Our Guest Columnist for today’s Print Tip is Mary Ann Fong, the Assistant Director of Creative Services for Temple University in Philadelphia. Mary Ann has 25+ years of experience in the printing industry, from customer service to production management to print sales. She spearheads sustainable print initiatives at Temple and encourages industry peers to adopt responsible print production practices within their own organizations. Mary Ann serves on the Board of Directors of the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP).
Mary Ann Fong
In Defense of Print
By Guest Columnist Mary Ann Fong
Think before you print. Seems reasonable, right? We all applaud thinking—and conservation.
Why, then, have basic conservation tenets escalated into a widespread belief that “Print kills trees”? And, if you buy into that assertion, isn’t it a logical extension that electronic communication is the equivalent of saving trees? Most of us in the printing industry realize the fallacy in this line of thinking, but we’ve also seen the tremendous momentum these myths have gained, even among well-meaning sustainability proponents.
Last November, Derek Smith (PaperLeadership.com) hosted a panel discussion in Washington, DC, entitled “In Defense of U.S. Paper and Print.” The purpose of the discussion was to debunk the “paper kills trees” myth and provide substantive data to the contrary.
Six industry leaders presented compelling data supporting the fact that the US paper and print industry drive the growth of forests in the United States today that furnish critical animal habitat and oxygen-providing green canopy for the atmosphere. They likened not using paper to save trees to not eating salad in order to save vegetables.
Teri Shanahan from International Paper shared some very interesting statistics about the percentage of harvested wood that is used to make paper — only 11%! It was even more amazing to learn that 53% of the wood harvested from the world’s forests is still used to generate energy, and the lumber industry uses 28%. She also reminded us that when working forests cannot make money, landowners are forced to sell or put their land to other uses.
Larry Montague from TAPPI pointed out that since 1990, paper manufacturers have reduced their energy consumption per ton of paper by 27%. In addition, the paper industry is the leading generator and user of renewable energy, producing over 28.5 million megawatt hours annually, enough to power nearly 3 million homes.
Two sustainability directors, Jeff Walter (HP) and David Wallace (xpedx) talked about the sustainability goals of their respective companies and how sustainable leadership can help increase availability of sustainable products in the market.
Gary Jones from PIA talked about the relevance of print in communication today. Not only are online sales increased significantly by the presence of a printed catalyst, print is an important component of marketing campaigns that reach consumers through multiple channels.
Phil Riebel explained the mission of Two Sides—to help people gain a better understanding of why print on paper remains a versatile and sustainable communications medium. He believes there really are two sides to every debate, and that paper has a great environmental story to tell.
The panel was well spoken and informative. The only problem was that the speakers were preaching to the choir—the audience was comprised of industry folks like us who understand the environmental impacts of paper. It’s time for this message to be shared with the larger population, and each of us can help dispel these myths. Avoiding print does absolutely nothing to save the planet or forests. Respond to those “Think before you print” messages at the end of emails with facts and information sources. Hopefully, as we begin to look more realistically at the environmental impact of all communication channels, the “print kills trees” stigma will fade.
© 2012 Mary Ann Fong. All rights reserved. You’re free to forward this email. However, no part of this column may be reprinted without permission from the author.
We would love to post this article on our facebook page if allowed to. Also, I have recently mentioned here in the office, that us in the print industry need to come up with an alternative “end of email message” that counters the “Think before you print” slogan. I really like the paper/tree – salad/vegetable line.
DB,
One of my vendors (Response Envelope in Ontario, CA.) includes the following after the signature in her emails. The first time I saw it I felt it was tremendously thought-provoking.
Feel free to print this email!
Paper is a renewable resource.
They are fast-growing hybrids, farmed – like corn.
They are harvested and more are planted in their place.
These fast-growing forests absorb billions of tons of carbon and the pulp, paper and related industries employ hundreds of thousands of American workers.
Well said Mary Ann. Printers have taken it on the chin for some time. Our industry does so much environmentally – recycling, FSC Paper Certification, wind power, etc…
I think many people have forgotten just how powerful print can be and how valuable it can be in a cross-media marketing campaign.
Great article Mary Ann!
Fantastic article and topic! I’m so glad people in the industry are fighting back the assumption that print is bad for the environment. Just the opposite. I would like to post this article to our website and use it in a email/direct mail piece. Is that possible? Do you allow this? Thank you!
Hi, Lisa,
I checked with Mary Ann and she feels it’s fine for you to reprint her piece. Here’s what you need to do: reprint it in its entirety, include her byline and the copyright line, and you also need to cite that it was printed in Margie’s Print Tips on 1/9/12. To subscribe, visit http://www.printbuyersinternational.com.
OK? Thank you,
Margie Dana
Great article Mary Ann! Thank you for making the time to recap this meeting and share your invaluable insights with our community.
Well said, Mary Ann. If there’s a mantra for the 21st Century, it’s “take a closer look”. Paper utilizes a small percentage of the trees harvested in the US and the industry plants 3-5 saplings for every tree harvested. Paper is renewable, recyclable and sustainable. If you love clean air and clean water, you can rest assured using paper and print is a great thing for the planet.
My email includes the following tagline that I stole from a good friend.
It’s OK to print this email. Paper is a biodegradable, renewable, sustainable product made from trees. Growing and harvesting trees provides family supporting jobs for millions of men and women, and working forests are good for the environment, providing clean air, clean water, wildlife habitat and carbon storage.
Thanks so much for the great comments. I do hope we can keep this conversation going!