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Green is a term that we hear a lot of these days – whether it is the post consumer waste content of our latte cup, the energy efficiency of the hybrid car we drive, or the separate recycle bins for glass, aluminum, and paper we see at the stadium. It can seem straightforward, but there is a lot to it - and a lot to consider when making environmentally-conscious decisions.
Basically, you can break down green products into 4 categories:
| Recyclable Recyclable items are those that are collected after their useful life and made into new products, which then have recycled content. There are two considerations in whether an item is recyclable: ► Is there a method or company in existence that CAN recycle it? ► How readily available is this facility, in practical terms? |
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| Biodegradable Biodegradable items are those that have the ability to break down by biological means into new materials of nature that disappear into the environment. There are two considerations in whether an item is biodegradable: ► Can it break down in a way that is safe to the environment? ► Can it break down relatively quickly? |
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| Recycled Content Items with recycled content are those that contain ingredients that have been through at least one cycle of use. There are three levels of recycled content: ► Primary- Recycled back into the original product (aluminum cans recycled into more cans) ► Secondary- Recycled into something different than the original product (cardboard recycled into paper) ► Tertiary- Recycled by being reprocessed and manufactured into products unlikely to be recycled again (car tires ground into playground surfaces) |
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| Earth-friendly manufacturing Items that are manufactured in an earth-friendly manner are those whose manufacturing does not produce any inorganic landfill by-products. No solvents, inorganic compounds, or Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) are used or emitted. There are two considerations in whether an item has earth-friendly manufacturing: ► Are compounds used to produce the item fully converted into the finished product? ► Are the compounds returned to nature without any measureable change from their native state? |
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Ecological Print Certifications
In the large-format print world, you hear about stocks being FSC certified. A building’s image décor may be LEED certified. What do these terms mean?
The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System™ is a third party certification program providing independent verification that a building project is environmentally responsible, profitable, and a healthy place to live and work. It is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high-performance green buildings. In a LEED certified building, materials that are part of it, including semi-permanent graphics, must follow LEED certification guidelines for content and treatment. For more information, go to www.usgbc.org.
FSC (Forest Stewardship Council U.S.) is a nonprofit organization devoted to encouraging the responsible management of the world’s forests, setting high standards that ensure forestry is practiced in an environmentally responsible, socially beneficial, and economically viable way. FSC-certified products, marked by the “checkmark and tree” registered Trademark, can be identified by labels that include FSC 100%, FSC Recycled, and FSC Mixed Sources. For more information, go to www.fscus.org.