In This Issue

You Should Know About: The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)

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Check out the "Business of Green Media Conference" we are presenting at Cal Poly this week.Special thanks to the Cal Poly Graphic Communication Department and the Graphic Communication Institute at Cal Poly.
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Peter Max continues a life time dedicated to support for environmental concerns and creates a special poster celebrating sustainability for Business of Green Media and SustainCommWorld - The Green Media Show attendees.
Peter Max Online

Lester Brown, author of Plan B, 3.0 and founder of the Earth Policy Institute has been chosen to Keynote The Green Media Show in Boston in October.
More about Lester Brown

Greetings!

Welcome to the first edition of the Green Media Newsletter. Our focus is to provide a monthly dish of sustainability - tasty enough to hold your interest, spicy enough to pass along and hearty enough to help fill your craving for solid news and ideas regarding sustainable communication and your bottom line.

Lisa Wellman, CEO, SustainCommWorld

Getting Started in Sustainability

Almost all considerations go through two steps; 1) Awareness and 2) Interest. If you are just starting as the "product champion of sustainability" gauging where your top management stands is critical to near and long term success.

Good, well-condensed information helps introduce the subject. Videos like Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" usually gets a favorable reaction without information overload or pushback. Andrew Winston and Dan Esty's book, "Green To Gold," takes a business perspective that illuminates bottom-line benefits within sustainability. For a global perspective of sustainability Lester Brown's book "Plan B 3.0" is an excellent and comprehensive global view and a well-informed call for action.

For shorter, highly condensed information articles in recent editions of National Geographic, issues from April '07, October '07, and January '08 take a tight focus on "Saving the Sea's Bounty" over-fishing, "The Carbon Crisis" about the scope of Green House Gasses problems and "Toxic Components of Discarded Electronics are ending up overseas" that covers toxic waste from electronic components.

The initial step that nearly all successful sustainability programs start with is a top-down buy-in and commitment from the Boardroom Level, the Chief Executive and many C-level Executives. Information and education here is vital.

Following the commitment phase, a written and published Sustainability Statement is called for. Many published Sustainability Reports contain a statement so there is a wide selection of examples readily available. A number of corporate sustainability reports will be available on our website by the end of February.

At this point it should be relatively clear who wants or needs to step forward to become part of permanent Sustainability Team, the group that will guide and evaluate progress. Take some time to evaluate how much required information you currently have in hand, what areas are sparsely covered, and areas where little or no background information exists.

From this initial collection of information plus a statement of current year objectives, write a plan and execute a formal Sustainability Audit.

We've created "Through the Media Lens" Version 1.0 a set of illustrations and information to guide you. Register to continue to receive the Newsletter and we'll send you the PDF at no charge. Register for Green Media Newsletter

The "New Colophon"

I first heard the word "Colophon" in the early days of desktop publishing. It was an addendum at the end of a book used generally to identify the names of the primary typefaces used, provide a brief description of the type's history, and a brief statement about its most identifiable physical characteristics. Adobe notably introduced this term as the title of their first newsletter. Many of us who were unfamiliar with the word "font," suddenly found a new awareness of type and type design. We looked to see what font was used and we learned.

Recently, with my raised consciousness about sustainable communication, I started looking for information on printed materials that would provide me with details about the printing method, the printing company, the kind of ink, paper and certifications that substantiated any "green" claims. Even our new business cards tell you they have 30% recycled content and 40% post-consumer waste with processed chlorine-free paper.

But look carefully, folks. There's a new game in town. It's called Make-an-Icon. Agencies are getting quite creative attaching colorful icons to pieces and frequently - they don't mean a darn thing! It's easy to attach an icon - but it's just as easy, in the 24/7 transparent world we live in, to find out if there's a real certified product or service behind the icon. And, it's easy to get "outed" for green-washing. Better no icon than one that means nothing.

You Should Know About: The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)

More than 1,200 companies enterprises have utilized a formal framework for reporting their Sustainability efforts. This framework, now in its third iteration was created by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), an Amsterdam-based nonprofit organization comprising business, government, social advocacy, and other stakeholders.

The GRI framework has brought increasing levels of rigor to the practice of sustainability reporting by providing guidance on everything from how to craft a broad statement of strategy to information on specific performance indicators in six comprehensive categories (from environmental issues to human rights to product safety) that might be included.

A sustainability report can be thought of as an environmental-impact statement for the entire corporation, with "environment" defined not only in terms of natural resources and climatological effects but also the economic and social impacts of labor practices, charitable endeavors, and governance structures. For futher information go to http://www.globalreporting.org/Home

Please share your information.
A valuable article, report or website can help all enhance our knowledge and make a difference in our industries and our communities. Send your input to terry@sustaincommworld.com.

    Terry Wellman, Editor                                                   SustainCommWorld - The Green Media Show                 terry@ SustainCommWorld.com
     206 275 9992

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