The hidden costs of sustainability inaction on print businesses today

When it comes to sustainability, we’re all part of a generation with a real opportunity to accelerate impactful change. As author and sustainability advocate, Robert Swan, puts it: “The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.¹” For businesses, it’s time to rise to the challenge.

It’s a powerful statistic that 73% of business leaders identify “becoming a truly sustainable and responsible business” as a top priority for their organization over the next three years,² showing that it’s no longer a niche nice-to-have but a mainstream expectation . However, although leaders are starting to take action, the scale of the challenge still elicits the need to act wiser, faster, and more responsibly. As well as the ethical and planetary cost of inaction, there’s a financial one too.

For print businesses, the danger of falling behind on sustainability ambitions can’t be overstated—and shouldn’t be overlooked. One in two global consumers rank a brand’s sustainability as a top five value driver in purchase decisions.³ They’re becoming more skeptical, too: Print businesses unable to substantiate their sustainability credentials will lose customers, and therefore profit and growth.

Added to this, the regulatory demands on print businesses are growing. Fines and sanctions now await companies who don’t take action in the right way. To meet compliance obligations there’s a need for supply chain transparency, upda ted product specifications (for example using eco labels, recycled content, and reduced packaging), and innovative new solutions such as recycling programs, sustainable packaging, or using ocean-bound plastics.

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