfoPrint Solutions Company did. A joint venture between IBM and Ricoh, InfoPrint conducted a a survey that found three out of four respondents would consider opting for traditional mail delivery if they were informed it had less of a negative environmental impact than email.

In addition, 50% of consumers indicated that they still prefer to receive marketing information about new products or services via traditional mail rather than email. Only 44% would rather receive marketing via email.

Do preferences convert into action? Yes! Not only do customers prefer print mail, but they are more likely to open it, even if both communications come from a bank.

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In addition to their cost efficiency, this is one reason that many businesses are looking at inkjet. Increasingly, even office-style machines have terrific image quality (commercial-quality inkjet presses are now as high as 1200 dpi) and they produce little or not heat. That means low energy use.

A very funny promotional video from RISO explains it well. Grandma may like her color copies because they are “nice and toasty,” but this is because of the heat generated by the machine and, consequently, their high energy consumption. Hence the line, “You could cook a turkey in there!” (I’ll leave the animation to your imagination).

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Even a year gone since the failure of Lehman, fundamental questions remain regarding the core underlying assumptions of our financial system. Though currently derivatives trading and black boxes appear out of favour, what will replace them in terms of helpful and productive uses of capital still has yet to be determined. This question was what the Conference on Social Capital Market’s, or SoCap09 tried to give some structure to; while the trend towards sustainable investments and long-term ROI seems to have taken the place of actively managed funds seeking 20x returns.

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Let me build on that by saying that there is even more good news than this. Did you notice that the Green Power Partners site also has Top 20 lists by category? These include college & university, local government, retail, on-site, and printers.

What’s interesting here is printers. This is a highly unglamorous category. Why would the EPA care about commercial printing and packaging companies? For the same reasons that anyone interested in environmental sustainability should care about them.

1. Printing is the third largest manufacturing industry in the country

2. Printing is a very aggressive with environmental sustainability, including its use of green power.

Put these together and you have the third largest manufacturing industry making a major move to sustainability. When not just individual companies but an entire industry embraces green technologies and processes, it makes a real difference. That’s exciting!

Yet, where’s all the buzz? E-media! With its 24-hour-a day, 7-days-a-week power usage, its ubiquitous energy-using devices from desktop computers to laptops to servers to cellphones, PDAs, and every other mobile device that now blanket the planet and drain the power grid. Meanwhile, because printing uses — dare I say the word — paper, it’s the bad guy?

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Are you looking for a green job?  Or a job in corporate social responsibility and sustainable business?  Well, all you need to do is Twitter.  “Green” recruiters understand the best way to reach the new generation of “green” talent is via social media…Facebook, Linkedin, blogs, Flickr, YouTube and of course, Twitter.  So fire up your laptop and hop on Twitter.  Who knows?  You may find a career that aligns with your life’s passion.

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This week, the print industry will gather in Chicago at Print 09 (September 11 - 16), one of its largest annual trade shows. There, the The Print Council will promote a new position paper titled, “Why Print Is Green.”

“Our industry is a leader in recycling, sustainability and pollution control,” says Ben Cooper, executive director of The Print Council. “In fact, we pioneered putting those concepts into widespread practice over the past three decades. But we did so quietly, to the extent that there is a lack of awareness regarding the environmentally responsible nature of print.

“Why Print Is Green” describes ten specific ways in which print is green, from the responsible products used, renewable energy sourced, increased recycling rates, to improved design and delivery methods. The report is intended to demonstrate why print media is the environmentally sound choice for communicating with the audiences they want to reach.

• Among the facts the white paper documents:
• In 2008, more than 57% of paper consumed in the U.S. was recovered for recycling, more than any material.

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  ]]> http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/09/06/the-new-green-media-print/feed/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/08/31/inspired-economist-pick-of-the-week-13/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/08/31/inspired-economist-pick-of-the-week-13/#comments Mon, 31 Aug 2009 00:20:01 +0000 Reenita Malhotra http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/08/31/inspired-economist-pick-of-the-week-13/  

  

  This column highlights the top economic stories of the week.

  While Detroit has benefited from Cash for Clunkers, foreign automakers have gained even more. Some critics of the program warned that because it let consumers buy domestic or foreign cars, Clunkers could end up spending more American tax dollars to help foreign companies than American ones. More on this story here.

  With irresponsible banking practices taking the blame for bringing about the global economic crisis, there has been a surge of interest in Islamic finance.Now, a slew of academic courses are springing up to meet the demand of those wanting to break into an expanding market. According to ratings agency Moody’s, the global Islamic finance sector is worth $700 billion and has the potential to be worth $4 trillion. More on this story here.

  n an effort to curb solid waste pollution, China banned the import of scrap polysilicon at the beginning of August, an effort supported by its current environmental laws according to its Environmental Protection Ministry. Scrap polysilicon is a low-grade form of silicon not pure enough to use in microchips. However, it can be used as a component of solar wafers, which contain a variety of types of silicon, including up to 30% scrap polysilicon. More on this story here.

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  ]]> http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/08/31/inspired-economist-pick-of-the-week-13/feed/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/08/28/the-paper-industry-fights-back/ http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/08/28/the-paper-industry-fights-back/#comments Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:05:04 +0000 Heidi Tolliver-Nigro http://inspiredeconomist.com/2009/08/28/the-paper-industry-fights-back/ In today’s marketing world, the paper industry is seen as the big, bad guy — the energy hogging, landfill-clogging waste producer that needs to be replaced by cleaner, more efficient electronic media. But is this really the case? The paper industry claims that the opposite is true. It points out that electronic media are huge consumers of energy, and when you consider that the paper industry is one of the largest consumers of clean energy like wind power, the tables may actually be turned.

  In a recent publication, “Pixels or Paper?”, International Paper wrote:

  Our industry is one of the biggest users of renewable, low-carbon energy in the world. Sixty percent of the energy used to make paper in the U.S. comes from carbon-neutral renewable resources and is produce on site at mills. In addition, these facilities use combined heat and power (CHP) generation systems, which are 80-90% efficient. Fossil fuel use and purchased energy in this industry is steadily decreasing.

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