Printing Tips
The Green Glossary - Know the Lingo and the Logos When It Comes to Green
You may encounter the following terms when investigating ways to green your events. This helpful list defines green terminology. If you have other green terms not found here that relate to greening the meeting industry send it to us and we will add it to the list. Together we can make a positive impact on the environment!
Green Glossary from A to Z
Ancient Forest Friendly (AFF) paper is Totally Chlorine Free (TCF) or Processed Chlorine Free (PCF) and contains only the following fibers: post-consumer recycled fiber (PCR), de-inked recycled fiber, agricultural residue or tree free virgin fiber, or Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified virgin fiber.
Audubon Green Leaf Eco-Rating Program – Canadian rating system that provides assurance that audited lodging facilities have met environmental best practices standards.
Carbon Offset – A way of counteracting the carbon emitted when the use of fossil fuel causes greenhouse gas emissions. Offsets commonly involve investing in projects such as renewable energy, tree planting and energy efficient projects.
Climate Neutral – Products or services that reduce and offset the greenhouse gases generated at each stage of their lifecycle: the sourcing of their materials, their manufacturing or production, their distribution, use, and ultimate end-of-life disposition.
Compost – A mixture of humus-rich, decomposed vegetable matter, used as a fertilizer or soil enrichment.
Ecological Footprint – The measure of area needed to supply national populations with the resources and area needed to absorb wastes.
Elementally Chlorine Free (ECF) – This term can be confusing, as chlorine dioxide or chlorine compounds are still used to bleach either recycled or virgin wood pulp in this process. Although this is a cleaner process than chlorine gas bleaching, the chlorine compounds can form dioxins that are carcinogenic and toxic to the environment.
Energy Star Equipment – A voluntary labeling program of the EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy that identifies energy-efficient products. Qualified products exceed minimum federal standards for energy consumption by a certain amount, or where no federal standards exist, have certain energy saving features.
FSC Certified Paper - An international certification and labeling system given by the Forest Stewardship Council for products that come from responsibly managed forests, and verified recycled sources. Under FSC certification, forests are certified against a set of strict environmental and social standards, and fiber from certified forests is tracked all the way to the consumer through the chain of custody certification system. This means forests, pulp providers, mills, merchants and printers must all obtain FSC certification in order for a product to carry the FSC logo or label.
Green Seal – An organization that works with manufacturers, industry sectors, purchasing groups, and governments at all levels to “green” the production and purchasing chain. Products only become Green Seal certified after rigorous testing and evaluation, including on-site plant visits.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) – A green building rating system that is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.Post-Consumer Recycled (PCR) - Paper that was printed on or used for its intended purpose, put into a recycling bin & then recycled into new paper or products.
Pre-Consumer Waste – Paper or scraps left over from manufacturing, converting or trimming in the mill or print house. It may also include unsold magazines & newspapers. Although the paper and scraps are being reused, this paper has never made the journey to the consumer and back again. This waste is also called “post-industrial” waste.
Post-Consumer Waste (PCW) – Post consumer waste is defined as material that has been used by the end consumer and then placed back into the production stream (recycled) to make a usable product.
Recycled Paper – True recycled content papers are defined as papers containing a minimum of 30% post consumer fiber by weight. Currently there is no global consensus on what the term "recycled paper" means beyond the fact that it may contain either post or pre-consumer fiber. Just saying that paper is recycled is not enough, as this could vary from 1% to 100%, but not necessarily from post consumer waste paper that has actually been recycled. Look for sheets that provide the breakdown of post consumer waste and pre-consumer waste content.
Soy-based or vegetable based ink – Soy ink contains varying amounts of soybean oil and often replaces petroleum oil, making it lower in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which react with other atmospheric pollutants to form smog. It is also easier to recycle paper printed with soy-based inks than petroleum-based inks, as the inks are removed more effectively from the paper, resulting in less hazardous waste and reduced treatment costs.
Totally Chlorine Free (TCF) Reserved for virgin fiber papers. TCF papers do not use pulp produced with chlorine or chlorine containing compounds as bleaching agents, the mill has no current or pending violations, and the mill does not use old growth forest for any of the virgin pulp. See www.chlorinefreeproducts.org for more information.
Tree free papers – As another alternative, there are even papers made from tree free sources; roasted java, bananas, cotton rags or recovered denim scraps, agricultural fibers, hemp, flax or kenaf, a member of the hibiscus family.
Virgin Fiber – 100% pure fiber from an original source that contains no recycled waste.
Sources of information: Meeting Strategies Worldwide and Green Seal
