Case study: IPM

The IPM (Institute of Promotional Marketing) has long been at the forefront of tackling the effects of climate change through its member’s activities, whether this is through the self-imposed checklists the Experiential Community are developing at the briefing stage to sense check client decisions that may be harmful to the environment, or through the Incentive, Prize & Loyalty Community who challenged the trend of physical giveaways in packs and championed ‘prizes with purpose’.

But the subject area of print media, key to promotional marketing, has borne the brunt of poor perception when it comes to climate change. The European paper industry is actually a world leader when it comes to sustainably sourced raw materials, renewable energy and recycling rates.

Mark Davies is MD of Whistl (Doordrop Media) Ltd and a member of the IPM’s Promotional Marketing Services Community, and is wary that negative but ill-informed perceptions of print media can impact its attractiveness to marketers. He’s keen to dispel any myths, including the perception by some that digital media is ‘cleaner’ than print media, when it must be remembered that the e-waste problem is significant and growing. In 2016 alone, 44.7 million tonnes of e-waste were generated globally.

Jonathan Tame, MD of Two Sides, an industry forum working together to improve standards and practices in the communications supply chain, points to the fact that European forests, from where the region’s paper mills source over 90% of their wood fibre, grew between 2005-2015 by 44,160km2, an area larger than Switzerland and equivalent to over 1,500 football pitches of forest growth every day.

EU forests also absorb the equivalent of nearly 10% of total EU greenhouse gas emissions each year, and the European paper recycling rate is 72.3%, making it one of the most recycled of all materials and is recycled, on average, 3.6 times a year.

The pulp and paper sector is by far the biggest industrial user of biomass (and other biofuels) at 56% of total industrial consumption and is one of the lowest industrial emitters of greenhouse gases, accounting for less than 1% of all EU greenhouse gas emissions.

Andrew Rae, MD of the IPM, celebrates CAWG’s initiative, explaining it as “a terrific opportunity to shine a light on the positive environmental credentials of our members, from suppliers and agencies through to global brands and welcomes the chance to collaborate with other Advertising Association members to tackle the effects of climate change head on.”