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It’s possible and necessary, but somewhat complicated.
Let’s start this column the very German “Mit der Tür ins Haus fallen” way, coming to the point without any further ado: You say your office, printing, document, workflow processes are sustainable; I say no, they are not.
There you have it. Very rude, I know. So, let’s start over again and take a walk down the Boulevard of Better Thoughts.
It is true, we all want to be “better,” leave a smaller carbon footprint, cause less impact on our environment, the environment of the future, of generations to come. And it’s the little things that count, no doubt. According to Merriam-Webster, sustainable means “of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged.”
Over the past decade, we’ve seen countless initiatives to create awareness and escape routes from our often appalling environmental behavior. Calculating the ecological footprint of print, reforestation to offset paper usage was among the first initiatives to get us out of what seemed a cul-de-sac. And managed print services certainly help with spreading the word throughout offices around the world and implementing first measurements to improve circumstances.
However, the more we are entering the digital office space (paper archives are now digital, giving costly real estate back to the market; paper documents have largely been replaced by digital communication), the more we have to start thinking in new dimensions for supply chain, furniture, and office lifestyle, for example.
Just because we print less, doesn’t necessarily mean our work life has become sustainable. Just ask yourself, did you go through a 360-degree change of your office culture? What about meals, coffee cups, disposable anything in your kitchen, cleaning supplies, toner, light bulbs, overall energy consumption, and last but not least, digital communication? Do we know what the impact of everything digital on the environment is and as it continues to grow will be? Where does all the electricity come from to make the internet work? We’ve never used more electricity than in 2018, according to the article “Total Electricity End Use in the U.S. from 1975-2018.”
What’s the effect of that document and data cloud we’re so happily using, or energy-eater No. 1, cryptocurrencies? And what about all the old IT “stuff” we just got rid of to start our new, low-carbon-footprint office life? Never mind our favorite gadget, the smartphone. Have you ever looked into the components and, more importantly, the sourcing and shipping processes of all those components? Not much sustainability there. (Yes, we have trade-in programs, but they, by far, can’t guarantee new phones can be built sustainably.) And the list goes on and on and on.
So, let’s despair, with head in the sand, and continue like there’s no tomorrow. No! Of course not!
We’re only at the beginning of what will be a long journey on a very bumpy road. It will be a road full of creativity, experiments, trials and errors, and ups and downs.
But we will be the pioneers, the ones that pave the way for future generations, the daredevils of beating old habits, never giving in to complacency, and easy-peasy, quick-and-dirty solutions. We will go down in history as the generation that brought back balance, creating work-life inclusion, work-life happiness, and sustainability, one sheet of paper at a time, one toner cartridge at a time.
On January 3, 2019, Vogue Italia published a sustainable issue. Please check out the letter from Emanuele Farneti, the editor-in-chief (both in Italian and English) at www.vogue.it. Vanessa, use the following address for the link on the website: https://www.vogue.it/moda/articles/vogue-italia-gennaio-editoriale-direttore.
How’s that possible, you may ask? For one, eliminate travel to locations just to get a few photos that will be heavily photoshopped afterward. Get a team of creatives to develop alternative ways to present cosmetics, fashion, lifestyle, etc. Use the latest printing, paper, and toner technologies for the hard copies. The Vogue editors around the world have signed a pledge to do better, waste less of everything. It’s not (yet) a perfect solution, it’s only one publication. But like the little steps we all take and the cultural shift we all hope to inspire, it is one piece in the ginormous puzzle we need to solve—every one of us, and all together as one team.
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