I attended the CRO Conference this morning at the Union League Club in downtown Chicago. The CRO Conference dubs itself as the "only event dedicated to increasing the professional capacity of the newest corporate leadership role—the Corporate Responsibility Officer."

The opening panel at the conference was a discussion on "Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability in the Paper and Printing Industries and its Big-Time Impact on You" moderated by Don Carli, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Sustainable Communications which featured Lewis Fix, Business Director for Domtar's EarthChoice products ; Scot Case, VP, TerraChoice Environmental Marketing; Marcelo Michelsohn, VP Sustainable Development at LaSalle Bank; and Liza Murphy of the Rainforest Alliance.

The panel discussion provided a high level look at the effect the printing industry and paper industry have on the environment. The discussion was primarily centered on the paper industry, but the environmental impacts of printing processes were also briefly discussed. 3rd party certification of materials and processes was also highlighted as an important step in providing sustainability communication. Domtar's Lewis Fix noted that media buys should look for 3rd party certified materials when making purchasing decisions to minimize exposure to greenwashing activity.

Certification among print service providers is growing. Liza Murphy from the Rainforest Alliance pointed out that one year ago there were only 400 printer providers with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification. Four months ago, that number doubled to 800, and today there are 1,200 print service providers with FSC certification.

Each panel member was asked to give one tip on how to transition to sustainable communication. Fix of Domtar said to start small, don't try to do everything at once. Rainforest Allianc's Murphy said to start by using FSC-certified paper products. Scot Case TerraChoice Environmental Marketing advised to understand greenwashing. LaSalle Bank Michelsohn said engage with your suppliers to find sustainable solutions. Good words of advice for corporate communication buyers and print service providers alike.

Printing industry analysts and consultants talk about consultative selling as strategy to sell more products and services and this strategy certainly holds true for selling green print. Print service providers that have implemented sustainable operations can assist existing and potential customers move to more environmentally friendly and sustainable communication methods.