The Starting Point For A Sustainability Programme For Print Businesses

The globe needs us to move towards environmental sustainability, yet the majority of print service providers already do it for their customers. More and more businesses are promoting their environmental credentials in an effort to appeal to the environmental sensibilities of consumers and potential customers. This must go beyond trivial pledges like utilising paper from sustainable sources or motion-activated lights. Although these are commendable attempts, much more needs to be done. Fortunately, the market is beginning to require its supply chains to make more significant efforts.

A sustainability programme should be based on achievable targets as part of a long-term plan. Goals and progress towards them should see the business reduce its environmental impact over time. The obvious place to start with this is with ISO 14001, which provides requirements and guidance for environmental management systems.

This standard can be described as pretty loose in that it can be implemented on a very general level in the beginning. Over time, its implementation will gradually get more rigorous, but it is an easy place to start with one`s sustainability programme. ISO 14001 is all about management, so once one aspect of the business gets under control one can focus on something else. Starting with energy management is an easy win. Ensuring that the equipment used is energy efficient and that lights are turned off when offices and factories are closed is simple to achieve. As one aspect of the business gets under control, focus can shift to more demanding stuff such as waste handling or reducing the use of hazardous materials.

The goal for the business is to develop and implement policies and management processes that make improvements part of the natural business cycle. Just as a business regularly reviews its cash flows, so it should be reviewing its environmental impact criteria and performance and ISO 14001 can help with this.

The starting point for a sustainability programme depends on the size and nature of the business, but key to change is ensuring engagement at all levels of the organisation. There can be no improvements without everyone`s commitment and everyone`s active involvement. It comes down to people and behaviours, so setting up a workable system is almost more important than setting up the targets. Fortunately ISO 14001 is only 36 pages long and only 27 of them are the meat of the document, so not too much to read.

The goal of ISO 14001 is to continuously enhance an organization's environmental management procedures. Whether through official certification or self-declaration, it can offer a crucial point of reference for clients. Sustainability is all about making an environmental management system accomplish what it says on the tin while also supporting the business's competitive and strategic goals.