Even though digital media is on the rise, hardly any company can do without the print industry. Printing companies are making considerable efforts to produce in a more climate-friendly and circular manner. Measures include reducing energy consumption, using recycled and FSC-certified papers, introducing environmentally friendly or biodegradable printing inks and optimizing waste management.

Many printing companies are also working to further reduce their own ecological footprint within the company. The adjustment screws include the use of renewable energies, more efficient processes in production and the use of waste heat (for example for heating). When disposing of paper, attention is paid to regional origin and short transport routes. Transformation also succeeds through compliance with sustainability standards that are based on the cradle-to-cradle principle of printed products.

Providers of reproduction services are increasingly making sustainability an issue by relying on recycled or biodegradable materials for the production of media carriers and packaging, operating production processes with renewable energies and promoting the recyclability of their products. The smart coupling of digital and physical solutions is also a lever for more sustainability. On the path to climate neutrality, residual emissions are offset by credible climate protection projects. Content is also an indirect but important lever for the industry: printing companies can produce content for sustainability-oriented customers that practically supports the knowledge and discourse on transformation.

The industry includes, for example, the production of printed products as well as the reproduction of recorded sound, image and data media.