Two Sides moves into Canada to promote the great environmental story of print and paper

Two Sides has carved out a presence in North America as a familiar advocate for the sustainability of print and paper. For those of you who don’t know us well, we are a non-profit which regroups companies from the graphic communications industry including forestry, pulp, paper, inks and chemicals, prepress, press, finishing, publishing, printing, envelopes and postal operators. Our common goal is to promote the sustainability of the industry and dispel common environmental misconceptions by providing users with verifiable information on why print and paper is an attractive, practical and sustainable communications medium.
 Two Sides North America (originally called Two Sides U.S.) was launched in 2012 thanks to the efforts of many early adopters including paper producers, merchants, printers, envelope manufacturers and printing equipment suppliers, to create a forum for members to work together and share experiences; improve standards and practices; and maximize customer confidence in our products. Our membership in the US and Canada continues to grow and now includes over 120 companies. Globally, we are operating in five continents and well over a dozen countries with over 1,000 members.
Several companies with a major Canadian presence have joined Two Sides, including Canon, Cascades, Domtar, the Envelope Manufacturers Association, Kodak, Port Hawkesbury Paper, Ricoh, Tembec and Unisource. In June this year, we signed a strategic long-term agreement with the Canadian Printing Industries Association (CPIA) to promote the responsible production, use and sustainability of print and paper products in the Canadian market. Since 1939, the CPIA has served the Prepress, Press and Allied Printing Industries in Canada, and acts as the collective body to represent the interests of its members. This agreement with CPIA is a great endorsement from the Canadian print industry and is the start of many developments needed to tell the great environmental story of print and paper in Canada, especially given Canada’s great record in sustainable forestry and environmental performance.
Challenging Misleading Green Claims
Globally, Two Sides is challenging misleading claims that electronic communications are more environmentally friendly than print and paper. This educational effort, launched in July 2012 in North America, originally engaged about 50 companies primarily in the banking, telecommunications and utilities industries. Today, discussions are underway with several more and 25 leading US Fortune 500 companies have now removed their “anti-paper” green claims being used to promote electronic billing and other e-services as a more environmentally-friendly solution than paper. These efforts were recently recognized by The Guardian in an article titled “Is Digital Really Greener Than Paper?” published on February 24, 2014.
Our campaign includes a few major Canadian banks who have been working with us to address our concerns and make modifications to their anti-paper messaging. It’s a long process, but our goal is to see fewer “go green – go paperless” or “save a tree” claims, and more people understanding the real facts behind print and paper – that it is based on a renewable resource, is highly recyclable, uses mostly renewable energy to produce, and stores carbon for its useful life, among other benefits.
Popular Resources
Two Sides offers many resources to help stakeholders support print and paper through proven facts, research and data. We have recently updated our web site at www.twosidesna.org and it is a thorough repository for fact-based information on the environmental and social benefits of paper-based communications. The “Our Most Popular Materials” section includes a customizable Myths and Facts brochure, several 2-page fact sheets on sustainability hot topics, our Ecographic and two videos. We encourage all Canadian companies in the graphic communications industry to follow our newsletter, join us on social media and consider a membership so that we can grow Two Sides in Canada.