Green Printing - The New Bottom Line
At stake are brand reputations, shareholder value, regulatory risk and the ability of book publishers to entertain, enlighten and enrich vast, untapped markets in the developing world.
A growing body of evidence from companies such as Anheuser Busch, Bristol Myers Squib, British Telecom, CitiGroup, DuPont, Dow Chemical, Hewlett Packard, Intel, Procter & Gamble show it's possible to save money, grow markets and create shareholder value when supply chain environmental management is approached proactively.
There are no good reasons for book publishers to stand idly by. The best practices of 37 global multinationals that successfully integrated environmental considerations with supply chain decisions has been compiled into a report, New Paths to Business Value, published by the Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI).
Publishers were notably absent from the rarified roster, which includes Coca-Cola, Dow Chemical, Johnson & Johnson and Mattel. The report presents a great opportunity for publishers to study the body of evidence and tools that GEMI developed.
Another group of stakeholders publishers must consider are employees responsible for book substrate specification and purchase decisions. Although the primary factors employed by buyers are price and quality, there's growing interest in energy conservation and environmental protection.
Paper buyers are increasingly expressing their personal interest in the environmental impacts of the purchasing decisions they make. But their job performance continues to be measured by their ability to get the best price. That must change.
Market leaders in other industries learned profitability and environmentalism can go hand in hand. They establish rewards and recognition for purchase decisions that improve environmental performance and competitiveness.
They also provide education and training in environmental lifecycle analysis, so buyers can make more informed decisions. Knowledge of environmental accounting principles will allow buyers to build sound business cases for specifying green alternatives.
