What PSPs Need to Know about Sustainability to Stay Competitive

By Ashley Roberts

The following article was originally published by Printing Impressions. To read more of their content, subscribe to their newsletter, Today on PIWorld.

“Leave the world better than you found it. Take no more than you need. And if you ever do harm to the environment, make sure that you make amends.”

Sara Osorio, EHS affairs coordinator, PRINTING United Alliance, opened the recent “Decoding Sustainability Regulations: What Printers Need to Know” webinar by explaining the basic tenets of sustainability. She put this in context of how sustainability regulations impact the printing industry and what print service providers (PSPs) need to do to meet those regulations, while also describing the overall benefits of implementing more sustainable practices into a business.

“ Sustainability has been a nice thing to do, but it's becoming something that you must do at this point,” she said. “Different types of laws and policy are going to be things like greenhouse gas emissions limits and reporting and extended producer responsibility, or EPR, for paper and packaging.”

She did point out that there has been regulatory rollbacks under the Trump administration, including the shift to a 10:1 regulatory freeze, meaning for every one new regulation, 10 need to be taken off the books, an increase from the first Trump administration that instated a 2:1 requirement.

One of the most talked about topics in sustainability is greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting, something which California has been leading the conversation on in the past two years.

“ California passed three landmark pieces of legislation,” Osorio said. “The first one, SB-253, requires companies of $1 billion or more in revenue to disclose their scope 1, scope 2, and scope 3 emissions. Even though this isn't directly going to impact a lot of printing facilities, because that revenue threshold is so high, it includes scope 3. Scope 3 emissions include emissions in the supply chain. Printers are part of virtually every single supply chain and they should expect their customers who are doing any sort of business in California and are meeting that revenue threshold to start asking them for greenhouse gas emissions so that they can report that themselves.”

Osorio also pointed out SB-261, which won’t impact most PSPs, is also part of the equation and addresses climate-related financial risks and mitigation. Finally, AB-1305, which impacts companies of any revenue size.

“ The law says that if you are operating in any form in California, even if you're just selling to California or purchasing anything from California, and you make any sort of claims about being carbon neutral, reducing your carbon emissions, or you're using carbon offsets, you're going to have to report on that and show proof that you are reducing your emissions,” she explained. “Show that you are talking the talk and walking the walk.”

Although California is the focus, there is similar legislation being considered in New York, Illinois, and Colorado.

On this note, Osorio delved into the impact of greenwashing and the rise in lawsuits challenging green claims.

EPR and Banned Materials in the Spotlight

Five states (Maine, California, Colorado, Oregon, and Minnesota) have already passed extended producer responsibility (EPR), some with exceptions, with Maryland in the final stages of it being passed, and five additional states (New Jersey, Washington, Illinois, and Massachusetts) considering the legislation.

“ Extended producer responsibility is a policy that puts the responsibility or the burden of managing waste on the producer of the waste,” Osorio explained.

She also pointed out the ongoing proposed bans on materials, including Carbon Black, single-use materials, PFAS/PFOS, iCPBs, and microplastics in products. Osorio noted that efforts from PRINTING United Alliance has rectified or stagnated some of these bans effectively.

In an effort to stay ahead of regulations, Osorio spent some time reviewing regulations in Europe, which she noted, tend to eventually make their way to North America.

Benefits of Sustainability

Regulations and legislation aside, there are additional benefits to implementing more sustainable practices into a printing business. Osorio points out four specific benefits:

Brand image
Customer loyalty
Cost savings
Compliance

“Sustainability is not a market-driven phenomenon,” she said. Yes, she explained, customers are driving the changes, but with added regulations, it is clear it is an issue that is not “going away any time soon.” However, it requires accountability and messaging needs to be clear and transparent, she said.

To follow this up, she described the two main components of sustainability for PSPs: product considerations (such as recyclability and end-of-life) and manufacturing considerations (how sustainable is your facility).

“ There's two different ways that you can look at sustainability, but they're not separate from each other,” she said. “They're actually very heavily intertwined.”

She closed out the event by noting that "sustainability is not a threat, it is a journey with many opportunities."

She offered some ways PSPs can tackle sustainability on a small scale to make a difference, including involvement in the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership and Women in Print Alliance.

During the event, Osorio offers a bounty of tips and tools for PSPs looking to stay up-to-date on sustainability regulations and implement more sustainable practices into their businesses.

If you missed the event, it’s not too late to learn the insights. Click here to register.

Bonus Learning Opportunities

To learn more about materials bans, check out these resources with PRINTING United Alliance’s Gary Jones and Sara Osorio:

Attend PRINTING United Expo to learn more about print embellishment. The 2025 event will be held Oct. 22-24 in Orlando, Florida, and registration is open now at printingunited.com