COPENHAGEN ON MY MIND – REDUCING DIGITAL MEDIA TREE-WASH

Most people will tell you that they care about saving our forests, but they tend to be uninformed or misinformed when it comes to knowing the causes of deforestation or some of the places being affected most significantly by land use change that kills trees, pollutes rivers and contributes to climate change. Until recently the conventional wisdom has been to demonize paper and print media as the major culprit behind “killing trees” and to idealize digital media as “green and groovy” alternative without consideration for the full backstory or life cycle footprint of either.

Pixels Don’t Grow on Trees

Paper and print media supply chains are far from being sustainable, but may be far less of a threat to forests than the “Tree-Wash” claims about how digital media saves trees or how pixels are greener than pages. “Tree-Wash” is my term for a special class of “greenwash” making false, misleading or unsupported marketing claims that ignore the causes of deforestation associated with digital media, or that fail to identify the actual trees and forests allegedly being saved or planted.

However, the Copenhagen Climate Summit and technologies developed to verify land use are likely to play a major role in changing the status quo with regard to foot-printing forests, identifying trees and the calculating the climate impacts of coal-powered IT.

From Dec. 7 to Dec. 18 representatives of 191 nations and at least 65 world leaders will attend the United Nations “COP15″ Climate Summit in Copenhagen to seek agreement on a new global treaty to limit emissions of greenhouse gases; one of the most significant issues to be addressed is protecting and restoring global forest ecosystems.

I’ll be traveling to Copenhagen to cover the last week of the Climate Summit and report on how the decisions being made are likely to impact the forestry, papermaking, printing, publishing and IT sectors that the graphic arts depend on.

I hope to hear from all of you who have questions for the leaders convened in Copenhagen. I will do my best to track down the answers. Please send me your questions and follow me on Twitter: @dcarli #COP15.

Are You Seeing REDD yet?

Deforestation and the sustainable management of the world’s forests are serious issues that should be top of mind given the world’s focus on climate change. Trees sequester carbon equal to half of their dry weight, and scientists estimate that as much 20 percent of total emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) are emitted due to deforestation, land use change and forest degradation. For that reason, Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) is a major issue that will be addressed in Copenhagen.

Sustainable forestry will play an increasingly important role in supporting the literacy and sanitary existence of the world’s growing population. In addition to providing millions of jobs and providing the wood fiber used to produce over 350 million tons of paper per year, the world’s forests also serve as the planet’s “lungs” by converting or “sequestering” atmospheric carbon dioxide into woody biomass and providing other important environmental services. In addition, sustainably harvested forest biomass will increasingly be employed by a new generation of integrated biorefineries to replace fossil fuel energy and petrochemical feedstocks.

According to some reports just one day’s deforestation is equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions of eight million people flying to New York; in order to address such a serious challenge and provide a basis to monitoring the reduction of deforestation and forest degradation, an impressive array of geo-locative and remote sensing capabilities are being developed to map the world’s forests and identify the location of individual trees with startling precision.

For example, as part of the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and its member countries and partners is undertaking a global remote sensing survey of forests covering the whole land surface of the Earth. FAO is also providing technical support for national forest assessments and the establishment of national forest monitoring systems. See: Global Forest Resources Assessment

Do You See the Forest or the Trees?

Remote sensing of forest biomass and geo-locative tagging of trees will become increasingly important as the exemption of carbon dioxide emissions from bioenergy use will only be appropriate if there is a system that also counts emissions from deforesting land and land use activities that degrade forest ecologies. In that way, if biomass for energy use results in deforestation, emissions are counted as land use emissions equivalent to fossil fuel emissions. However, these new applications will also be making it possible to stem the tsunami of “Go Digital, Save Trees” Tree-Wash marketing claims that many marketers of e-billing, e-books and digital media have been flooding the market with.

One of the little known but significant causes of deforestation in the United States related to digital media is the practice of Mountain Top Removal, employed to mine the coal used to generate electricity in states like West Virginia. In 2008 over 41 million tons of coal were extracted by means of Mountain Top Removal in West Virginia. Coal provides the majority of electric power in 32 states, and 99 percent of the electricity generated in West Virginia comes from coal.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that by 2013 an area the size of Delaware will have been deforested to extract coal. In addition to the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the energy consumed by digital media’s IT infrastructure, the deforestation, toxic air pollution and water pollution impacts associated with coal mining, coal combustion and coal waste need to be considered before making claims about digital media being greener than print or saving trees.

