Towards Environmentally Friendly Printing

The printing industry can so easily become the bete noire when it comes to environmental discussions regarding the future of the planet. Often miscast in the same villainous role as the oil and tobacco companies, they are used as scapegoats by our consumer society when we play the blame game. You can choose not to smoke. You can buy a hybrid car. But it's hard not to read paper-based publications. The truth is that we all read publications and hold in our hands the product of the printing industry's endeavours - ink on paper. And it's going to stay that way for many years to come. We all therefore have a responsibility to understand the impact printing has on our world - paper and power consumption and waste generation, and how we can help minimise that impact.

Best practice from an environmental perspective results in reduced land fill, reduced toxic waste and emissions from pulp and paper processing entering waterways and the air, and less demand on paper that is sourced from virgin forests.

Some interesting facts:
> Over 40 per cent of trees that are logged globally are used to make paper,
> Recycled paper accounts for about 10 per cent of the paper market worldwide.
> Affluent countries such as the United States and Australia among the leading consumers of paper.
> Paper consumption is growing. About 95 per cent of business information is still stored on paper, while the greater availability of copying machines, printers and fax machines, as well as personal computers and desktop printers, has produced an increase rather than a decrease in demand for paper.

Designers and printers who specify paper stocks should adhere to responsible environmental practice. I have compiled a list of Environmental labels and schemes to help you recognise what is available.

The sourcing of wood fibre from well-managed forests is referred to as
FSC
PEFC
SFI

Environmentally responsible manufacture is referred to as
ISO 14001
EMAS
Nordic Swan
Blue Angel
EU Eco-label

FSC
The Forest Stewardship Council is an international organisation promoting responsible forest management.
FSC has developed principles for forest management and a system of tracing, verifying and labelling timber and wood products which originate from FSC certified forests.
> A minimum of 30% of the virgin fibre must be FSC approved for the product to carry the logo.

EMAS
The Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is the European Union's voluntary instrument which acknowledges organisations that improve their environmental performance on a continuous basis. EMAS registered organisations are legally compliant, run an environment management system and report on their environmental performance through the publication of an independently verified environmental statement. They are recognised by the EMAS logo, which guarantees the reliability of the information provided.

PEFC
The PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) is a framework for the mutual recognition of national or regional forest certification schemes, rather than being a specific scheme in its own right. National governing bodies apply for membership of the PEFC Council (eg.the Finnish Forest Certification Council is endorsed by the PEFC).
> A minimum of 70% of the fibre must be PEFC approved for the product to carry the logo.

Nordic Swan
An environmental label encouraging production methods that create minimum environmental impact.
> The broad criteria are a ‘life cycle analysis’, quality and performance standards and the periodic raising of environmental standards.
> Now being replaced in favour of environmental management systems such as EMAS.

SFI
Sustainable Forestry Initiative. The American Forest and Paper Association’s Sustainable Forestry Initiative aims to ensure ongoing renewable resources across the country.

EU Eco Label
The EU Eco-label 'Flower' is a certification scheme aimed to help European consumers distinguish greener, more environmentally friendly, products and services (not including food and medicine.) Over the past ten years, the 'Flower' has become a European-wide symbol for products, providing simple and accurate guidance to consumers. All products bearing the 'Flower' have been checked by independent bodies for complying with strict ecological and performance criteria.

Bleaching
White paper undergoes a bleaching process. In the past chlorine bleaching was the preferred method because it produced the whitest pulp – however it produces organochloride compounds, an extremely toxic carcinogen. Many paper mills have adopted more environmentally-friendly bleaching methods in order to reduce their dioxin emissions.

Bleaching methods:
> Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF) which substitutes more benign compounds such as chlorine dioxide for elemental chlorine gas. Dioxins and other persistent carcinogens still remain in ECF effluent, albeit at significantly lower levels than from chlorine gas based processes.
> Process Chlorine Free (PCF) which substitutes benign agents such as ozone, hydrogen peroxide, and oxygen, though the pulp may contain recycled or recovered materials that were originally bleached with chlorine.
> Totally Chlorine Free (TCF) which substitutes more benign agents such as ozone, hydrogen peroxide and oxygen.

