Advertisers Printing, a St. Louis Printing Company, offers quality custom print and direct mail solutions with a focus on sustainability. As a proud participant in the 2023 St. Louis Green Business Challenge and one of only 50 U.S. printing companies to have earned SGP (Sustainability Green Partner) Certification – the industry standard for sustainability performance – the Clean Air Partnership is thrilled to highlight the company’s commitment to eco-friendly printing solutions across all its services and processes that is having a huge impact on regional air quality.
“The Green Business Challenge gives us a forum to talk about the 20-year environmental journey at The Advertisers Printing Company,” said John Heaney, SVP, Sustainability Director at Advertisers Printing Company. “More importantly, the Challenge supports our region’s businesses to gather and bond around common environmental goals of making life better for all members of our community. Committing to a cleaner and greener region is ultimately a shared value as well as a goal.”
Over the course of the 2023 Challenge, Advertisers Printing Company developed and reported on their Champion Innovation Project of Addition by Subtraction: Replacing and Updating Legacy Hardware. The purchase of a Javelin 86000NII plate-setter, which is used for burning metal plates essential to the printing process, reduced energy use by 60% and sped up throughput time to burn a plate by 30%. Similarly, retiring the company’s 30+ year-old full-size, two-color offset press also resulted in a substantial boost in energy savings and efficiency.
To further reduce environmental impact, Advertisers Printing installed a new water bottle filling station for employees’ reusable bottles. So far, it has eliminated the use of over 3,600 single-use bottles since installation. Additionally, the company purchased a plug-in hybrid Ford Fusion that runs the first 22 miles on battery power and averages 39-49 mpg. It joins their existing fleet of five hybrids and one electric vehicle used for sales and delivery to help reduce the amount of harmful greenhouse gases emitted. Moreover, Advertisers Printing worked to educate all their stakeholders by producing a sustainability video series that highlighted potentials from decreasing their print production footprint.
These improvements not only made a positive difference for the environment, but also enhanced operational capabilities and employee satisfaction. More efficient equipment has led to lower production times and higher volumes produced using the same number of workers. As a result, employee overtime has been reduced, creating a happier and more satisfied workforce with decreased absenteeism. Last but not least, innovation curated a feeling of achievement and confidence among team members that the company is taking responsible action in terms of the environment.
For more information about Advertisers Printing’s continued efforts around sustainability and how your company can get involved in the St. Louis Green Business Challenge, subscribe to their bi-monthly E-Newsletter or visit stlouisgreenchallenge.com. To learn more about the link between sustainability and air quality, explore our website, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter at @gatewaycleanair.
