Joe Czyszczewski Talks Smarter Statements

When I see apartments and homeowner associations set up recycling bins right in their mail rooms, I worry about the environmental impact of mail that is never opened. On the other hand, when I see web sites promote electronic statements only because they save trees, I think about green washing, or companies that talk more about "going green" than actually doing the hard work.

The reality is that while electronic statements save trees, when you consider their full life cycle with silicon fabs, the data center energy crisis, and the e-waste crisis, they also have a negative impact on the environment. Think about it. At least trees are a renewable resource! I wonder how paper statements really compare to electronic statements and if some companies are more interested in saving the cost difference than the environment.

In other words, just as people are starting to wonder about the carbon footprint of a Google search, consumers interested in making more sustainable choices need real comparisons like they have with nutrition labels. The good news is that electronic statements are becoming more sustainable, one data center at a time, with innovations like renewable energy, server virtualization, and e-waste take-back programs.

Likewise, paper statements are becoming more sustainable, one print shop at a time, with breakthroughs like inkjet printers that use less energy, paper with less environmental impact, and mail optimization.

One of the energy inefficiencies with traditional statement printers is that they need to heat all of the paper to melt the toner into it, including the white space. On the other hand, inkjet printers can use less energy by only drying the paper for the amount of ink that is actually used.

Beyond energy, print shops can use paper with recycled content, lighter weight paper, or paper made with mechanical pulp which uses half as many trees. And paper with chain of custody certification helps ensure it comes from sustainable forests.

Mail is another significant environmental impact and can be optimized with improvements like address cleansing to reduce returns, postal code sorting, combining statements for households, and even innovative ideas like reusable envelopes.

As consumers you know that promotional inserts are often included with traditional statements but they are increasingly being replaced with promotional material that is printed directly on the white space of the statement as an onsert. This new approach is known as Precision Marketing and is a great sustainability story because it delivers on all three aspects of sustainability for a triple bottom line with environmental, economic and social benefits.

Precision Marketing is a smarter statement that offers increased relevance and more targeted communications with less waste generated. In a recent pilot, the amount of paper used for a statement with inserts was significantly reduced. In addition to reducing the waste mailed to consumers, Precision Marketing reduces inventory waste by printing the statement background and the promotional material on demand. More relevant onserts also start to shift consumer perception by making mail worth opening for promotions and they also deliver higher response rates for businesses.

Look, consumers are changing habits like moving from disposable to reusable bags. They are interested in making better choices and a smarter more sustainable statement, whether its paper or electronic, is another small way to make a very big difference!

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