The Rio 20+ United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development

Submitted: The Two Sides Team June 22, 2012

The Rio +20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development has begun this week in Brazil.

June 21, 2012

KODAK

BY Chuck Ruffing

The Rio +20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development has begun this week in Brazil. Since many trace the current sustainability focus to the first 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio, history would suggest that the world leaders gathering this week will similarly influence the markets, public perceptions and regulatory trends of the future. For me, the Conference is an opportunity to reflect on how Kodak will continue to address sustainable development, and how we can help our customers do the same with the mutual goal of growing our businesses.

Even before the first Rio Conference, Kodak was working to reduce our footprint, including carbon emissions, waste production, and water usage. We have focused on designing products that allow our customers to reduce their footprint as well, like our Sonora Xp Process Free Plates. And, more recently, we’ve begun to focus on the environmental impact of paper – the medium of choice for many of our customers. The sustainability of print and paper, including growing sustainable forestry management and unprecedented recycling, is often misunderstood and needs to be prioritized.

Few participate directly in Rio. Most don’t need to even know the specifics. But all can be inspired to think bigger by the 20 year existence of a worldwide Earth Summit. Printed materials educate, inform, and entertain people around the world, and their accessibility in developing countries is on the rise. To be part of a value chain that produces these materials for the benefit of all while reducing its environmental footprint and enabling renewable resources is a vision Kodak will continue to strive towards.