In my first three columns in this series on print-to-mail production, we explored print-related initiatives such as preparing for Intelligent Mail® Barcode Compliance, building customer relationships through TransPromo and Color Enablement, and most recently, Print Control and Management. In this column, I'd like to spend some time on a topic that's generating heightened awareness across the mailstream and beyond—environmental performance.
As awareness grows about the importance of reducing environmental impact, the spotlight is on the print-to-mail industry and steps responsible businesses can take to tread a little more lightly on the planet with a smaller carbon footprint.
As with any change, the journey to a low-carbon economy presents challenges and opportunities. For print-to-mailers, one of the most persistent challenges is a misunderstanding about the industry's impact on the environment. The perception among half of consumers surveyed in a recent study is that mail generates more than 50 percent of municipal waste. In reality, EPA reports peg that number closer to two percent.
There's no denying that mail is a paper-intensive business. However, like other manufacturing businesses, responsible print-to-mailers are embracing eco-friendly processes, practices and technologies that enable them to improve goodwill and revenue growth, while reducing costs and carbon emissions. As it turns out, sound environmental practices can also be sound business practice.
Evidence of this heightened sense of responsibility is reflected in the number of initiatives tracking performance. Examples include the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, the Carbon Disclosure Project and the U.N. Global Compact, to name a few. Today, more and more companies are taking steps to get listed on these indexes and to comply with environmental regulations, requirements and corporate standards. In the future, it's likely that more business practices will be subject to government scrutiny in this area.
As they do, it becomes even more critical to be able to track the carbon footprint of your mailstream, understand metrics and procedures, and report accurately. Case in point: the Carbon Disclosure Project requires companies to disclose carbon emissions to provide empirical evidence of sustainable business practices. Requirements like these, combined with pressure from consumers to provide evidence of environmentally responsible business practices, are driving efforts to go green and to provide evidence of environmental commitment.
There's business value in turning your mailstream green
The return on implementing eco-responsible processes goes beyond the satisfaction of knowing you're doing the right thing. One of the lesser-known truths about going green is that it isn't just socially responsible. It also can deliver real business value. Many customers favor doing business with companies that can demonstrate a commitment to the environment. Some may opt not to do business with those that are not eco-responsible. As these requirements become more widespread, companies that do not develop a green strategy may find themselves at a disadvantage compared to competitors who can prove they are taking steps to reduce energy consumption, emissions and waste.
At the same time, going green can deliver tangible business returns—going green can actually improve financial performance and revenue growth. Many businesses find that when they increase their focus on environmental performance they operate more efficiently, reduce costs and can tap into more market opportunities.
Sustainable practices can help improve productivity and minimize downtime, while enabling companies to meet corporate social responsibility and compliance requirements. Companies that invest in green strategies will also find a competitive edge as environmental standards and certifications evolve for the mail industry. Clearly, the incentive to provide high-quality, eco-responsible mail, reducing emissions, improving energy efficiency, and creating "smarter" mailings is stronger than ever.
Becoming ecowisesm
Pitney Bowes now offers a consulting service, called ecowiseSM, that enables environmentally responsible mailstream optimization. It allows customers to accelerate mailstream efficiency, reduce costs and improve environmental sustainability by reducing their carbon footprint per mailpiece.
The ecowise process analyzes traditional mail processes to improve efficiencies, eliminate waste and minimize environmental impact at every touch point. It examines current business processes, by gathering data and then determining your current carbon footprint as it relates to your CO2 emissions per mail piece.
Specialists analyze the findings and prepare an analysis that identifies opportunities for carbon footprint improvement and potential value benefits. Then they develop a best-fit strategy for lowering your carbon footprint that identifies steps, best practices, processes, procedures and technology to create an ecowise mailstream by remapping processes and leveraging eco-related hardware and software solutions.
Each plan implementation is validated to establish a platform for communicating the company’s commitment to environmental responsibility and sustainability of their mailstream. It also establishes a baseline for continuous improvement and future validations.
ecowise SM is also an environmental brand representing Pitney Bowes’ commitment to developing environmentally responsible solutions. Pitney Bowes is architecting environmentally conscious products and services that help customers go green while achieving greater savings in their mailing operations. To achieve ecowise status, a solution must qualify in one of the six eco-categories below:
§ Reduce use of consumable materials
§ Enhance energy/production efficiency
§ Eliminate use of hazardous materials
§ Increase mailpiece/application efficiency
§ Optimize transportation infrastructure
§ Promote environmental sustainability
What steps can you take today?
Regardless of where you are in your journey to a greener print-to-mail operation, there are plenty of opportunities to reduce the carbon footprint of your mailstream. Here are seven basic ways to start improving the way you produce and distribute mail right now. You can:
1. Eliminate undeliverable mail—every year, billions of letters are returned or discarded because they can't be delivered as addressed. This is costly not just in terms of the unnecessary waste generated, but also in financial terms.
2. Reduce, reuse, recycle—consumers are recycling at home and expect the same from the company with whom they do business.
3. Minimize unwanted mail—as data quality software improves, it is possible for mailers to target more effectively, increasing response, boosting profits and decreasing the amount of unwanted mail.
4. Consolidate mailings—by combining multiple communications into a single envelope (householding), you can minimize environmental impact, save paper and cut costs.
5. Design more efficient operations—take steps to reduce the amount of CO2 emissions in your mail operation, whether it's reducing the amount of energy consumed by vehicles and buildings, choosing more energy-efficient printing devices, printing closer to the point of delivery, or optimizing your production processes to decrease waste, paper consumption and emissions.
6. Make your transaction mail work harder—print informational or marketing messages directly on bills or statements (which have a very high open and read rate), using highly targeted customer intelligence.
Going green is the way to go
There's no doubt about it. Taking an active and responsible approach to corporate citizenship and environmental issues can make a successful company even stronger. Implementing an environmentally friendly mailstream can deliver both immediate and long-term benefits. Not only do you reduce carbon emissions and environmental impact, you can produce more accurate, effective, auditable and targeted mailpieces using the most efficient production techniques, technologies, and processes.
To learn more…
To find out more about how eco-responsible mailstream optimization and the ecowisesm solutions can help you improve the productivity, efficiency and quality of your print-to-mail operation, read these documents, "ecowise Environmentally-friendly Mailstream Optimization," "The Truth About Green: Survey results highlight how mailers can protect the environment and their industry," and "Getting Smart About Intelligent Mail®”
To learn more about Emtex solutions, visit our website at http://www.emtex.com
Questions? Want to talk about how you can move ahead in your journey to a smaller carbon footprint? Contact me directly with your thoughts and comments at krenko@us.emtex.com
Ken Renko has been involved with printing systems and output management technology companies for more than 30 years. He joined Pitney Bowes' Emtex Software in 2006 as a Product Marketing Manager in Boca Raton, Florida and is responsible for product management and marketing support for industry-leading enterprise output management solutions including: Virtual Intelligent Presentation (VIP)™, Virtual Document Enhance (VDE)™, and FlexServer. Prior to joining Pitney Bowes Emtex Software, Ken held various technical and marketing support positions with Océ Digital Document Systems and the Xerox Printing Systems Group. The combined years of experience in the electronic document industry have provided him with an objective understanding of the requirements and challenges that impact transactional printing, document output management, multi-vendor workflows and variable data applications. He has developed a number of white papers, authored several industry articles and has been a regular presenter at Xplor and On Demand.