SELL

108 | L&L
CORPORATE CULTURE
Sustainable
management
MANAGING the environment has become critical, writes Mike Fairley
Despite all the environmental
information resources now available,
all too frequently the message from the
label producer seems to be either that
their customers are not demanding
a sustainability program, or it is too
expensive to comply with the many and
changing environmental performance
requirements coming through from
governments, retailers and branded
goods companies. Well, that is all now
changing rapidly. The ‘Environment and
Sustainability’ issue is now fast rising to
the very top of the converter’s agenda.
Brand owners and label buyers are
building in the use of sustainable
materials as part of their buying process.
Many are making zero waste to landfill
part of their 5-year or 10-year strategies.
Others are looking to include topics such
as carbon footprint and lifecycle analysis
into their buying plans.
Put together and done well the
majority of target aims for a label
converting business to become more
environment and sustainably conscious
in the way it works and operates, are
almost identical to its targets aims of
becoming more profitable. That is, to
reduce energy, reduce waste, reduce
production costs, minimise set-up time,
reduce water consumption, reduce fuel
and vehicle costs.
If they can also reduce their wasteto-landfill
disposal costs, obtain
LABELS&LABELING
money from sending filmic materials
for recycling, generate energy from
solar panels, return or re-use incoming
packaging, recycle left-over ink, etc,
then that is an added bonus. In simple
terms, being an environmentally
conscious label converter is a means to
being a profitable label converter. Surely
that’s what everyone aims to be?
Let’s take label materials selection
and usage as just one area where
implementation of an environmental
management policy can pay particular
dividends. This label substrate is one of
the key elements that the end user pays
for and, not unnaturally with today’s
global environmental pressures, has
also been coming under increasing
pressure to be seen as ‘greener’, more
sustainable and easier to dispose of.
Today, major label user organizations
– the brand owners, retail groups,
consumer products manufacturers,
etc – are increasingly presenting their
label suppliers with environment or
sustainability assessment documents,
with requirements for materials efficiency,
for the use of responsibly sourced raw
materials (made in an efficient, ethical
and environmentally responsible way),
for third-party certified (CoC) materials
supply chains, transparency about where
and how materials have been produced
and on the handling and disposal of
materials waste.
AD INDEX
AB GRAPHIC 36
ALPHASONICS 74
ANDERSON EUROPE 30
ARMOR 93
AVERY DENNISON
IFC
BERHALTER 84
BLUESTAR SILICONES 32
BRIGL & BERGMEISTER 91
BRUSHFOIL 13
CMR MACHINERIES 93
DAETWYLER CORPORATION 86
DIEHARD DIES 99
EDALE 22
EFI JETRION
OBC
ELECTRO OPTIC 66
FOCUS LABEL MACHINERY 12
GALLUS 62
GEW 66
GRAFOTRONIC 65
HARPER CORPORATION 74
HOLFELD TOOL & DIE 97
HP 40
IGT 46
INFINITY FOILS 39
INTERCOAT 47
ISYS 83
K2 INTERNATIONAL 86
KARLVILLE DEVELOPMENT 71
KOCHER & BECK 1
KURZ TRANSFER PRODUCTS 15
LABEL SUMMIT AFRICA 69
LABELMEN MACHINERY
IBC
MACDERMID PRINTING SOLUTIONS 6
MARK ANDY 86
MARTIN AUTOMATIC 76
MPS SYSTEMS 27
MUHLBAUER 64
NILPETER 35
NUOVA GIDUE 24
OKI PRINTING SOLUTIONS 3
OMET 16
ORTHOTEC CHAMPION CREATION 59
PANTEC 60
RE SPA 74
RITRAMA 23
RK PRINT COAT INSTRUMENTS 66
ROTOMETRICS 8
SEKISUI 85
SEN & HAOTIAN MACHINERY 38
SERLEM 28
SMOOTH MACHINERY 43
SOHN MANUFACTURING 60
SPARTANICS 97
SPILKER 94
STORK PRINTS 49, 50, 54
TAILORED SOLUTIONS 65
TECH CELL 71
TESLIN SUBSTRATE 19
TRANSAM INDUSTRIES 79
UPM RAFLATAC 2
UVITERNO 92
VETAPHONE 71
WEIFANG DONGHANG 76
XEIKON 20
ZELLER & GMELIN 79