Commercial printers rely on paper – obviously, the printing industry couldn’t exist without it. So it only makes sense that printers would adopt aggressive sustainable business practices to preserve this key resource. Beyond the business implications, we at Hudson want to do what we can and act as good environmental stewards. It’s a part of our culture, from the top down. This blog will overview some of the printing industry’s sustainability efforts around paper and forests, as well as highlight Hudson’s participation.
Despite many misconceptions about paper and deforestation, in North America, we grow many more trees than we harvest. In fact, forest area in the U.S. increased by 5,800 NFL football fields per day between 2007 and 2012, or a total of 14 million acres (source: USDA).
The following infographic from Two Sides illustrates how sustainable forest management practices in North America are providing healthy and abundant forests for present and future generations:
Making Strides in Environmental Stewardship
Although responsible forest management practices are in place to ensure many more trees are planted than harvested each year, Hudson Printing believes in taking an active role to further preserve and protect forest lands for future generations.
This is why Hudson Printing received the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Chain-of-Custody certification. Between the forest and the final user, products may undergo many stages of processing, manufacturing and distribution. The FSC Chain-of-Custody certification traces the path of products from forests through the supply chain, verifying that FSC-certified material is identified or kept separated from non-certified material throughout the chain. The Chain-of-Custody process guarantees to our customers that the FSC-certified products we offer are coming from responsibly managed sources.
Furthering our commitment to environmental responsibility, Hudson Printing also recently became a Blue Sky Partner with Rocky Mountain Power. As a Blue Sky Partner, Hudson Printing works with Rocky Mountain Power to purchase renewable energy certificates from facilities in the West. This helps to support renewable energy resources, aids in reducing the need for fossil fuel energy sources and includes benefits to our local environment.
Going Beyond Sustainability – Print What you Need
Environmental responsibility goes beyond sustainable forestry and responsibly sourced papers. We believe that sustainable print is also about only printing what is necessary. Being wise stewards means not printing things that will end up stashed in a warehouse for a year or two, only to be eventually thrown away. Now with Hudson Digital, a new division created for jobs of less than 2,000 pieces (short-run), customers can easily print only what is needed and eliminate unnecessary waste. Our service experts can help you with strategic planning and innovative alternatives to make your print both more valuable and highly sustainable.
As Hudson Printing continues to adopt the latest technologies and best practices to provide our customers with unmatched service and quality, we are also committed to doing business in new ways that responsibly meet the demands of the present, while ensuring our most precious resources will be available tomorrow.
