Industry Giants Join Cal Poly Green Media Conference as Sponsors

SAN LUIS OBISPO -- The graphic arts industry continues to rally around sponsorship of “The Business of Green Media” sustainability conference to be conducted by Cal Poly and SustainCommWorld on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2009.

The conference is being highly supported by printers and press manufacturers, traditional and digital, according to Harvey Levenson, head of Cal Poly’s Graphic Communication Department. The latest sponsors of the second annual sustainability conference are RR Donnelley and manroland.

Additional Sponsors include AdMail, Heidelberg, HP/Indigo, Kodak, Utah Paperbox and Cal Poly’s College of Liberal Arts. Media sponsors include Graphic Arts Monthly and Recharge Asia Magazine. The Gravure Association of America is an association sponsor. Others sponsorships are pending, Levenson said.

RR Donnelley has been a long standing advocate of sustainability, with 15 of its U.S. printing facilities achieving Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) chain of custody certifications. Through a “reduce-reuse-recycle” model, RR Donnelley’s printing processes and products reflect a commitment to environmental conservation and protection.

"Resource sustainability has long been a priority throughout RR Donnelley's global operations, and we are proud to support Cal Poly's efforts to heighten industrywide awareness of this issue,” said Chief Operating Officer John Paloian.

Conference sponsor manroland Inc., North America, has also long been focused on environmental issues. “Since the 1980s, environmental management has been central to our press manufacturing process,” said Roland Ortbach, vice president of Corporate and Commercial Web Sales. “We have received awards for manufacturing achievements, including the 2007 Highlight Award from the Hessian Environment Alliance for the reduction of energy consumption. We continue to provide awareness of sustainability in press manufacturing and are committed to providing technology that eliminates waste in the printing process.”

Cal Poly's Levenson said, “This conference is shaping up to be truly unique and will address issues of interest to the commercial printing industry, its vendors, and the inkjet and toner industry. As inkjet and toner becomes increasingly used in commercial printing, sustainable practices become increasingly important. Print buyers want to deal with vendors that address sustainability. This conference will help companies achieve such visibility.”

The conference will explore the state of the graphic arts industry regarding sustainable products, certifications and solutions, carbon footprinting, life-cycle analysis of print and digital media, sustainability dashboards, environmental management systems, lean green media, chain of custody and EcoLabels, sustainability reporting and business practices, marketing of sustainable print solutions, and what lies ahead on the horizon. The conference will also address local, statewide and federal government regulations and provide advice on compliance.

After the conference a “sustainability banquet” will be held at the Embassy Suites in San Luis Obispo. Banquet speaker Roger Ynostroza was the editor-in-chief of Graphic Arts Monthly for over 30 years and is now editor of Gravure Magazine.

For information on becoming a conference sponsor and on sponsor benefits, contact Lyndee Sing of the Graphic Communication Institute at Cal Poly at 805-756-2645 (lsing@calpoly.edu) or Harvey Levenson at 805-756-6151 (hlevenso@calpoly.edu).

Registration for the conference begins Wednesday, Oct. 15, at www.BusinessOfGreenMedia.com. For information regarding registrations, contact Kathleen Kaiser at SustainCommWorld, 805-524-6970 (Kathleen@BusinessOfGreenMedia.com).

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About Cal Poly's Graphic Communication Department and Institute

Cal Poly's Graphic Communication Department (www.grc.calpoly.edu) was founded in 1946 and is one of the largest and best-known programs of its kind in the nation. The department includes concentrations in printing and imaging management, electronic publishing and imaging, design reproduction technology, graphics for packaging, and individualized study. The program is strongly supported by industry with equipment, supplies and software for the department's more than 33,000 square feet of modern laboratories. The Graphic Communication Institute at Cal Poly (www.grci.calpoly.edu) focuses on services for industry, including research, testing, product evaluations, consulting, seminars, workshops and conferences.

About SustainCommWorld

SustainCommWorld is focused on educating communication professionals from corporations, institutions and government agencies about developing sustainable green workflows and supply chains to lower their carbon footprint. SustainCommWorld produces two major events: The Business of Green Media Conference in cooperation with Cal Poly’s Graphic Communication Department and the Graphic Communication Institute at Cal Poly, and The Green Media Show, a conference and expo in Boston. For more information go line to www.BusinessOfGreenMedia.com.