Truth in Augmented Reality

Deforestation, illegal logging and land-use changes that result in greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental damage are serious matters that billions of people care about. With today’s advanced remote sensing and geo-location capabilities consumers have every reason to expect marketers making claims about their offerings saving trees, or resulting in the planting of trees, to identify the trees in question and account for the life cycle impacts associated with their products. Even if the FTC does not yet prosecute such cases, that would not preclude a competitor from calling on the National Advertising Review Council to review the truthfulness and accuracy of a green marketing claim.

As we enter the “Post Madoff” trust-but-verify age of social-media powered transparency and climate awareness, it is becoming more possible and important than ever to monitor the green message content and supply chain impacts of advertising. Pixels may not grow on trees, but it is increasingly likely that remote sensing and augmented reality pixels can and will be used to hold marketers responsible for the carbon footprint of their media supply chains and the truthfulness and accuracy of advertising claims they make about saving or planting trees.

THE END

Don Carli, Senior Research Fellow for the Institute for Sustainable Communications and EVP, SustainCommWorld, is reporting and blogging live from Copenhagen this week on areas not generally covered by the media.  Below is a major piece for your review on deforestation.

More stories and interviews are posted on SustainCommWorld’s social network site:  http://www.greenmediaconnect.com/

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
Kathleen Kaiser
SustainCommWorld
805-524-6970
kathleen@sustaincommworld.com

present a conversation with one of the world’s leading experts on the environment and climate change…

Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri
- received the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (which he leads)

- in July 2009 becomes director of the Yale Climate and Energy Institute

TALK & Q&A: “Saving the World: Forging an International Consensus on Development and Climate Change”

Tuesday, May 19
6:45-8 pm
Columbia Journalism School
Stabile Student Center (lobby floor)
116th St & Broadway (#1 train to 116th St stop)

Free and open to the public; no RSVP required
Free open wifi available

NOTE: A recording of the conversation will be webcast later in the week. Feel free to send questions for Dr. Pachauri to saja@columbia.edu (subject = Questions for Dr. Pachauri)

BIO: Dr Rajendra K. Pachauri received the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2007 on behalf of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which he heads. One of the top world experts on climate change, environment and development he heads The Energy and Resources Institute, an international think tank and scientific research organization headquartered in New Delhi with centers around the world. This year, he was also appointed director of the Yale Climate and Energy Institute.

Dr Pachauri started out as an engineer, which gives him a unique insight
into environmental issues. He has PhDs in industrial engineering and in
economics from  North Carolina State University in Raleigh and has taught at
several U.S. Universities.

He has advised the Indian government on environment and energy policies and
TERI was the major contributor to the Indian government’s policy on climate
policy announced last year.

As chairman of the IPCC, he guided the organization in producing its
monumental survey, The Fourth Assessment Report on climate change, which
reflects the international scientific consensus on the immediacy and gravity
of the climate change problem. The Nobel Prize was principally in
recognition of the IPCC’s role in drawing global attention to the imminent
dangers from climate change.

An important aspect of Dr Pachauri’s work has been to look for solutions to
climate change problems that also take into account the alleviation of
poverty and development, while trying to build international consensus in
dealing with it.

Portland, 1st of May, 2009

Irwin Hodson Press Announces Their Climate Neutral Printing Certification.
How does it feel to print climate neutrally? Innovative and responsible

Irwin Hodson Press can now offer its clients climate neutral print products. Hereby, all CO2-emissions evolving in the course of a print job will be calculated and neutralized by emission certificates from acknowledged climate protection projects. For Irwin Hodson Press, the possibility to print climate neutrally was yet another step in a broad sustainability strategy. Thereby the focus will continue to be on additional long-term development of the company’s internal environment philosophy and the diminution of the impacts on the climate.

