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A: Yes. If approached rationally, responsibly, and honestly with a view toward programs and products that minimize environmental impact throughout their life cycles, from manufacturing and shipping to disposal.

For the past few years there has been increasing demand for “green” products, particularly from larger corporations anxious to improve their image as responsible, environmentally-conscious organizations. As the green movement matures and people begin to separate fact from fiction, the move now is toward sustainability.

Broadly defined, sustainable means using methods, systems and materials that won't deplete resources or harm natural cycles. More narrowly defined for our industry, sustainability refers to a product’s life cycle, or the environmental impact of a given product from its original manufacture, its impact on shipping (is it light or heavy?), its durability (how often can it be re-used?) and its disposal (can it be recycled?).

What’s being realized is that sustainability – or being “green” – is not, nor should it be, a simple process. There is no Magic Bullet product. In fact, there is no such thing as “green” in any manufacturing process.

Because of this, the environmental movement is coming full circle and realizing that the best practice is a system-wide implementation of programs that reduce waste and environmental impact and products that do the same throughout their life cycle.

How Sustainable Solutions Improve the Bottom Line

Organizations across the spectrum are implementing and emphasizing the importance of the 3Rs – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – as the foundation of their environmental programs. Leaders in every industry are adopting a system-wide, sustainable approach to environmental issues and are looking for partners who do the same.

For example, the University of Miami’s environmental-impact philosophy is centered on the 3Rs: “Recycling is extraordinarily important for it has far reaching environmental, social, and economic impacts. Recycling helps to reduce the amount of materials that would otherwise be left for a landfill as unused waste. By capturing more recycled material the University is able to reduce our environmental impact by sending our waste to where they will ultimately become raw materials for new products. This reduces the negative impact of many products that put strain on natural resources and increases landfill waste.”

Likewise, Coca-Cola states: “From developing packaging designs that use less material without sacrificing quality, to investing in technologies and recovery systems that enable us to use more recycled materials, we are committed to continuously enhancing the sustainability of our packaging and our business.”

These are sustainable – rather than “green” – statements. They reflect a real-world and balanced commitment to the environment that also sustains a viable economic model. Being sustainable in all of your business practices, from how you handle office waste to the products you deliver to customers, is simply good for business. It reduces waste, which saves money, and creates process efficiencies.

The Sustainability section of Point Imaging's website.

“When people think sustainable, they think of green initiatives, and we take a higher view of what sustainability really is. Now that we’ve developed a balanced sustainability program that addresses the ecological, social, and financial aspects, we really have inertia in the market,” says Michael Magnant, vice president of sales and marketing for Point Imaging, based in Hobart, Ind., with seven sales offices across the U.S. “There isn’t one notable client that we don’t engage with sustainable solutions. Most still buy the way they’ve been buying and what they’ve been buying, but we’re raising their consciousness about our sustainability program. Our higher level view of sustainability is, flat-out, a business differentiator. And for us, it’s been a very methodical process.”

This approach takes more time and effort in educating clients about a system-wide approach to sustainability. But as Magnant alludes to, it pays off in long-term relationships built on an invaluable and immeasurable trust that your company is serious about the issue and serious about doing the right thing for the customer.

The company that can point to an extensive list of measures it's taking to reduce its environmental impact has a distinct competitive advantage over the company that doesn't have an environmental program, other than a material or two they call “green”.

Conversely, Magic Bullet products that promise a “green” solution, such as biodegradable materials, do not take into account their full impact on the environment. They may require more emissions and waste in the manufacturing process, they tend to be heavier, and while they might break down into organic compounds in a perfect situation, they do not break down in a typical landfill.

According to the Australian Academy of Science (so please excuse the alternate spellings), “To maximise the benefit of the new bioplastics we’ll have to modify the way we throw away our garbage – to simply substitute new plastics for old won’t be saving space in our landfills. Although there is a popular misconception that biodegradable materials break down in landfill sites, they don't. Rubbish deposited in landfill is compressed and sealed under tonnes of soil. This minimises oxygen and moisture, which are essential requirements for microbial decomposition. For biodegradable plastics to effectively decompose they need to be treated like compost.”

In a recent issue of Converting Magazine, Anne Johnson, Director, Sustainable Packaging Coalition, wrote, “If we are going to encourage biodegradability in materials, we need composting facilities as a recovery system designed to manage the problem. We would get significant environmental benefits if we removed readily biodegradable materials out of landfills. And we need to collect and recover valuable fossil-fuel-based materials, because they're nonrenewable, and our children might need them some day. As it stands, we're capitalizing on a lack of understanding by touting claims that don't hold up, given the reality of our infrastructure.”

Sustainable Solutions

A comprehensive 3 Rs program (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) is far better than offering one or two "green" materials, particularly when the actual "greenness" of the product may be minimal. Contact local recyclers and landfills to find out what you can do with the materials you use, and what their true environmental impact is. You may be surprised at what can be recycled, and what's safe for a landfill.

Plus, they may know of organizations, such as schools, that use scrap material. Recycling and landfill operations are a lot more sophisticated than they used to be and have tools that can help you as you compile the list of things you're doing to reduce your impact.

Once you've done an audit and detailed the materials you use and what you can do to reduce, reuse, and recycle, put the plan into action, document it, and make a list that you can publish on your website and in other materials to pass along to your clients. And, let your customers know what they can do with your materials once they're through using them.

Be truthful. Do the best you can and intelligently and logically research and document your options. This is true responsibility, which will resonate with your customers. For more information, go to the EPA’s WasteWise Program website. The program allows participating companies to design their own waste-reduction programs tailored to their needs. WasteWise partners can also highlight their participation by using the WasteWise logo, which is a symbol of environmental leadership.

The EPA also has a site that details how to implement an Environmental Management System (EMS). This is another way to implement and document a program that will lower your environmental impact, increase efficiency, and build a marketing program to promote your efforts to your customers.

And, for more information about LexJet’s Sustainable Solutions, which includes its long-running Inkjet Cartridge Recycling Program, the new Banner Recycling Program in partnership with Trex Company, a list of recyclable materials, and PEFC/FSC Certified papers, go to the Sustainable Solutions section of LexJet’s website.

If you have any questions about implementing a sustainability program, or about LexJet’s Sustainable Solutions, contact a LexJet account specialist at 800-453-9538.