Speaking Sensis

North America’s Yellow Pages Association (YPA) has launched the industry’s first Sustainability Report to focus on environmental commitments, impacts and goals of major US industry players.

Designed to document sustainability efforts on an annual basis, the report provides a benchmark for the organisation’s goals for 2010 and beyond.

Key successes outlined in the report include:

• Launch of industry consumer choice programs (www.yellowpagesoptout.com) to give consumers in the United States a choice to reduce or stop directory delivery;

• Use by some companies of directory paper that contains recycled content and fibre derived from “residual chips,” (by-product after logs are converted to lumber) making it unnecessary to use new trees to produce Yellow Pages;

• A 29 per cent reduction in the use of directory paper since 2006, as a result of programs to reduce the size of directories, use of more efficient pagination systems and expansion to digital and mobile search products like Internet Yellow Pages sites and apps;

• Implementation by some North American companies of soy-based inks and non-toxic dyes that pose little threat to soil or groundwater supplies and adhesives in the binding process that are eco-friendly and non-toxic; and

• Support of recycling and up-cycling programs that ensure directories have a life after use, either as new paper or for other materials like coffee cup trays, egg cartons, cellulose insulation and cereal boxes.

“We’ve made so much quiet progress since we set environmental guidelines for the industry in 2007 in the areas of resource reduction, manufacturing, and recycling. There’s no better time than now to report to communities and consumers about the actionable steps we’ve taken and to outline where our industry needs to go,” Neg Norton, president, YPA said.

This report is an excellent first step for the industry in becoming more transparent and detailing publically its commitments to product stewardship and sustainable business practises.

It demonstrates the focus of sustainability on our international counterparts and is a response to consumer demands to be more sustainable. 

While Sensis is significantly further ahead in reporting terms, we can learn from some of the excellent product stewardship examples. The most important lesson we can learn is: it is much more profitable to voluntarily lead in sustainable business practises than to simply deliver compliance.