From the carbon footprint to a climate neutral print product
Due to a large sense of responsibility, it is important for Irwin Hodson Press to keep the entry of environmentally relevant greenhouse gases as low as possible. In a printing plant CO2-emissions evolve in the course of the usage of energy, transports, paper, inks, coatings and other factors. The ClimatePartner California Inc. has calculated all the emerging CO2-emissions for the whole company [carbon footprint] and presents guidance for the reduction of emissions by means of the results. With an individualized emission calculator Irwin Hodson Press can report to their client the amount of emissions produced per print project. As an additional service, the emissions can be neutralized by investing in high quality emission-reduction-certificates from acknowledged climate protection projects.  Therefore every brochure, catalog, poster, etc can be printed climate neutrally.

Environmental responsibility – no longer a foreign word
Irwin Hodson Press has been a role model for environmentally responsible activities in the region for a long time.  “We’re not only FSC-certified and participate at the PGE – campaign “Save more, matter more”, but we also support the usage and establishment of renewable energies in Oregon”, says Ken Kozol, Vice President of manufacturing.  Furthermore, the ambitious company has decided to participate in the Climate Leaders-program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which aims at the development of sustainable climate protection strategies from and for enterprises. Also, they have installed the lowest VOC printing process available and offer clients bio-renewable coatings. Therefore the employment of highly efficient and environmentally friendly technologies for the printing plant is self-evident for Irwin Hodson Press. The printing plant is very ambitious to pass the environmental engagement to the employees who are encouraged to carpool, use public transport or ride bicycles to work.

Writing on the wall
“We are proud of our sustained engagement and want to pass this down to our clients”, explains Ken Kozol proudly. “With ClimatePartner we have found a competent resource.” “We are happy to see that Irwin Hodson Press has recognized the value and advocates so actively. ClimatePartner has already gained broad expert knowledge on the European and German market on the topic “sustainable media production” and is a quality leader in voluntary climate protection in the printing industry”, says Katharina Riess, ClimatePartner California Inc.

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For further information please contact:
Climate Partner California, Inc.
730 Montgomery Street
94111 San Francisco, CA
Phone +1 42 42 28 42 27
California@climatepartner.com

ClimatePartner avows itself to be a strategy advisory and application developer in climate protection. With more than 300 consultancy projects for more than 150 clients, ClimatePartner has gained expert knowledge in the topics climate protection and sustainability in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Greece and the USA within only three years. ClimatePartner develops solutions, which are characterized by their integration into the business models of its clients and are thereby scalable, whereby they contribute to an effective climate protection at the same time.  The headquarters of the company are in Munich, Germany. ClimatePartner California is located San Francisco.

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

56 page report on the outlook of the industry ask lots of great questions the industry should be asking itself like “What does your audience want from you – and do you
know what they will pay for?”, many newspapers have not honestly asked themselves this question because if they did they would be the largest creators of business websites in their DMA.

Newspaper Outlook 2009 Related Video (sorry PWC doesn’t allow embeds at this point).

Highlights:

1. The size of the United States’ GDP requires a more active involvement in sustainability by its citizens and its corporations along with the federal government.
2. Dernbach’s work within both state and federal government has given him a unique expertise in creating environmental law and sustainable practices.
3. Dernbach to discuss ways and means to accomplish sustainability goals in his keynote address at The Green Media Conference, June 9 in Washington, DC.

MERCER ISLAND, WA – April 15, 2009 –John C. Dernbach, Distinquished Professor of Law at Widener University Law School and editor of Agenda for a Sustainable America, will be the afternoon keynote speaker for The Green Media Conference, June 9 in Washington, DC at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. Professor. Dernbach will be discussing the role of the government and the United States in general in creating a sustainable world.

QUOTE: DON CARLI, CONFERENCE CHAIR AND SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW AT THE INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNICATION

“In the Agenda for a Sustainable America John Dernbach has assembled an authoritative and pragmatic body of knowledge that citizens, corporations, nongovernmental organizations and government officials can use to meet the challenges of the future. I’m gratified that John will be sharing his decades of experience in sustainability, business, policymaking and the law with attendees of The Green Media Conference.”

