The Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner
How do you know if the printing and publishing industries are getting more sustainable? Well you don’t, because we have no universal metrics or common references. But what we do have is a growing number of tiny little signs of improvement. When taken together they suggest we are indeed moving forward to improve our environmental sustainability.
One example of this is the rise in the number of ISO standards dedicated to the sustainability of print. ISO Technical Committee 130 for graphics technology has a working group exclusively devoted to environmental sustainability standards for printers and publishers. ISO has published several documents developed by the TC130 working group and there are two more under development. These standards provide printing and publishing companies with a range of tools to help make their businesses more environmentally sustainable.
ISO 16759 is a carbon calculator for working out the carbon footprint of a print run and so that of an individual printed product. ISO 20690 helps printing companies and digital press manufacturers to establish the operating power consumption of their digital printing devices. It is used for measuring the electricity usage of digital production presses with relatively few stops and starts, generally small-format digital presses used to print long runs. ISO 21632 is an equivalent document focused on digital printing devices that have multiple modes, so lots of stops and starts. These are typically wide format digital printers in the sign and display and specialty print sectors.
The ISO TC130 working group is also developing the ISO 22067 series. This lays out reporting requirements for how printers should communicate the environmental aspects of their products. Environmental aspects are things that could impact the environment, such as materials and energy usage. The ISO 22067 series is intended to make things far simpler when it comes to answering customers’ environmental sustainability questions.
Printing companies serving big brands will find ISO 22067-1, which outlines general print requirements, especially helpful for meeting complex data requests. It’s also very useful if you want to explain a printed product’s sustainable design criteria. ISO 22067-1 can help with meeting requests from customers related to compliance with the European Union (EU) Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation. If you have customers who fall within the scope of these laws, they will expect you as the printer or publisher to provide sustainability data for their reporting.
ISO is in process of publishing the second part of the ISO 22067 series. ISO 22067-2 is specific to print finishing. It covers requirements for sharing environmental aspects related to printed products like stitching, glues, embellishments and the like. This also includes such things as chemicals used, emissions and waste.
Underway are ISO 22067-3 for reporting the environmental aspects of printed textilesand ISO 19311. ISO 19311 outlines requirements for a company’s environmental sustainability assessment reporting. It brings the printing and publishing industry’s environmental sustainability in line with wider legislation. The ISO work is expected make life simpler for printingand publishing companies, so that reaching sustainability goals is easier for all parties. Little by little tools are being developed to help printers and publishers further their sustainability.
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This article was produced by the Verdigris Project, an industry initiative intended to raise awareness of print’s positive environmental impact. This weekly commentary helps printing companies keep up to date with environmental standards, and how environmentally friendly business management can help improve their bottom lines. Verdigris is supported by the following companies: Agfa Graphics, EFI, Fespa, Fujifilm, HP, Kodak, Miraclon, Ricoh, Unity Publishing and Xeikon.
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