Leicester-based GI Direct in the United Kingdom is a leading integrated direct marketing and multi-channel customer communications provider. They have refreshed their annual survey to reveal that environmental accreditations within the print industry have significantly increased in the last 12 months.

Of the top 200 UK printers, 41% now have accreditation compared to 24% last year. Subscription to the Forest Stewardship Council standard is on the up from 14% last year to 26%. Little progress has been made with regard to firms becoming independently accredited as Carbon Neutral. Fewer than 5% of companies claim carbon neutral status. The results contrast well to last year when it was found that too little effort was being made by the British print industry on environmental accreditations.

In the last 12 months, there has been a much greater effort by the print industry to obtain a level of accreditation that clearly demonstrates the true environmental compliance of the sector. Many firms remain with little or no accreditations and criticism continue to be constantly directed at the industry. The print industry in the UK could avoid being an easy target for lobbyists if it were to become a majority accredited industry.

RISO, Inc. is a leader in digital printing technology and they recently announced the launching of a tree planting campaign with the company’s branch offices across the United States. The company is a supplier of environmentally-friendly high speed color inkjet printers and duplicators. They launched a partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation earlier this year to help plant 100,000 trees

Protecting the environment is important to RISO and they see planting trees in the communities they serve as a confirmation of their responsibility to their customers, employees and dealers to help offset the impact that other printing devices have on the environment. The campaign will make stops in several cities, including Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, and Tampa.

RISO’s partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation is helping in the company’s effort to plant 100,000 trees over the course of four years. Recently, RISO planted its 12,500^th three in the Bighorn National Forest in Wyoming. The company is known throughout the industry for its commitment to green printing technologies. RISO was ranked the “most green” office products company in a 2007 survey of North American office equipment dealers.

Xerox Corporation is making it simpler for customers to print more responsibly. The comlpany has revealed a comprehensive program of papers, resources and Web tools to help customers identify the right paper, the right supplies and the right way to print with the environment in mind.

To provide its customers with “greener” printing choices, Xerox is introducing additional papers in North America that are independently certified to sustainable forest management standards and new recycled papers designed for digital printing. The new Xerox Color Xpressions Planet 20 Paper is a 20% post-customer, recycled-content offering and is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Xerox’s Business Multipurpose 4200 Paper is one of the most widely-used Xerox papers in North America and now carries SFI certification.

Xerox’s High Yield Business Paper is an environmentally innovative offering that is the industry’s first mechanical fiber paper for digital printing. It uses half as many trees in production as traditional paper. Xerox papers carry FSC labels, the SFI, and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification help consumers to easily find products that meet strict worldwide standards for sustainable forestry. Xerox is also adding additional recycled and certified papers for its European customers.

Businesses that foster durable internal systems breed long term and sustainable profits. This also applies to green businesses that are past their mainstream “breaking point” and are now in a very competitive market where it is “automate or perish.” Eco-minded companies are benefiting more than just their own bottom line by developing or partnering to develop software that automates green decision making.

In January 2008, the largest printing company in North America, Quebecor, filed for bankruptcy. However, commercial printer Green Printer has seen an increase of 2,000 clients a year after they began. They estimate that their customers have saved 74,645 pounds of greenhouse gases and 38,116 pounds of solid waste. In October 2008, print shops across North America will be offered the Green Printer brand and the full line of recycled papers to its customers.

Workforce Software EmpCenter has achieved more than 200% growth in revenue and profits in the last three years and is tapping into one of the fastest growing, but hardly new, trends in the green workplace: telecomuniting. Sustainable Minds is a green product design software and information service that recently partnered with Autodesk, Inc. This partnership will allow product design teams to be able to estimate the environmental and human health impacts of their design decisions so that they can design greener products from the start.

Presstek, Inc. is the leading manufacturer and marketer of digital offset printing business solutions. They recently announced that Maryland-based Herron Printing considers its Presstek 34DI digital offset press as a crucial factor in its ability to reduce its carbon footprint.

The president of Herron Printing and Graphics said that over five years ago, his company started to reduce their environmental footprint by implementing Presstek’s chemistry-free plates on a Dimension Platesetter to support their conventional four-color press. Two years ago, they replaced this press with a Presstek 34DI instead of acquiring a five-color press. They found that the Presstek 34DI produces less waste, improves their print quality, and saves time over a conventional offset press.

Herron Printing is dedicated to making their operation as environmentally friendly as possible. To this end, the company car is a hybrid, they recycle all paper waste and cardboard, and use vegetable-based inks on the Presstek 34DI press. They also plan to convert to 100% wind power. The energy cost is 20% higher than energy produced with carbon-based fuel but it is a step forward to reducing dependence on petroleum.