QUOTE: JOHN C. DERNBACH

“The United States is not just another country in the global effort to achieve sustainable development. It has the world’s highest Gross Domestic Product, the most powerful military on earth, and is the largest producer and consumer of energy and materials in human history. Because of its impact on the world’s environment and its political, economic, and military influence, the United States has unparalleled power to lead an international effort to achieve sustainable development or to prevent or impede world efforts to achieve sustainability.

“Much of American influence around the world, for better and for worse, rests in the example it sets. As a consequence, U.S. domestic actions related to sustainability are likely to influence other countries as much as, and even more than, anything the U.S. does in the international arena. It is highly unlikely that the rest of the world can achieve sustainability without the active engagement of the United States.”

Dernbach leads a project that reviews sustainable development efforts in the United States and makes recommendations for future action.  He also writes and lectures on climate change and environmental law. He is the editor of Stumbling Toward Sustainability (2002) and Agenda for a Sustainable America (2009), which draw on experts from around the country.  In addition, he is the primary author of a classic text on legal writing.  A law professor on the Harrisburg, PA campus of Widener University, he previously served in a variety of roles at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, most recently as policy director.  He co-authored an amicus brief to the United States Supreme Court on behalf of 18 prominent climate scientists in the landmark climate change case, Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency. In September 2008, he was named one of three distinguished law professors at Widener University.

CONFERENCE PROGRAMMING
The Green Media Conference is focused on green, sustainable information technologies and communication solutions for the Enterprise, Publishers, Commer¬cial Print and Digital Media Professionals in Fortune 1500 companies, mid-size businesses, communication professionals, printers,
and federal, state, and local municipali¬ties along with higher education and nonprofit institutions.

With the theme of “Expanding Lean & Green Opportunities,” the 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.

For more information on conference program, visit: http://www.GreenMediaConference.com

NOTE: Images available online at http://www.greenmediaconference.com/press_center/image_resources.asp

About SustainCommWorld

SustainCommWorld is focused on educating communication professionals from corporations, institutions and government agencies how to develop sustainable green workflows and supply chains to lower their carbon footprint. SustainCommWorld currently produces major events including The Business of Green Media Conference in cooperation with the Cal Poly Graphic Communication Department and the Graphic Communication Institute at Cal Poly, and The Green Media Conferences.

SustainCommWorld staff consults with institutions and enterprises on issues related to sustainable communication – the production of sustainable media and the associated business challenges and opportunities that face the graphic arts community, enterprise marketers and those involved in media production. Senior executives are frequent speakers at conferences around the world.

To further spread their green message, SustainCommWorld produces a bi-monthly newsletter Green Media Newsletter, Communicate Green Radio, a radio show debuting next fall and sponsors GreenMediaConnect, a social networking site featuring forums, blogs and resources.  For more information visit, http://www.sustaincommworld.com

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# # #

Metaprinter founder and senior writer Robert Ivan (hey, that’s me) will be on location, live blogging via twitter and updating daily at this blog.  Email Robert to set up an interview or to showcase your innovative new product or service.  Readers are also encouraged to send me questions, comments, and suggestions: Robert at metaprinter dot com OR twitter.com/metaprinter.  Follow the #GreenMedia hashtag for event updates on Twitter.

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

RELATED:

News Media Innovation, Convergence and Sustainability – Interview with Don Carli

Tapella to Address the Government Printing Office’s Efforts Towards Green, Sustainable Media

Highlights:

1. The impact of the GPO’s efforts – and their 2000 affiliate printers – will set a new agenda for the printing industry.
2. Government agencies & independent printers will report their carbon footprint of their business and their products
3. Tapella will outline GPO’s plans in his keynote address at The Green Media Conference, June 9 in Washington, DC.

MERCER ISLAND, WA – April 9, 2009 – Lisa Wellman, CEO of SustainCommWorld announced today that Robert C. Tapella, Public Printer of the United States, will keynote their event, The Green Media Conference, June 9 in Washington, DC at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. Mr. Tapella will be discussing the role of the Government Printing Office (GPO) in greening the communications of the federal government, both print and digital. The keynote speaker for the June 23 Chicago conference will be announced shortly.

As the largest printer and buyer of print in the nation, the GPO’s approach to tracking its sustainability efforts will have a profound effect on the entire printing industry and throughout its supply chains, a vital element in accounting for the carbon footprint of communications. The role of GPO is evolving with the extensive use of the Internet for publishing and yet, few are tracking the environmental affects of “going digital.”

