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Articles in this category:  29.09.2009 // Print Media Group lounge event in European Parliament demonstrates sustainability of paper and print
click to close Ten Brussels-based liaison offices of EU-wide associations linked to paper and print media set up a media lounge event in the European Parliament titled “From paper to publishing – creating value for Europe” on 29th September. The event, hosted by MEP Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, included a panel debate with stakeholders where current issues were highlighted in the areas of responsible sourcing, sustainable production, effective recycling and waste management.
The moderator, Peter Phippen of BBC Magazines, asked speakers to highlight the key issues of the sector and how the industry works to reduce its environmental impact. Mr Magnus Hall, President of CEPI, highlighted that the paper industry has come a long way in reducing energy consumption and costs, but future innovations will allow further improvements. As emphasised by MEP Satu Hassi, the Greens, the industry however has a reputation of being very traditional and needs to demonstrate its innovative ability more in the future.
Other topics discussed were illegal logging, carbon footprint and water consumption. Illegal logging causes problems for all parts of the value chain, and the industry welcomes regulations to combat it. Any regulation needs however to be flexible enough not to have the opposite effect, making access to legal wood more difficult. Mr Rainer Litty of WWF highlighted during the panel discussion the importance of forest certification to ensure a sustainable industry.
Measuring the carbon footprint of printed products is another increasingly important issue. Several sectors in the print media value chain have set up measurement tools for companies. The panellists confirmed the important role of the industry to achieve the target of the European Union to reduce its carbon emissions. An important task for the industry is also informing customers of how their choices can reduce environmental impact. Also in the panel were Håvard Grjotheim, President of Intergraf, Mr Rick Stunt of Associated Newspapers Ltd and Mr Timo Mäkelä of the European Commission. Further details on responsible sourcing, sustainable production, effective recycling and waste management in the industry were presented to attendants in a briefing paper by the organisations in the Print Media Group.
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