Just imagine if every designer and printer adhered to these best practice principles - what a difference it would make to this world. Are you doing the right thing?

Matthew White is the Senior Designer at Heywood Innovation in Sydney Australia.
info@heywood.com.au
www.heywood.com.au

Sources:
Green Guide
Green Fact Sheets
www.spicerspaper.com.au
Evans, P. (1997) The Complete Guide to Eco-friendly Design North Light Books, Ohio, USA
Rethink Paper
Alliance for Environmental Technology

Share on Facebook

When Plain English doesn't work

Greg Pendlebury is a craftsman copywriter and a resident of Sydney. Over the years Greg has enriched my understanding and appreciation of the finer points of written English through his excellent email communications. His articles have comprehensively identified some of the shortfalls in my own writing style and ability, for which I am eternally grateful.

Greg recently distributed an insightful article on using plain English. He has kindly consented to me publishing it on this blog. Take heed all those who believe that effective communication is achieved by abandoning complex sentence structures and the writing of verbose language with flamboyant descriptions. It is not as simple as you think.

When Plain English doesn’t work
Look through almost any book about Plain English and you will likely see somewhere a list of simple words that can be used to replace more complex words or expressions: 'use' instead of 'utilise'; 'before' instead of 'prior to', and so on. Using the simplest word possible to convey meaning is important, but it is not enough.

You'll also find guidelines about sentence length and sentence structure: 'prefer active voice over passive voice'; 'one thought one sentence'; etc.

All this is very good advice, but it will not guarantee a document is written plainly. It will not guarantee that readers will be engaged and understand what you are saying. If that's all you do when attempting to write in plain English it won't work. These mechanical aspects are necessary but not sufficient.

The starting point for clear writing is clear thinking. If your thoughts are not clear (and worthwhile) no amount of simple language will make them any better.

The point was well made by Tadgell J in a judgment given more than 10 years ago (about legislation). He said:

"Official publicity has recently been demanded for the notion that law-makers and practising lawyers should now strive to speak in so-called 'plain English'. The ideal of unmistakably clear verbal expression is admirable but surely not new. To vaunt it as though previous generations had overlooked and neglected it is to risk the mistake of substituting conceit for zeal. It is another mistake to suppose that clarity of expression can be an end in itself. Plain English alone achieves nothing. To be useful it must run in tandem with clear thought. After all, English speech - in the law at least - is a vehicle for the conveyance of ideas. A feeble or wandering idea will not become strong and precise merely because it is dressed in plain, homely language: it will remain simply a poor idea, and perhaps more obviously and emphatically so because it is plainly expressed. A bright idea, on the other hand, is likely to find its own expression and thereby to make itself understood. Statutes, if I may say so, do not commonly contain many naturally bright ideas that speak for themselves, especially those parts of them that seek to create indictable offences. They need to work hard in order to make themselves clearly understood, if only because there are persons whose interests are served by trying to misunderstand them."

The message is simple and plain - to communicate well (in legislation and other documents) get your thinking straight.

The process of writing is a powerful way to get your thinking straight.
Think-write.

Quotations taken from a speech given by the Hon. Justice K.M. Hayne when opening the Centre for Commercial Law, Australian National University, 12 May 1999.

Check out Greg’s ‘Getting the words right’ link below – valuable advice on saying things simply and more effectively.
http://www.thinkwrite.com.au/Getting%20the%20words%20right.htm

Each month (usually) Communication Matters discusses matters that impact the effectiveness of communication. It’s written by Greg Pendlebury of Think-write Pty Ltd. Previous issues are available at http://www.thinkwrite.com.au/newsletter.html

Share on Facebook