Thanks to our Members for making 2019 another successful year

Submitted: The Two Sides Team November 29, 2019

As we approach 2020, the team at Two Sides and Keep Me Posted would like to thank our 150 North American member organizations for their loyalty and financial support.

2019 was another very positive year for us, and our message continues to be heard by more people within and outside the graphic communications industries, including many of North America’s leading Fortune 500 companies.

There is some exciting news for 2020! Our Board of Directors met recently to develop a new 3-year strategic plan which will focus on the following four strategic objectives:

Continued growth of Two Sides via new revenue streams, including paper-based packaging and sustainability education.
Continual improvement of our anti-greenwash campaign to address misleading corporate claims and messaging from environmental groups and other campaigns.
Growing the awareness of Two Sides via our communications.
Growing our Keep Me Posted campaign by membership and engagement.

Two Sides 2019 highlights

Our North American membership includes over 150 member organizations. In 2019, we retained over 95% of our top members by effective communications & clear member benefits. In fact, we grew membership revenue by 15% over three years, and 92% of our members rank the value of Two Sides to their company as high/very high.

We are working closely with many key industry organizations to address greenwashing and paper deselection. The following organizations are among several that fund Two Sides and/or Keep Me Posted, and sit on our Steering Committees and Board of Directors:

American Forest & Paper Association
Association for Print Technologies
Association of Independent Printing Paper Merchants
Boise Paper
Canada Post
Canon Solutions Americas
Domtar
Envelope Manufacturers Association
Forest Products Association of Canada
Konica Minolta Business Solutions
International Paper
Lindenmeyr Munroe
Mac Papers
Midland Paper
Millcraft Paper
National Association of Printing Ink Manufacturers
National Paper Trade Association
Paper and Packaging Board
Pixelle Specialty Solutions
Resolute Forest Products
Sappi North America
Verso Corporation

A full list of our members is available on our website member page.

Our anti-greenwash campaign is progressing well, both globally and in North America. We have now collaborated with 124 leading North American companies to remove or change their anti-paper and print claims, out of a total of 188 companies (success rate of 66%). Globally, all Two Sides chapters have initiated changes at over 450 companies.

In 2019 we developed a new series of ads to promote the great environmental story of print and paper. The ads were featured in several of our trade magazine partners and we are now in discussions with major magazines and newspapers to identify ad space for 2020. Contact us for more information on our ads.

Our bi-annual printed newsletter, The Page, has been mailed to over 800 members and potential members. Our next issue is planned for January 2020.

We want to thank our industry news and media partners who, throughout 2019, have strongly supported us by featuring Two Sides and Keep Me Posted news, articles, blogs and ads:

Canvas Magazine
Foil & Specialty Effects Association
GDUSA
Paperitalo Publications
PostPress magazine
PrintMediaCentr
Printing Industries of America
Printing Industry Alliance
Print Solutions
Print Works
Printing Impressions
TAPPI / Paper360
WhatTheyThink / Printing News

We continue to develop new marketing materials that our members can use and co-brand, including:

Our Myths and Facts brochure – Version 5 to be published in 2020
Our latest infographic – Why are leading companies removing “go green-go paperless” claims
Our Fact Sheets which are updated every 2-3 years and our most recent one on “North American Paper – A Sustainable Choice”
Monthly blogs on hot topics

Our Member-Only webpage is now live, and members can log in to download several resources such as co-branded infographics for social media, larger co-branded infographics, presentations, and more.

Our social media channels continue to grow. We have now exceeded 5,300 followers on Twitter and Facebook is on track to reach 2,000. We are now also much more active on LinkedIn and our network is growing rapidly.

Keep Me Posted North America is growing

In December 2018, we launched Keep Me Posted North America to advocate for the right of every consumer in North America to choose, free of charge, how they receive important information – on paper or electronically – from their service providers.

The campaign focus is on educating and challenging corporations that are removing consumer choice and charging fees for paper.

KMP is currently supported by several consumer groups such as Consumer Action, the National Consumers League, The National Grange and the Public Interest Advocacy Center, to name a few.

As an example of the difference KMP can make, our recent engagement with the telecom giant, AT&T, has led to a significant change in their messaging, from switching consumers automatically to e-billing to now asking for clear permission from their customers.

Both campaigns, Two Sides and Keep Me Posted, have been communicated widely in numerous presentations throughout the year to groups within and outside our industry.

To read about our accomplishments and find a wealth of information on the sustainability of print and paper, please visit www.twosidesna.org. For more on Keep Me Posted North America, go to www.keepmepostedna.org to follow us and access our many resources.

We have made significant progress as we work on challenging misleading claims and educating people on the unique environmental and social benefits of print and paper products.

If your organization relies on print, paper or mail, please consider supporting our initiatives. Contact us at info@twosidesna.org or info@keepmeposted.org.

We look forward to hearing from you!