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

“As corporations and government agencies across the world move to green their operations, focus is now being drawn to the way they communicate – print, websites, emails, advertising, brochures, tradeshows and events – all are being scrutinized as the next big area for improvement in sustainability.

“This conference brings together thought leaders in sustainability with a focus on the graphic communication industry and marketing communications, their supply chains and relevant enterprise stakeholders to discuss, challenge, learn and drive implementation of best practices in the greening of media. As Conference Chair, I am gratified to have Bob Tapella as our Keynote Speaker in Washington as he is leading the way for the federal government to change to green sustainable media.”

Quote: Robert Tapella, Public Printer of the United States

“Business, government and society-at-large depend on print to a far greater degree than most realize.  The Graphic Communications industry faces a great opportunity in crafting the definition of sustainable printing and communications. There must be a vision for the entire systems lifecycle of what we produce and consume.  We all have to consider how we source raw materials, produce products and what happens to the products when consumers are done with them.”

Quote: Lisa Wellman, CEO SustainCommWorld

“The D.C. conference take it’s lead from the Government Printing Office and their aggressive plans to “green” the agency and educate the industry on what can be done. Having their support sends a strong message to all government agencies and their suppliers. This conference is vital for printers, print buyers and business communicators who will be required to comply with sustainability legislation in the years ahead.”

The Green Media Conference is focused on green, sustainable information technologies and communication solutions for the Enterprise, Publishers, Commer¬cial Print and Digital Media Professionals in Fortune 1500 companies, mid-size businesses, communication professionals, printers and federal, state, and local municipali¬ties along with higher education and nonprofit institutions.

With the theme of “Expanding Lean & Green Opportunities,” the 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 communication professionals who need the latest information to make sustainable advertising, printing and web decisions as well as analyze choices for businesses within their supply chains.

For more information on conference program, visit: http://www.GreenMediaConference.com

# # #

Metaprinter founder and senior writer Robert Ivan (hey, that’s me) will be on location, live blogging via twitter and updating daily at this blog.  Email Robert to set up an interview or to showcase your innovative new product or service.  Readers are also encouraged to send me questions, comments, and suggestions: Robert at metaprinter dot com OR twitter.com/metaprinter.  Follow the #GreenMedia hashtag for event updates on Twitter.

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

RELATED:

News Media Innovation, Convergence and Sustainability – Interview with Don Carli

Learn…

How Sustainability can save you money. What Sustainable products and services are available now. Why Sustainability gets you new business and helps retain current customers.  Check out Conference Program and Pre-Conference Workshop.

Keynote Speakers

Robert C. Tapella
As Public Printer of the United States, Robert Tapella brings extensive legislative experience, and an education and practical business background in graphic communications and printing management. He will address key trends, issues and realities in developing sustainable media supply chains.

Don Carli
Don Carli is Senior Research Fellow with nonprofit Institute for Sustainable Communication (ISC) where he is director of The Sustainable Advertising Partnership and other programs addressing marketing, advertising, corporate responsibility, sustainability, and enterprise communication. He is Conference Chair for all SustainCommWorld conferences. Don is also Sustainability Editor of Graphic Arts Monthly Magazine, and Consulting Editor of Aktuel Grafisk Information Magazine in Sweden.

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

RELATED:

News Media Innovation, Convergence and Sustainability – Interview with Don Carli

Don has been a leading researcher, author, educator and speaker addressing the sustainability of media supply chains for the last decade, and for over 25 years has been a respected media technology and marketing strategy consultant to major advertisers, agencies and publishers.

RI- Why are newspapers and other traditional publishers pushing the issue of eReaders as a communications medium when something like less than one third of one percent of the reading population of the United States owns these products? Is it a paper sustainability issue? Is it a cost issue? What’s the justification?

DC- Other than pushing the “cool” factor, one of the main selling points being made by marketers of eReaders is that they are greener than print. It is little surprise that the common view held by consumers who don’t know the backstory is that going digital means going green and saving trees. Many are in for a rude awakening. When subjected to “cradle-to-cradle ” Lifecycle Analysis eReading is not nearly as green as many naively assume it is.

