There's no better time than now to 'go green'

However, if anything, the recession should have meant that it shot up the priority list – simply because it makes good business sense.

As highlighted in this week’s special ‘Green Issue’, whether it’s switching to more eco-friendly fuels for your vehicles, improving the energy efficiency of your factory or putting your company through the seemingly onerous task of securing one of the green accreditations, the bottom line is that they should, well, improve your bottom line.

I accept the argument that right now many buyers are probably less interested in paying for the privilege to be seen to be green than they are in cutting costs, but that doesn’t negate the need for printers to green up their act, it should actually fuel it.

I’m not talking about sourcing greener-than-green paper stocks with more accreditations after their name than your typical hospital consultant, because if the buyers are not prepared to pay the premium then what’s the point? Especially when you consider that, with the exemption of those that involve the eviction of indigenous flora and fauna from ancient forests, all paper comes from sustainable resources and is eminently recyclable and therefore already has the greenest of credentials.

What I’m talking about is reducing and recycling waste, improving production and energy efficiencies, basically anything that fits the ‘small change, big difference’ mantra that is rolled out for anything from climate change to healthy eating.

Print already has a fantastic environmental story to tell, but there are a whole host of things that can improve your business and have the added environmental benefits. In fact, I would argue that undertaking any kind of green audit, whatever body it’s with – or even if it’s your own – will have a positive impact on reducing costs – and that’s the real measure of their success, not in terms of business won, but money saved.

And if, after the past few years, now’s not a good time to look at cutting costs and improving efficiencies, then I don’t know when is.