The IGAEA is a partnership between educators and industry professions who are dedicated to sharing the theories, principles, processes and techniques behind graphic communications and imaging technology.

The theme of this year’s IGAEA conference was “Sustainability: Our Discipline, Our Programs, Our Future.” The weekend’s discussions revolved around understanding the trends shaping the discipline. And according to IGAEA, also on “building and maintaining viable, lasting graphic communications 5479 programs.” On Monday, July 26, Mario addressed the concept of triple bottom line of business sustainability and how graphic arts students can help champion a campus greening effort.

So who is Mario Assadi? Mario holds a degree in Engineering and became involved in the prepress industry during the very early stages of desktop publishing.  In 1988, he founded Tulip Graphics, one of the first digital service bureaus in California. Nearly a decade later, he moved into digital printing and then conventional offset printing. In 2004 Mario launched Greenerprinter, the first online print provider to offer recycled paper and green printing exclusively.

Thanks in part to Mario’s deep commitment to sustainable printing practices,  IGAEA conference attendees went home better equipped to teach sustainable technologies today, and to become a driving force in the green campus movement.

This week I had the pleasure of attending one of B Corp’s periodic social gathering in the stylish SOMA neighborhood of San Francisco, CA. Meet-ups and networking events are an ideal way to put a face on B Corp as an organization, but more importantly, to synergize with other certified B Corporation businesses.

Certified B Corporations run the gambit from web services to sporting goods retailers. Just a few of my personal favorites include Numi Organic Tea, New Leaf Paper, and of course Greenerprinter! Explore the entire list of certified B Corporations through B Corp’s online directory.

What are the benefits of joining the network of B Corporations? By becoming a B Corporation, a green company differentiates itself from other companies by truly walking the talk. As B Corp phrases it, it can exercise “its leadership, influencing the market beyond its own individual success.” The business also ensures that the values of the business survive through every phase of growth. And finally, a business can take advantage of discounts on business products and services, including Salesforce’s Enterprise Edition.

Through the course of the evening as I exchanged stories with my fellow B Corps, I learned that no matter what type of industry you served or how long ago you completed the certification process, we all shared hope and enthusiasm around the positive power of business.

Is your business – or the business you work for – a certified B Corporation? Why or why not? Add your comments below.

To quote the deeply inspirational Mahatma Gandhi, “It’s not too late at all. You just don’t yet know what you are capable of.”

In that vein, here are 10 every-day ways you can lessen your consumption of crude and lead a more sustainable life:

1. Skip the meat. Compared with plant crops, meat requires eight time the fossil fuels to produce. Following our current path, world meat consumption is expected to double by 2050. Imagine the impact this will have on oil demand if we don’t act today.
2. Drive less than 65 (or 60). In most cars, gas mileage drops off above 60 mph. Lower gas mileage translates to higher overall gas consumption. Try using cruise control when possible, which also helps to use your car’s overdrive gears, saving even more fuel.
3. Pack away plastic bags for good. Roughly 430,000 gallons of oil are used to produce 100 million plastic bags. And each year, 500 billion to 1 trillion of these bags are dispensed globally! Most bags are used only once and only a tiny fraction of them are recycled. Each bag counts.
4. Leave aggressive driving to someone else. Your car’s gas mileage can drop 33 percent on highways and 5 percent on city streets through swerving, sudden acceleration and braking. Revving your engine while stopped will cause your oil use to climb even more.
5. Live like a localvore. Since packaging and shipping food long distances requires lots of fossil fuel, buy locally grown food. What’s more, patronizing local businesses (like Greenerprinter!) keeps $0.43 of every $1.00 spent in the community, compared to only $0.13 out of $1.00 when you shop at a national chains!
6. Take the train. Most people fly or even drive across country at least once a year, yet few realize that trains have higher fuel efficiency per passenger than hybrid cars. Instead of the air or roads, choose rail for business shipping or personal travel when possible.
   
7. Don’t get hot under the collar. Wash your clothes on the cold or warm setting. Washing every load on the hot/warm cycle in a top loading machine (using an electric water heater) for just one year is equivalent to burning over 180 extra gallons of gas when you drive. Avoid the hot water cycle – your close will be just as clean and bright.
8. Wave goodbye to water bottles. Did you know that 17.6 million barrels of oil are used to produce the 28.6 billion PET water bottles manufactured in the U.S.? Or that roughly 86 percent of empty plastic water bottles (about two million tons of PET) lands in landfills instead of new plastic products?  Learn more through Food & Water Watch’s Take Back the Tap campaign.
   
9. Avoid idling. According to the Hinkle Charitable Foundation, the average driver wastes half a cup of gas per day for a small car or one cup for an eight-cylinder engine through five minutes of unnecessary idling. This works out to 10 gallons of gas for a small car or 20 gallons for a larger vehicle per year. If you need to idle longer than 10 seconds, cut the engine and cut your oil consumption.
10. Clean the old-fashioned way. Many commercial cleaning products (and many other every-day items, for that matter) are derived from petroleum. You don’t need oil to take grease out of your way. Use cleaning products made from natural materials such as vinegar, soap powder or baking soda. A quick web search will uncover many home-made cleanser recipes.