There is no question that print media could do a better job of managing the sustainability of its supply chains and waste streams, but it’s a misguided notion to assume that digital media is categorically greener. Computers, eReaders and cell phones don’t grow on trees and their spiraling requirement for energy is unsustainable.

Making a computer typically requires the mining and refining of dozens of minerals and metals including gold, silver and palladium as well as extensive use of plastics and hydrocarbon solvents. To function, digital devices require a constant flow of electrons that predominately come from the combustion of coal, and at the end of their all-too-short useful lives electronics have become the single largest stream of toxic waste created by man. Until recently there was little if any voluntary disclosure of the lifecycle “backstory” of digital media.

Sadly, print has come to be seen as a wasteful, inefficient and environmentally destructive medium, despite the fact that much of print media is based on comparatively benign and renewable materials. In addition, print has incredible potential to be a far more sustainable medium than it is today… and a truly digital medium as well. Despite its importance to business, government and society, print has been cast in the role of a dark old devil in decline. Digital media has been cast as the bright young savior on the rise.

Ironically the future of digital media and eBook readers is likely to be based on flexible polymer electronics manufactured using printing presses rather than silicon semiconductor fabrication technologies. In fact, the next generation of eReaders will most likely be digital AND be printed. For example, major components of the soon to be released PlasticLogic eReader are printed flexible polymer electronics.

RI- What is the demand for eReaders now though?

DC: Well it’s a category that has been “emerging” for over 15 years. What one can say is that eReaders are once again capturing media attention and there appears to be significant latent demand for gadgets that can replace printed media, but mainstream adoption still remains years away. E-reader device sales and eReader content revenues are still rounding error in relation to print media revenues. In a survey of attendees at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair 40% predicted digital book content sales would overtake traditional printed book sales by 2018, but over 30% said digital content would never surpass traditional books sales, and 66% said they expect traditional books to dominate the market for the next decade.

We’ll likely see many fits, starts and failures with different products, media formats and business models over the next five years to ten years until someone hits on the sweet spot and develops a business model that supports the profitable creation of content as well as a system of commercially practical devices and a sustainable supporting infrastructure. One of the major problems is that people tend to be fixated on the announcements of cool new devices rather than on the development of business models and sustainable supply chain business ecologies.

For an example of what I mean, consider why Edison was successful. Edison didn’t invent the first electric light bulb, but he did develop the first commercially practical incandescent lighting system. It encompassed every aspect of the lighting lifecycle including not just the bulb but also a business model for a successful electric energy generation and distribution system.

I think a comparable challenge exists for eReaders. People focus on the eReader devices, but it’s not the invention of the coolest e-reader that matters most, it’s the availability of a sustainable business ecology that matters most. I don’t think traditional publishers or device manufacturers have yet identified that sweet-spot combination of content, medium and business model that’s required for e-readers to become mainstream.

Unfortunately many of the business models that drive media companies still have both the content and production/distribution aspects of the business intertwined. They are struggling to find ways to uncouple them and remain profitable. We saw companies like Kodak face the same challenge in trying to decouple the business of capturing and preserving memories from the business of selling analog film photography and photofinishing systems. They are still struggling with a profitable transition to the use of digital imaging technologies. Newspapers are likely to face similar problems trying to decouple newsgathering, journalism, creative and advertising from production and delivery in print to delivery via networked digital eReaders and handsets.

RI- What other examples of fundamental business model failure can you give me?

DC- Sure. One example is the failure to recognize the value of “waste” and the true cost of externalities like greenhouse gas emissions or water use. Print media value chains have become extremely complex and tend to cross-subsidize and institutionalize wasteful and inefficient flows of energy and materials. A case in point of institutionalized waste is the fact that more than 60% of magazines distributed to newsstands never get sold or read. Another example is the failure to consider the full lifecycle costs or carbon footprint of media. Newspaper publishers deliver newspapers but they don’t typically recover them and recycle them or use them as an energy source locally. Few if any know what the carbon footprint of their products are. Why is that?

