We haven't focused on green marketing/ corporate policy issues much of late but a recent post over on the Environmental Paper Boy (EPB) raised some interesting questions in these areas.
The piece focused on publisher Simon & Schuster's announcement last week of a new corporate policy related to their paper use. Being a leading book publishing company their actions in regards to paper are important since they use so much of it.
Josh at EPB found the company's new policy to be a "joke" and was highly critical over the conditions the company set on some of their green goals outlined in the plan. While the EPB site clearly has a more green slant to the issues it covers - the piece raises some interesting questions.
In a period when just about every aspect of corporate America is trying to "go green" is it helpful or hurtful to publish a policy that really doesn't seem to accomplish all that much?
Or is Simon & Schuster's policy actually a realistic paper usage policy and we are so heavily inundated with greenwashing and green claims these days that as a result their policy seems insignificant?
Is the fact Simon & Schuster is making an attempt to increase the amount of FSC certified paper they use to 10% by 2012 (with three conditions applied to it) something to highlight or has such an action already become a norm or minimum standard in assessing greenness these days?
Its an interesting question and one with much relevance to the packaging industry. When store brands like Target's Archer Farms Organic are using FSC certified Mixed Source paperboard packaging doesn't that establish a baseline?
So if another company comes out with a sustainable packaging policy that stipulates in five years they plan to convert 10% of their paperboard packaging to FSC certified Mixed Source paper - its not all that impressive. Others in the industry are doing it and have been for a while.
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Hi Rider,
Thanks for the interesting post. I also posted this story on Eco-Libris on our blog (http://ecolibris.blogspot.com/2007/11/simon-schuster-goes-green.html), including some questions of my own on the new policy. But all in all, I think this is a positive move in the right direction.
Firstly, I would like to point out that Simon & Schuster works on this policy together with The Press Initiative, one of the most respectful organizations in the area of sustainable reading. So, when this kind of organization is involved in the process, there's a very good chance that we're facing a real change and not just greenwashing.
Second, It's true that the new policy has some questionable loopholes, but I try to look at the big picture and what I see is an improvement in the impacts of S&S on the environment. For example, the move towards using 25% recycled paper on 2012, which is supposed to save approximately 483,000 trees annually and reducing greenhouse gases by nearly 85 million pounds. This is not enough, but definitely one step forward.
Third, speaking of packaging, we cannot ignore their goal in this area: "By the end of 2007 and going forward, all Simon & Schuster shipping cartons will be made exclusively from 100% recycled post-consumer waste, subject to availability. Cartons supplied by our manufacturers are made from a significant percentage of recycled fiber."
I think that the bottom line is that S&S should be judged by their actions and their ability to meet their goals. Still, setting up these goals, which are still far better than those of most of the other publishers deserves appreciation. They can definitely do better, but again it's still a step in the right direction.
Best regards,
Raz Godelnik
Eco-Libris
http://www.ecolibris.net/
raz@ecolibris.net
Posted by: raz | November 15, 2007 at 08:45 PM