In keeping with the College-wide emphasis on sustainability, the Department of Marketing is guided by a commitment to sustainable practices whenever possible. And, as the department responsible for generating most of the College’s print materials, we have an important opportunity with every project to make a positive impact on Meredith’s environmental stewardship.

Sustainability in the Department of Marketing

Careful Consideration of Communication Tools
We curb waste and practice sustainability by exploring a variety of communication options when creating a marketing plan. For example, electronic communication is often not only more sustainable and less expensive to implement, but can be more effective than a print piece. Through careful consideration of the information you provide on your marketing project proposal, we develop a marketing plan that is effective, sustainable and fits your budget.

FSC Certified Print Vendors
We use local Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified printers and specify FSC papers for the majority of our print projects. FSC certification ensures that the paper comes from a forest that is being managed in an environmentally responsible manner. FSC independently tracks, traces and identifies wood fibers from the forest through every step of the procurement, manufacturing and printing process, confirming that each supplier in the chain follows rigorous controls, management and reporting practices.

Our local FSC print vendors are Cary Printing, Cary, N.C.; Triangle Communication Group, Raleigh, N.C.; Harperprints, Henderson, N.C.; and PBM Graphics, Durham N.C.

Recycled Papers
When specifying paper for print projects, we first look for papers with recycled content that fit the print budgets. Some notable projects on recycled paper are the “2008 President’s Report ,”which was printed on a paper with 30% post consumer waste fiber (PCW) and 50% total recycled fiber. We had such great success with this paper that we are now printing “Meredith Magazine” on this same paper.

Internally, marketing only uses recycled paper in our large, color laser printer. We found that the cost of switching to recycled paper actually cost less than non-recycled.

Education Efforts
To help us make educated choices based on the most current information, Marketing staff have attended a variety of seminars and presentations related to sustainability. Recent seminars attended include a “Green Initiative Seminar” by MacPapers, “Greener than Ever. FSC and Beyond,” a seminar by Harperprints, and “Environment and Sustainability” at the North Carolina Museum of Art.

Disposal of Unused Materials
We make every effort to order appropriate quantities of materials. At times it can be hard to predict these numbers, so we take steps to find creative uses for leftover materials, and then recycle them appropriately when they are no longer needed.