Until recently, companies like Nine Dragons were shipping our waste paper half way around the world to make cardboard out of it, and then shipping it back to us as packaging which we were sending to landfills. Going forward, the carbon cost of print and digital media will no longer be swept under the rug. It will soon have to appear on the balance sheets of advertisers, publishers and retailers. It will also appear in the price tags of goods and services. The climate crisis is another market failure that is now coming to light.

Business models that fail to recognize full lifecycle cost and value will be unlikely to succeed going forward. As we exit the global recession we will simultaneously be transitioning to a low carbon global economy that will change the meaning and value of waste and inefficiency. As we do so, print will survive if it reconfigures its supply chains to use energy and materials more eco-efficiently and publishers will survive if they can decouple the message from the medium while meeting the requirement for “triple bottom” line results that are economically viable, environmentally restorative and socially constructive. The growing demand for sustainable business practices, lifecycle analysis and environmental product disclosure will impact eReader manufacturers and digital media companies as well.

I expect there will be new opportunities for sustainable digital printing and print on demand to compete with toxic eReaders and coal-powered digital media. I also think there will be exciting new opportunities for printed electronics to blur the categories of print and digital media. Ultimately both print and digital media will have to become more sustainable if either of them is to survive, and judgment of which is environmentally preferable or cost effective will increasingly be based on comparative lifecycle analysis, carbon footprints and environmental product declarations based on standards such as ISO 14040, PAS 2050 and ISO 14025. Sustainability science and the triple bottom line are becoming an increasingly important aspects of business and public policy decision-making. There is every reason to believe they will also become increasingly important in media business and policy decisions.

RI- What have you seen in other countries that sticks out in your mind?

DC- When you leave the Stockholm’s airport to get on the high-speed train to downtown Stockholm there are book vending machines! While some may choose to download content to a phone or eReader, for many a book, a magazine or a newspaper will continue to be preferred. One of the major challenges print needs to address is waste, and another is the customization of format and content. There is no technical barrier to replacing newsstands and vending machines with hard copy media output devices or “fabricators” that could produce customized or personalized books, magazines or other media objects on demand. That would be one of the ways print media could compete with the immediacy and customization potential of digital media while also eliminating newsstand distribution waste.

RI- Sounds to me like the future is looking digital.

DC- As I said earlier, the distinction between print and digital media will ultimately vanish. The media of the future will be digitally printed and printed digital devices.

RI- Will people still care where they get their news from?

DC- I don’t think people care so much about where their news comes from, but journalism… yes I believe they still care. Anyone can make news and anyone can report it, but journalism is different and that difference matters. For example, Twitter is fast becoming one the most important source of breaking news, but it isn’t journalism. I think a robust Fourth Estate capable of independent investigative journalism is essential. The first tenet of sustainability is having a political system that secures effective participation of its citizens in decision making. That is the role served by journalists and the media channels that deliver and store their content.

The capacity of our society to effectively participate in decision making is contingent upon our having sources of news, journalism and dialogue that represent a diversity of informed opinions as well as a diversity of textual, graphical and other content types. Likewise, the sustainability of our society is dependent upon the supply chains and media that carry that content being diverse and sustainable as well. While much of current media debate is about the future of journalism as the sea change shift to digital media is occurring, we need to recognize that our current digital media supply chains and media types are unsustainable before we kick print media to the curb and entrust our future to an ephemeral and uncertain digital media monoculture.

As publishers struggle to extricate themselves from the advertising business models that encumber them, we are likely to see them continue to trim editorial staffs and funding for investigative journalism. However we are likely to begin to see syndicates of content creators and journalists emerge who are independent of any particular distribution channel or media type. Spot.us is an example of how journalists may increasingly be directly supported by their audiences rather than by a publisher who is supported by advertising.

If the capital structure of traditional media cannot support the research and legal expenses that investigative journalism demands then those entrepreneurs will find other sources of funding for their efforts.

RI- So do you have to go to newspapers to get journalism?

DC- No, as I said, we’re already starting to see things like spot.us and syndicates, as well as entrepreneurial journalists operating outside of mainstream media advertising supported business models.

RI- Last question. What should I be asking you right now?

DC- The real question is “how can we encourage both advertisers and publishers to consider the sustainability of the media supply chains they depend on?” Whether they are print or digital, they consume energy, and neither are sustainable. Will they have to learn the way fish learn about the importance of water? Will they only be aware of it when it is gone?

