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An industry-wide group of print companies has announced the ‘Sustainable Print Manifesto’ which aims to provide a simple framework to increase sustainability across print
An industry-wide group of companies within print has announced the launch of the ‘Sustainable Print Manifesto’, an independently developed initiative created to provide a simplified and universally relevant framework to increase sustainability across all print sectors.
The project is grounded in the belief that the print industry must collaborate more if it is to accelerate its progress and limit its environmental impact. According to the initiative, too many sustainability efforts currently remain fragmented – shaped by local regulation, technology limitations, individual company priorities, or regional nuances.
By contrast, the Sustainable Print Manifesto aims to offer a globally relevant blueprint for continual improvement, shared learning, and improved collective progress.
The manifesto was reportedly built from 12 months of consultation, discussion, and refinement, with figures from across the industry taking part. Founding partners of the initiative include HP, CarbonQuota, Gallus, Domino Printing Sciences, FuturePrint, Sun Chemical, Nazdar, Kavalan, io.tt, CPI Books, The PackScout, CIMPRESS, and Bespoke.
The manifesto also has the backing of trade bodies including the British Printing Industries Federation (BPIF), Independent Print Industries Association (IPIA), Flemish Innovation Center for Graphic Communication (VIGC), and PRINTING United Alliance.
An announcement from the initiative following the official release of the manifesto says: “The Sustainable Print Manifesto’s purpose is simple: to create a shared language for sustainable print, one that demystifies complexity, and empowers every print business to take meaningful action to be more sustainable.
“Whether commercial print, packaging, wide-format, textiles, labels, or industrial manufacturing, the manifesto is deliberately print-agnostic and compatible with any process, technology, or business model.”
At the heart of the Sustainable Print Manifesto is a set of nine principles that aim to be practical and non-competitive, which any organisation can adopt.
The principles include designing print for purpose; producing efficiently; choosing better, lower-impact materials and inks; minimising waste; reducing carbon and energy consumption; improving water stewardship; applying finishing only where it adds value; recycling and reusing operational materials; and communicating impacts transparently using accurate, data-led reporting.
Representing one of the founding partner organisations, Carlos Lahoz, industrial print sustainability strategist at HP, says: “I believe in the value of print and the positive impact it has in the world. However, I also believe that there's still room for improvement.
“To accelerate innovation and progress, collaboration is key – collaboration built on trust and transparency towards a shared goal. This is what this manifesto aims for, and this is why I pledge to its principles.”
The Sustainable Print Manifesto is now available for download, with all organisations within the print and packaging value chain invited to read it and share it, action its suggestions, and pledge their support.
