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Likewise, paper statements are becoming more sustainable, one print shop at a time. Breakthroughs like such inkjet printers that use less energy, paper with less environmental impact, and mail optimization systems that mean more efficiency in the mailroom are helping to reduce waste at all levels.

Consumers interested in making more sustainable choices need real world comparisons in the same way calorie displays at fast food outlets can help us make sensible eating decisions. If businesses and consumers alike knew the real environmental costs of the communications they sign up to receive and send, they could subsequently be better educated to make the right choice when it comes to impacting the environment.

Changes for Good

Traditionally, an inefficiency for statement printers has been the need to heat paper in order to melt the toner into it, which includes heating the disused white space around text, for example on a statement. Switching to an inkjet printer that uses less energy by only drying the paper for the amount of ink that is actually used is one change for the better taking place across the print industry.

Beyond energy, print shops can use paper with recycled content, a lighter weight or made with mechanical pulp, which uses half as many trees as traditional paper. And always using paper with Chain of Custody certification helps ensure it comes from sustainable forests.

Mail also has a significant environmental impact and can be optimized by “address cleansing” to reduce returns, postal code sorting, combining statements for households, and even the innovative idea of reusable envelopes.

The promotional inserts that are often included with traditional statements are increasingly being replaced with promotional material that is printed directly on the white space of the statement as an “onsert.” This technique can reduce the amount of paper mailed per statement, drastically lowering each statement’s negative environmental impact. This new approach is known as TransPromo.

TransPromo creates a smarter statement that offers increased relevance and more targeted communications, while generating less waste. In a pilot test, the amount of paper used for a statement with inserts was reduced by 40 percent, or 10 tons per million statements. TransPromo also reduces inventory waste by printing the statement background and the promotional material on demand. More relevant onserts also start to shift consumer perception by making promotional mail worth opening, while delivering higher response rates for businesses.

So as consumers change their habits so to is the industry. Yet not all of those choices we think are immediately “green” or will help, actually are. Today’s businesses need to take a long hard look all the way down the sustainability chain to ensure that “going green” is not just another marketing statement, rather a commitment to making a long lasting and sustainable difference.

Joe Czyszczewski is the chief sustainability officer for InfoPrint Solutions Co.