Speaking at Print Congress 2005 Cartwright (pictured) said there was a considerable amount of European Union (EU) legislation affecting these sectors on the horizon.
These included The EU Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme, environmental liability, chemicals policy, producer responsibility and the Eco-Label scheme.
The Eco-Label scheme is currently a voluntary label to encourage businesses to market products and services that are kinder to the environment.
Cartwright said that unless the industry could have an influence on setting the criteria for the scheme, then there could be costly and counter-productive consequences.
She said that the sectors had a huge potential for sustainable development, and wherever possible self-regulation needed to be maintained.
"The only sensible course of action is to get our house in order before we are forced to comply with costly and restrictive policies," she said.
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