Looking at Print media, we can basically agree that it is dependent on paper. The paper making industry in the United States is in tragic decline. We haven’t built a paper mill in the US for over 12 years and we’ve shut down hundreds of paper making machines. We’ve exported more waste paper than any other product. In fact waste paper is this country’s single largest export! The paper has gone primarily to China where it is recycled into cardboard and shipped back to us as containers and then ultimately devoted to landfill.

We’ve effectively put ourselves in a situation where in short order we may be as dependent on imported paper as we are dependent on imported oil. If we don’t address the strategic importance of an intact infrastructure for papermaking in the US we may not have print media in time because we won’t be able to afford the substrate to print it on. Hopefully the current administration’s focus on renewable energy holds promise for the reinvention of America’s papermaking industry.

Over the next 10 years we need to transition from making paper in outmoded papermills mills build by our grandparents to producing paper, fuels, energy and renewable chemical and pharmaceutical feedstocks in a new generation of integrated biorefineries.

Likewise we need to transition from printing methods that employ wasteful and inefficient mass production to those which employ leaner greener digital printing and printed electronics manufacturing that support mass customization and dematerialization.

Looking at digital media from the same perspective it is not economically or environmentally sustainable either. During 2006 energy consumption from data centers and servers consumed 61billion kilowatt hours of electricity. The consumption rate for data centers doubled from 2000-2006 and is set to double again in 2010. Additionally, e-waste now constitutes the most significant toxic waste stream in our landfills and it is the single largest toxic waste export. We are about to witness a veritable tsunami of toxic e-waste as people turn in their CRT TV’s and buy new HD digital sets to cope with the FCC’s analog to digital mandate.

RI- Ok, that wasn’t the last question. After you mentioned exporting toxic waste to other countries I’m wondering; what are the global implications of publishers switching to new media /new medium?

DC- Thinking that we can transition from books to ebooks, and satisfy the fundamental needs of all 6.7 billion people on the planet is a fallacy. We don’t have clean water in many countries, let alone 3G towers to feed our Kindle’s today’s newspaper news. 2 billion people don’t have clean water in the world. As publishers, advertisers, and consumers, we have to find ways to encourage development of both sustainable print and digital media supply chain management technologies. We need to reframe the issue. Today’s print vs. digital media debates are a zero sum game. Regardless of which media wins the war of words we all lose. The fact is we will need both print and digital media for many years to come and we need them to both become far more sustainable than they are today.

RI- Thank you for sharing your ideas with metaprinter regarding news media innovation, convergence and sustainability. When is your next upcoming conference and what can people learn there?

DC- SustainCommWorld’s next Green Media Conferences will be held on June 9, 2009 in Washington DC and on June 23 in Chicago. The Green Media Conference website has detailed program information on it and the Green Media Connect Social networking site is where attendees can network, blog and share information before during and after the events. In addition, I post news items and exchange tweets with the thousands of people who follow me on twitter each day. Thank you for taking time to speak with me about this important topic. I look forward to seeing you and your readers at the Green Media Conferences in June.

More about Don Carli’s work:

The Institute for Sustainable Communication was created to raise awareness of the issues and train the next generation of media and communication supply chain professionals. We do that through various non-profit education and outreach initiatives such as the Sustainable Advertising Partnership (www.SustainableAds.org) being developed in partnership with Ad-ID (www.Ad-ID.org) and our Students of Sustainability (www.SOSReach.org) programs. ISC also supports the SustainCommWorld LLC Green Media Conferences which were created to provide advertisers, media planners, media buyers, creative professionals, publishers and suppliers in the print and digital media supply chains with real world and virtual world forums where they can network, explore and forge sustainable print and digital media supply chains solutions. In addition, ISC is working with Fortune Custom Publishing to produce a special section to Fortune Magazine in the Fall of 2009 focusing on the ways in which sustainable print and digital media supply chains can be a powerful force in the effort to address our global economic recovery and the challenge of climate change.

Related Links:

http://www.greenmediaconference.com

http://www.greenmediaconnect.com/

http://www.twitter.com/dcarli

http://www.sustaincom.org

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