Ten ways to begin the green journey

Indian businesses are ignoring warnings arising out of the impact of global warming and climate changes studied by inter-governmental panel on climate change (IPCC), which in the long run could shrink sales and affect profit margins. These impact manifest in critical areas, and affect livelihoods and economies.

According to Anand Limaye, chairman of Maharashtra Mudran Parishad’s Institute of Printing Technology and Research, who hosted a green seminar on 17 September in Mumbai, "considering India’s growing share in total carbon emissions, a strong people’s movement, besides government initiatives, is needed to build awareness and action to reduce green house gases’ emission and to adapt and mitigate the impact arising from global warming."

Reports have predicted that if we do nothing to prevent climate change, our economy will shrink by 20%, but if we were to invest a fraction of our income on measures to minimise our environmental impact, we could reduce the pace of it happening.

The print industry has a greater environmental impact than most, and so it is likely to suffer more than most. Given these terrifying predictions, it is only the foolish or the ignorant who are failing to look at how to minimise their environmental impact. Here are some ways in which you can begin to do your bit.

Measure your impact
The old saying – what gets measured gets managed – is certainly true when it comes to environmental impact, and one of the first steps towards a greener business has to be working out your current impact.

Kiran Prayagi of pmIndia and a consultant to print companies, explains: "The three key areas to focus measurements on are, firstly, use of resources such as gas, electricity and water; secondly, waste management; and, thirdly, reduction of emissions into the atmosphere. Print plants should have environmental checks against production outputs every month. This will help monitor how they are doing at all levels and serves as a basis for further waste reductions."

Use environmentally friendly equipment
Avinash Kawadkar general manager sales, chemical business at TechNova, advises print firms to switch to chem-free thermal and violet CTP solutions.

He explains why the immediate benefit is the elimination of water and the chemistry involved in plate processing. You also eliminate the damage caused by manufacturing, storing, transporting and disposing of the chemicals, along with the energy costs of running the processor."

Chem-free is just one of the areas of print where improvements can be made. In the past few years, there has been a rapid improvement in the green credentials of print equipments and print firms looking for greener solutions now may well be surprised by the range available and how affordable it is.

Proper disposal of old IT equipment
Recycling is a major element in any greening programme. Recycling paper and materials is particularly important for print firms and many of them now do it very well. However, many companies forget to recycle their IT equipment.

According to the e-waste (management and handling) rules, 2011, notified by the government in May 2011, environmentally sound management of e-waste means taking all steps required to ensure that e-waste are managed in a manner which shall protect health and environment against any adverse effects, which may result from hazardous substance contained in such wastes.

The e-waste (management and handling) rules, 2011 will come into effect from May 2012. Under this law, certain types of IT equipment have to be treated as hazardous waste. According to the environment ministry, "These rules will apply to every producer, consumer and bulk consumer involved in manufacture, sale, purchase and processing of electronic equipment or components."

Environmentalists, however, says this should go beyond a legal requirement. Ethically disposing of old IT equipment can not only release significant value but also support an organisation’s environmental strategy.

Buy recycled paper
When it comes to paper, it’s not just what you do with it once it’s been used that counts. You should also buy recycled paper. Harshad Shah, past president of Federation of Paper Traders Association of India, says: "Technical developments have significantly improved the quality and performance of recycled papers so that they can compete effectively with virgin papers in the marketplace.

Buy renewable energy
Similarly, it is important to use clean energy from renewable sources. Laxmikant Deshpande, consultant and one who has worked on environment education with NGOs, corporate and government agencies for ten years, says, "As new international climate treaties come into force, India has to move to tap renewable energy sources and cap the carbon emissions. One of the nation-wide plans is to boost use of solar energy." 

The government of India promotes development of renewable energy through its fiscal policies, which include tax incentives. Navneet Publication in Ahmedabad, Gujarat has set up a windmill project in Kutch by which the company generates electricity, which is supplied to the Gujarat electricity corporation.

In return, Navneet is provided a rebate in electricity for its usage at its plant in Ahmedabad. The company receives payment for unused rebate. In spite of what Navneet has been doing, Navinbhai Shah of Navneet, is planning on installing more energy sources like solar panels. He says, "I understand that the printing companies are under increasing financial pressure and installation of energy source like the solar panels can be a little bit of investment, but print firms need to balance the benefits of demonstrating a strong environmental commitment against that extra cost."

There are other ways of reducing the pressure on electric consumption. Dev Nair of Kohinoor Printers has installed capacitors in his press and office. "The savings on electricity bills has been around 15-20%, and that’s huge," he says.

Implement green travel plans
Transport is one of the biggest contributors to climate change and it’s also one of those areas in which you can reduce your company’s impact easily and cheaply. For starters, if you issue company cars then consider options that are less gas-guzzling or even source machines that are capable of running on bio-fuels.

Another possibility is using the train rather than the car – although it may add time to a journey the damage caused to the environment by train travel is minimal. A further option is the introduction of a car sharing or a cycle to work scheme.

Cycle Chalao, is a bicycle sharing system launched in Mumbai and promotes use of bicycles in everyday commuting as an eco-friendly and healthier option for travelling. The programme which began at Mulund station in central Mumbai has spread to the western region, with the latest one operating from Bandra station. The programme hopes that in Mumbai, bicycles will become the main mode of transport despite the increasing number of cars.

Stop proofing on hard copy
Digital printing has helped many print firms become greener. However, Nitesh Mahendrakar, manager for pre-sales, colour solutions at RSG Solutions, points out that proofing remains one of the last bastions of waste and inefficiency.

He explains: "The industry’s latest monitor-proofing technology delivers consistently accurate on-screen colour using special LCD monitors, and provides a viable and cost-saving alternative to chromo proofs. We estimate that over one million proofs are created, couriered and ultimately confined to the waste bin every year. By becoming 100% digital, printers can green up through eliminating the waste of this material and the associated carbon emissions from the courier journeys."

Appoint an ‘environment champion’
There is clearly much to be done in this area, and so it is wise to appoint someone to lead your greening initiatives. Kiran Prayagi, consultant to print firms, says: "Senior management teams in the printing sector are increasingly convinced of the need to take action on environmental impact, but often, they lack the time to do anything about it. This is where appointing a resource efficiency champion can help."

He continues: "This champion should be an existing member of staff who has a personal interest in environmental issues and is keen to take on additional responsibilities in this area. The champion acts as an internal information point and provides leadership to get new activities off the ground."

Be truthful
Narendra Paruchuri, managing director at Pragati Group stresses the need for sincerity when it comes to green issues. Hyderabad’s print and packaging specialist, which has offices in India and New York, has joined the Verdigris environmental initiative as an associate member. The Group has been accredited by the PEFC (Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certication scheme) as well as FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) accreditation.

He says: "Never cheat, and always resist the urge to tell people what they want to hear just to tick the green box. I receive mails from printers that boast of new green measures that the firm had put in place. At times these mailers are laminated on both sides. This is the only process I know that renders paper impossible to recover for recycling and non-biodegradable. Let’s do our bit for the environment as a citizen of this world and not that it makes an USP."

Be ready to make hard decisions
Many print firms report that becoming greener has worked wonders for their sales and profits, and certainly it is always sensible to consider the business case. However, it would be wrong to make only those changes that produce a short term profit.

As the studies by IPCC has clearly pointed out, we all have a responsibility to act now to secure our long-term prosperity. In some cases that might mean taking tough decisions and making an investment in our future.





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