Recently, a question has been dogging me. “If I did an Internet search, how many printers could I find who use 100% wind power?” This afternoon, I decided to find out. I used a combination of search words and found a lot of printers I knew about, but also found many I didn’t.
There are two ways printers can use 100% wind power. They can purchase wind power from their utility companies directly. Or, if their utility company doesn’t directly purchase wind power, they can purchase Renewable Energy Credits from the company, which essentially has the same effect.
Here are the printing companies I found who use one or the other to purchase 100% of their energy use from wind. What’s interesting is that many of these companies’ commitments to wind power are not recent. Many of the announcements go back to 2006, and in the case of EcoPrint, it’s been using 100% wind since 2003.
- Johnson Printing & Packaging Corporation, Fridley, MN (its efforts, it claims, are the equivalent of planting 123 acres of trees)
- Sandy Alexander, Clifton, NJ
- PrintingForLess, Livingston, MT
- Monroe Litho, Rochester, NY
- Curtis Packaging, Sandy Hook, CT
- EcoPrint, Silver Spring, MD
- EnvirofriendlyPrinting.com, Northeastern Co, near Peetz
- GreenerPrinter.com, Berkley, CA
- Arizona Lithographers, Tucson, AM (the equivalent of taking 163 passenger cars off the road per year)
- CPS Printing & Cordius Group, Carlsbad, CA
- MOSAIC, Cheverly, Maryland (also 100% carbon neutral)
- Herron Printing & Graphics, Gaithersburg, MD
Like this post? See all of my “Greening Print Marketing” posts.
Click here for the updated and expanded list (2/27/09).
Photo: Courtesy of Curtis Packaging
This is a very interesting topic, and not just related to printers, but as it concerns all businesses. To what extent can we foster the increase use of alternative energy generation by making the conscious choice to support such initiatives via business decisions?
What if all companies made the decision to only purchase green energy. The added cost would filter into their products, which might translate to a few additional cents, but the effect on the environment would be huge.
This is a very interesting topic, and not just related to printers, but as it concerns all businesses. To what extent can we foster the increase use of alternative energy generation by making the conscious choice to support such initiatives via business decisions?
What if all companies made the decision to only purchase green energy. The added cost would filter into their products, which might translate to a few additional cents, but the effect on the environment would be huge.