drupa,  No. 1 for print and crossmedia solutions, will renew its long-term cooperation with the Media Mundo industrial action group. As in 2011 and 2012, drupa will act as cooperation partner of the 5th Media Mundo congress to be held on November 17 (discussion on the evening before the event) and November 18, 2014 (all day) in Düsseldorf, Germany. This year, the congress will focus on the topic “Rethink sustainability – economic motivation for sustainable media production”. The lectures will be held in German only.

In contrast to the themes of previous years, which concentrated on ecological behavior, the 5th Media Mundo congress will look into an equally important sustainability aspect: economy. Particularly affected by the current economic situation and faced with the challenge of having to consolidate its market position, the printing and media industry is looking for practical measures and the required initiative. The congress is supported by the WWF and the FSC as NGO partners, Antalis (Europe’s leading wholesale group for communication media), IGEPA (one of the leading paper wholesalers in Europe) and the Swedish SCA group.

Werner M. Dornscheidt, President and CEO of Messe Düsseldorf, underlined drupa’s commitment to this subject: “The issue of green printing and sustainability across the entire process chain will be one of the focal points of drupa 2016. The aspect of sustainability has become a major concern of brand owners all over the world, and they expect their printed communication to adhere to “green” standards. This is a challenge for the industry and printing service providers, and they are well advised not to veer from the path that they have already chosen.”

Green printing has also become an important selling point. In the first “drupa Global Trends Report” (February 2014), 48% of all printing service providers reported that they used certified paper to accommodate customer requirements. Another 37% operate a sustainable waste management system and 33% are committed to a certified environmental management system.

“Economic production is an important motivation for achieving a sustainable media production, and as such it generates important effects of ecological sustainability. Economy is the cornerstone of competitiveness – an issue that has become more important than ever before”, stated Rüdiger Maaß, Managing Director of the Association of the Media Production Industry. The 5th Media Mundo congress will deal with topics such as “The effects of process optimization”, “Energy efficiency” and “Standardization”. International experts from science, environmental associations, politics and the industry will engage in a critical discussion about the current situation and possible scenarios for the near future. Pioneers of sustainable media production will illustrate practical solutions as well as problems and unexpected challenges they encountered.

Keynote speaker Dr. Daniel Dahm, member of the Club of Rome, will present a paper on the “The conflicting areas of global overshoot”.  Dr. Dahm is a founding member of the Utopia foundation and the “Oekosoziales Forum Deutschland” (German eco-social forum) and is also a member of several non-profit organizations. He has become internationally acclaimed due to his contribution to the Potsdam Manifesto of 2005. This paper explores the root causes of the current crisis and suggests a radical and far-reaching re-orientation for the future of human development. Renowned scientists from all over the world have already signed this manifesto.

The 5th Media Mundo congress will also include the following speakers:

• Dr. Meike Gebhardt (Utopia AG): “How much sustainability do consumers want?”
• Uwe Lübbermann (Premium Cola): “Marketing with potential for the future”
• Peter Jeschke (GC Graphic Consult GmbH): “Sustainability in printing”
• Alexander Rossner (zukunftswerk eG): “Communicating sustainability” (strategic tasks, practical advice and the argument of “benefit“)
• Michael Müller (IPM): “Wasting resources leads to economic ruin” (top ten of the most striking action areas for printing service providers and purchasers of printed products).

Congress tickets for f:mp members and participants  of former Media Mundo congresses cost EUR 195 and EUR 295 for non-members. Members of FSC, Forum Corporate Publishing and the “Initiative Pro Recyclingpapier” will be charged EUR 245. Ticket price for the discussion on the evening before the congress can be purchased for EUR 50. Congress tickets purchased before August 31, 2014 will be discounted by EUR 50. For more information about the congress, visit http://www.mediamundo.biz/kongress/kongress2014.

For information on visiting or exhibiting at drupa 2016 (May 31 - June 10, 2016 in Düsseldorf, Germany), contact Messe Düsseldorf North America, 150 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 2920, Chicago, IL 60601. Telephone: (312) 781-5180; Fax: (312) 781-5188; E-mail: [email protected]; Visit our web site http://www.mdna.com