THE BIG DEBATE: PRINT OR DIGITAL MEDIA – WHICH IS MORE SUSTAINABLE?

Strategic Business Leaders with answers to address The Green Media Conference

MERCER ISLAND, WA – April 29, 2009 – Which is more sustainable, physical mail or email, a magazine page or a web page, a book or an ebook? Which has the larger carbon footprint and what is the risk to a brand if their messaging says one thing and their media supply chain choices say another? Publishers, advertisers, marketers and supply chain professionals are increasingly being challenged to make decisions that address climate change and that are consistent with the principles of sustainability.

Carbon Dioxide has been ruled a pollutant dangerous to human life by the EPA, climate change legislation is pending in congress, and the leaders of 192 nations, including the US, China and India, will meet in Copenhagen this December to agree on a climate treaty to succeed the Kyoto Protocol. With an eye to the future, what efforts can be taken to measure the carbon footprints and otherwise qualify and quantify arguments for the sustainability of print and/or digital media?

Leaders from publishing, the postal service, and printing who are addressing this issue now, will be speaking at The Green Media Conference, June 9 in Washington, DC. They will be speaking in a session entitled: The Great Debate.  Addressing the audience will be:

• Hans Wegner, Vice President, Production Services, National Geographic
• Mike Fanning, Manager Business Development, United States Postal Service
• Dave Podmayersky, Director of Sustainability, Earth Color

Quote: Don Carli, Conference Chair, Sr. Research Fellow at The Institute for Sustainable Communication,and EVP, SustainCommWorld

“Sustainable supply chains and climate action are becoming mainstream priorities for leading brands and for government. Just as their governance policies, products, packaging and messages are being scrutinized, so to are their media supply chain choices – print, websites, emails, direct mail, advertising, brochures, tradeshows and events – all are being scrutinized as the next big area for improvement in sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions.

“Key questions that our speakers will address include:
• What standards and best practices can be employed to assess the sustainability of your operations and your media supply chain practices?
•What are the most significant challenges you face in reducing their carbon footprint and making them more sustainable?
• How will your media supply chain need to change in response to these issues, and what are the firms most likely to survive and thrive going to look like?
• What risks do the precarious state of the printing, papermaking and publishing industries present to government, business and society?
• What risks do the energy demands of IT, e-waste and the ephemeral nature of digital media present to government, business and society?

“These conferences bring thought leaders together with a focus on graphic communication, marketing, publishing and to discuss, challenge, learn and drive implementation of best practices in the greening of print and digital media supply chains.”

With the theme of “Expanding Lean & Green Opportunities,” The Green Media Conference brings together practitioners, best practices and real world case studies on the production of sustainable media and illustrating how to make money at the same time. Attendees to SustainCommWorld events are marketing and advertising professionals who need the latest information to make sustainable advertising, printing and web decisions as well as analyses the businesses within their supply chains.

This June there will be two conferences, one in Washington, DC on June 9 and one in Chicago on June 23. Each city will have a different group of speakers addressing these issues. For more information on conference program and additional speakers, visit: http://www.GreenMediaConference.com

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Metaprinter readers, when registering online, you’ll be prompted for a discount code and should enter the appropriate one below. The discount will be applied automatically.

Conference discount price $395 |  Discount code 1647:4250 regular price would be $495

Workshop discount price $195 |  Discount code 3386:4250 regular price would be $275

Conference + Workshop $555 | Discount code 5461:4250 regular price would be $695