To round off this list, take one more step by sending a petition letter to your senator. Ask her or him to pass energy legislation that will prevent future oil spills. Big oil companies have a strong voice in the government. But through our collective voice and daily actions, we can all do right by the planet.

This large format printer can print up to 60″ wide using eco-friendly latex inks from Hewlett-Packard. What are latex inks? They are pigmented, water-based inks designed for commercial printing applications which use an innovative aqueous-dispersed polymer (”latex”) technology.

Latex inks provide print durability and display permanence comparable to eco-solvent inks and low-solvent inks. Plus, their water-based formulation reduces the impact of printing on the environment! Learn more about latex inks by watching a brief video produced by HP.

With our new large format latex printer, we can produce high-quality, durable print media with outdoor display permanence and durability comparable to eco-solvent inks (up to 3 years for un-laminated and up to 5 years for laminated). Your products will be scratch, smudge and water resistance (on water-resistant media).

By and large, the most popular use for the latex printer is greening event signage or trade show graphics. As a business that is committed to reducing your environmental footprint at trade shows and all year round, you’ll be excited to learn that Greenerprinter’s latex printing can be used for windows graphics, posters, digital fine art, vehicle wraps, outdoor event banners, exhibition graphics, wall murals and more.

Take a look at a few examples of these stunning graphics in action by scrolling through the HP Designjet L25500 Application gallery.

What’s more, in addition to reducing the environmental impact of printing through state-of-the-art machinery including the HP latex printer, Greenerprinter also participates in HP’s Large-format Media take-back program. This ensures that eligible HP printing materials are recycled in a way that conserves resources and reduces the environmental impact of printing.

What do you think about the innovative new latex printer? Leave your feedback in the comment box below.

• Digital vs. Offset Printing: How To Choose? by Chanie Pritchard
• Digital vs. Offset Printing: Advantages of Each and How to Choose from Pinsonnault Creative
• Offset Printing: Advantages from Wikipedia
• Digital Printing vs. Offset Printing Cost from Digital Printing Tips

Which printing method is right for you? Add your thoughts by leaving a comment below!

We’re pleased to announce that we have won the 2010 Acterra Environmental Business Award for Pollution Prevention/Resource Conservation for a Small Company!

Acterra’s Business Environmental Awards is one of the San Francisco Bay Area’s oldest and most prestigious environmental recognition programs. Initiated in 1990, it is considered a heavyweight among award programs due to its rigorous application and judging process.

“Our awardees must demonstrate their environmental commitment and achievements through a careful vetting process,” states Board President Laura Teksler. “In addition to a thorough written application, the top contenders must demonstrate their programs’ merits firsthand to the judges during a visit to the applicants’ facilities. By the time they are selected to receive our award, they have truly proven that their programs are “setting the bar” in corporate environmental leadership.”

As part of the application process, we had to provide information about how we have integrated sustainable practices throughout our printing process (prepress, production, and bindery) as well as in our non-production operations. We had to demonstrate the environmental impacts of our practices and show our social impact  as well – how we work with employees, clients and suppliers to promote green printing. The judges even conducted a site visit during which they toured our facilities to see our green practices first-hand.

Take a look at the behind-the-scenes video shot at Greenerprinter headquarters.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have supported our work. Without your support, this award would not have been possible!

The complete list of winners is available at http://www.acterra.org/programs/bea/index.html.

We’re proud to announce that we’re the first printer in California to be certified by the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP), the printing industry’s own standards for green printing. There are currently only 19 SGP printers nationwide, and our certification advances our commitment to offering sustainable printing that you can trust.

The mission of the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership is to encourage and promote participation in the worldwide movement to reduce environmental impact and increase social responsibility of the print and graphic communications industry through sustainable green printing practices. SGP certification criteria covers areas ranging from regulatory compliance to having documented sustainability practices. Additionally, SGP qualifies its members based on 3 categories: Product (based on materials used), process (manufacturing steps used to produce the product) and envelope (areas that support manufacturing activities, such as our building, grounds, utilities, and employees).

One of the distinguishing features of SGP certification is that they take the time to verify all of the green printing information that is provided in the initial application. They conducted a comprehensive, two-day onsite audit of our facility that included reviewing our health & safety compliance, checking our waste management practices, and interviewing employees, among other things. Because of this extensive audit process, SGP certification represents a thorough vetting of a printer’s commitment to sustainability, which we believe is important when choosing a green printer. We invite you to learn more about our SGP certification on our website.

The important points were that printers should be working to reduce their environmental impact throughout the entire production process and should also be looking to operate as a responsible business, which we agree with wholeheartedly!

