Sustainable — Tom Polischuk

Sustainability is getting a lot of well-deserved attention these days. Sporadic activities many months ago have turned into a fairly steady stream of announcements. As the samples below indicate, some are big and some are small, but they all indicate a renewed interest in the environment.

• Wal-Mart recently released initial results of its Packaging Scorecard, which evaluates the company’s suppliers on the sustainability of their packaging, is part of Wal-Mart’s initiatives to achieve a five percent reduction in packaging by 2013. In its first month, the company reported that 2,268 vendors had logged on to its site and 117 products had been entered into the system.

• At the FFTA Annual Forum being held next month, Don Carli, director of ISC Responsible Enterprise Print, will present a keynote address titled, “How Climate Change and Demand for Sustainable Print Will Change Your Business.”

• Earlier this year, Sun Chemical introduced Metal-Eco™, a vegetable oil-based sheetfed offset metallic ink that meets stringent environmental requirements. These are just a smattering of examples, but taken as a package with the many other activities, it’s refreshing to see the renewed interest in environmental sustainability. Having read a number of articles in National Geographic, I am convinced we are literally consuming our planet—and at an alarming rate. Whether it’s rain forests or fish, the rate of consumption is unsustainable. So, sustainability is not just a buzz word, but may be a key measuring stick for decades to come.

On a much different note, packagePRINTING’s 21st Annual Excellence Awards competition is right around the corner. This competition recognizes the highest levels of quality and technical achievement in all major printing processes and materials categories. The winning entries will be featured in the September issue of packagePRINTING, with awards being presented at a reception at CPP Expo in October.

The deadline for entries is May 18, 2007. If you have not yet received an entry form, it can be downloaded from our Web site at www.packageprinting.com.

We welcome your comments regarding any part of packagePRINTING. They can be addressed to Editor, packagePRINTING, 1500 Spring Garden St., 12th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19130, or to tpolischuk@napco.com.