Emerald’s Elastic Suite digital technology subsidiary, using scientific methodology provided by the Environmental Paper Network’s (EPN) Paper Calculator, has created the first ever estimate of the global environmental impact of printing B2B sales catalogs. The report covers the entirety of wholesale catalogs used by manufacturers to merchandise and sell their products to retail partners. Elastic is also providing a sustainability calculator powered by EPN’s Paper Calculator methodology for individual brand manufacturers to estimate the positive environmental impact when transitioning from printed to digital catalogs.
“Taking greater responsibility for the environmental impact of all aspects of manufacturing, including the printing of B2B sales catalogs, is becoming increasingly important to successfully combat climate change. Helping brands achieve higher levels of sustainability when marketing their products to retailers is at the core of our mission and values.”
– Josh Reddin, Emerald EVP, Elastic Suite
The report summarizes the estimated annual environmental impact across 16 key manufacturing verticals that rely most heavily on catalog printing when merchandising their broad and visual consumer product lines to wholesale buyers. These industries represent $6.2 trillion in annual global revenue and print an estimated 184.1 billion double-sided catalog pages, equal to 4,288 square miles of paper per year. The top five estimated environmental impacts for this quantity of printing using the EPN Paper Calculator and expressed in annual values are as follows:
Wood – Consumes 7.72 million US short tons of wood, equal to 46.3 million trees. The logging of this many trees disrupts 1,142 square miles of forest every year, a land area larger than the state of Rhode Island
Energy – Uses 56.4 trillion BTUs of energy, equal to 67.1 million residential refrigerators running for a year
Greenhouse Gas – Produces 21.8 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), equal to 3.95 million cars driven per year
Water – Uses 53.5 billion gallons of fresh water, equal to the use of 38.6 million residential clothes washers per year
Solid Waste – Produces 1.37 million tons of solid waste, equal to the trash created by 1.71 million people per year
*Environmental impact estimates were made using the Environmental Paper Network Paper Calculator Version 4.0. For more information visit www.papercalculator.org.
This report covers the collective environmental impact of B2B catalog printing for the following global manufacturing verticals: apparel, footwear, sporting goods, cycling, winter sports, outdoor gear, surf, handbag/purse, household cooking/appliance, cosmetics, auto parts/accessories, home décor, lighting fixtures, power tools, hardware and construction materials.
“Awareness is the first step leading to the necessary changes in corporate behavior and adopting a vision toward greener business practices. Elastic Suite is not only using our Paper Calculator to help create that awareness, but also provides actual technology solutions to ensure that the natural resource savings can be realized.”
– Kim Porter, Environmental Paper Network – North America
The easy-to-use Elastic Suite sustainability calculator is now available for brand manufacturers to estimate their own company’s environmental impact when printing wholesale product catalogs. Users simply input the number of double-sided catalog pages printed annually by their organization and the calculator will generate a comprehensive report that includes 24 key metrics using the Paper Calculator’s scientific methodology. A link to the calculator can be found here.
About Elastic Suite
Elastic Suite helps manufacturers, retailers and distributors adopt a more sustainable approach to B2B sales while achieving efficiency-driven cost savings and incremental sales growth. Sustainability and cost savings come through streamlined order entry, digital catalogs, resource optimization and inventory management. Increased sales revenues come through brand-specific retailer applications, sales rep tools, strategic sales planning, digital merchandising, product customization and assortment planning tools. Elastic’s next-generation B2B technology serves clients representing hundreds of the world’s largest and most iconic brands in the surf, outdoor, cycling, sporting goods, apparel, lifestyle and footwear industries. Selected brands served include: The North Face, Patagonia, K2, Thule, Marker, Dalbello, Völkl, Active Brands, Shimano, Boardriders, RipCurl, Volcom, O’Neill, Quiksilver, Vans, Scott Sports, New Balance, Puma, Reebok/CCM and Burton.
About Emerald
Emerald’s talented and experienced team grows our customers’ businesses 365 days a year through connections, content, and commerce. We expand connections that drive new business opportunities, product discovery, and relationships with over 140 annual events, matchmaking, and lead-gen services. We create content to ensure that our customers are on the cutting edge of their industries and are continually developing their skills. And we power commerce through efficient year-round buying and selling. We do all this by seamlessly integrating in-person and digital platforms and channels. Emerald is immersed in the industries we serve and committed to supporting the communities in which we operate. As true partners, we create experiences that inspire, amaze, and deliver breakthrough results.
About Environmental Paper Network
The Environmental Paper Network (EPN) is an international alliance of over 150 non-profit organizations working together towards the Global Paper Vision. This vision expresses our common goal to create transformational change in the pulp and paper industry and wider society, so that paper production and use contributes to a clean, healthy, just and sustainable future for life on earth. EPN-North America is a regional hub led by a Steering Committee that includes Canopy, Conservatree, Dogwood Alliance, Green America, NRDC, Rainforest Action Network, Re-nourish and Stand.earth. For more information visit environmentalpaper.org.