Here are a few things to consider when selecting a green printer:

• Recycled paper: How much recycled paper do they carry? Is it a “special request” item? Does it contain at least 50% post-consumer waste?
• Soy/vegetable inks: What are the levels of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)? Does the ink contain petroleum? (For the record, our inks have no petroleum and have only trace VOCs of less than 1 gram/liter.)
• Carbon offsets: Do they offset all of their emissions from operations and shipping?
• Equipment: What type of equipment are they using? Newer equipment helps to reduce some of the waste inherent in the printing process.
• Supply chain: Has the company looked at its supply chain? What types of suppliers does the company support? For example, we carry only New Leaf Paper not just because it is high-quality, high-recycled content paper but also because the company is well-regarded as a socially and environmentally responsible business.
• Third-party audit and verification: Can their environmental claims be independently verified by third-party auditors? This is an important point to consider. At Greenerprinter for example, as a certified green business in the Bay Area, we are subject to audits in the areas of water conservation, energy conservation, and more; as an FSC certified printer, we go through an annual audit; and as a B Corp, we can also be randomly audited.  Another important certification is the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership – this is the printing industry’s own standards for green printing. There are currently fewer than a dozen printers nationwide that meet the certification standards, but several more (including Greenerprinter) are in the process of obtaining this certification.

To learn more about why you should print green, read “The Top 10 Reasons to Print Green.”

What’s a B Corporation?

B Corps are a new type of corporation that use the power of business to address social and environmental problems. Certified B Corporations meet transparent and comprehensive standards of social and environmental performance and legally expand their corporate responsibilities to include consideration of stakeholder interests. In addition, by uniting together as B Corporations, they amplify the voice of sustainable business and for-profit social enterprise. There are currently over 200 certified B Corporations from over 30 industries, representing $1 billion in collective revenues and $6.5 billion in capital under management.

Unfortunately, California is one of 19 states that do not yet allow corporations to consider stakeholder interests. As a B Corp in California, we have committed to amending our corporate governing documents to include stakeholder interests once the law permits us to do so. According to Deborah Hirsh from B Labs (the non-profit that coordinates the certification), changes in state legislation in 2010 may facilitate this process, and additional efforts are underway to create a new corporate form for companies in California that have met high and transparent social and environmental standards.

Why did Greenerprinter become a B Corp?

We went through the certification process to become a B Corp because the B Corp certification represents one of the highest standards for responsible businesses. An important part of the B Corp certification is that the social and environmental performance standards are comprehensive and transparent. Our B Corp report will soon be available on the B Corp website, and we will be subject to random audits. This will be in addition to the other audits that we’re subject to as a Certified Green Business in Berkeley (such as water and energy use audits) and our Forest Stewardship Council audit. We believe that it is important that our social and environmental initiatives can be verified by third parties that you can trust.

Is B Corp another green certification?

No, B Corp goes beyond green certification. It does evaluate environmental efforts, but it also includes considerations for governance, employees, community, and suppliers. In this regard, it’s a much more comprehensive certification that looks at not just environmental impact, but at how the company does business as a whole.

You can learn more about B Corporations on their website. The Katovich Law Group, another B Corp, also provides a good explanation about stakeholder interests and B Corps on their blog.

9. Clients expect it: Your clients (or donors or members, for nonprofits) are looking for the businesses and organizations that they support to be socially and environmentally responsible. Printing green allows you to demonstrate your commitment to sustainability.

8. Employees appreciate it: Like your clients, your employees are also looking for businesses and organizations to be socially and environmentally responsible (chances are, they’re already taking steps to be green at home). Environmental initiatives may even have HR benefits such as boosting morale and recruiting top talent.

7. It shows initiative: Going green is not a fad that’s going away. It’s only a matter of time before all businesses move towards sustainability. Switching your business printing to green printing now allows you to be proactive in your steps towards environmental responsibility.

6. Great results: You don’t have to give up quality to print in line with your values. Recycled paper and soy and vegetable-based inks produce high quality results with vibrant colors that pop. If you would like to see the quality of green printing, you can request a sample packet and we’ll send you printed samples on different papers.

5. There’s no excuse not to: In the past, it may have been possible to come up with excuses not to print green: it was too expensive, or recycled paper was low quality. None of those excuses apply anymore. The pricing is competitive, and top-notch results are possible with recycled paper and soy and vegetable-based inks.

4. It’s easy: The basic design and printing processes are the same as in traditional printing. If you’re already ordering traditional printing, you don’t need to do anything different, other than to make the switch. Our Greening Your Printing series provides you with all you need to know to get started.

3. Support the transition to a green economy: Although our political elections attract the most attention, millions of elections actually take place every day – every dollar spent is a vote of approval cast for a company. Printing green supports businesses that are socially and environmentally responsible and moves us closer to a green economy.

2. You’re going to print anyways: Yes, the first step towards conservation is reduction, and sometimes not printing is the greenest way to go (even we as printers send an e-newsletter instead of a printed newsletter!). Yet there are times when printed materials are needed, whether it’s business cards for networking events or marketing collateral for sales presentations. As long as we’re going to be printing anyways, we should do so responsibly.

1. Save the planet – and ourselves: The environmental benefits from green printing are significant and reflect the cumulative effect of thousands of orders for business cards, brochures, folders, and more – your choices do indeed make a difference! And our own well-being is inextricably linked to that of the planet on which we depend for everything that we eat, drink, wear and buy. Ultimately, printing responsibly is not just good for the planet, but it’s good for us as well.