Getting Eggy

The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner When we think of the circular economy, hard boiled eggs aren’t necessarily what comes to mind. But they can make an important contribution, particularly when it comes to packaging. Eggs are one of nature’s best examples of effective packaging. Manufactured packaging, mostly using paper and plastics, shares the … Read more

Climate scientists and carbon accountants

The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner Every week week we get bombarded with new information about the dismal condition of the planet and its inhabitants. But sometimes we come across ideas and initiatives that are actually inspiring.  For instance an Egyptian mathematician has told us about his formula for calculating the energy consumed when … Read more

Paper Chains

The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner We’re all familiar with the annual shindig the World Economic Forum (WEF) hosts at Davos in Switzerland. It combines spectacular scenery with spectacular visions for our collective economic future. But we are probably less aware of the regular white papers the WEF puts out. One of their latest … Read more

Sustainable by Design

The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner We go on a lot about what printers can do to reduce their environmental impact. But we hardly ever mention the contribution graphic designers make to sustainability. As with colour management, a designer’s decisions during the creative stages of a project, can have a profound impact on the … Read more

Another Green World

The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner It seems like everyone’s at it. Humdinger green plans abound, but some green initiatives are better than others. And some have more credibility than others. The ones that bash paper are the worst. If you read or hear claims that paper’s use is responsible for the mass destruction … Read more

Do We Need More than ISO 14001?

The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner If you wanted to put a green label on a printing company, what would you look for? The usual differentiator amongst printers is compliance and ideally formal certification to ISO 14001. Compliance to this environmental management standard is based on a company’s environmental policy and how well the … Read more

Sustainability at drupa

The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner The industry’s mega show is an all consuming beast that is already exhausting. There has been an onslaught of previews, announcements and rumour, so much so that we all just want it to be over. Based on what we have heard so far, drupa 2016 will not be … Read more

Colour Me Rainbow

The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner Well how bored are we all with colour management? Marginally bored? Slightly bored? Very bored? Bordering suicidally bored? We are all somewhere on the spectrum, as it were, to some extent ranging from say pale yellow to pale purple. But boring as it may be colour management is … Read more

Gathering Carbon Footprint Data

The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner At HP’s recent pre-drupa press conference in Israel a colleague asked how we can trust the accuracy of carbon footprint calculations. We were discussing HP’s commitment to doing full Life Cycle Analyses (LCA) for its Indigo digital presses, so that the associated CO2 can be offset. How far … Read more

Partners in Sustainability

The weekly Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner If you are serious about improving your environmental impact, partnership may be the way to go. It can even have additional unexpected benefits for your business, unrelated to the main project. Partnering works not just between developers, but also across the developer/customer divide. Toray and Seacourt Printing, a … Read more