Submitted: The Two Sides Team November 3, 2014
Two Sides Campaign Gains Traction as Major Banks, Utilities and Telecoms Change Marketing Campaigns Used to Promote Electronic Services
CHICAGO (November 3, 2014) – Today, Two Sides North America, Inc. announced that over 30 leading North American companies have committed to remove “anti-paper” based claims being used to promote electronic billing and other e-services as more environmentally-friendly.
The Two Sides campaign is engaged with top Fortune 500 organizations in the banking, utilities and telecommunications sectors as well as digital service companies. Alan Anglyn, Sprint’s Director of IT Care & Billing Services Business Management notes, “One of the benefits of our relationship with Two Sides has been the opportunity to reflect on how we communicate our efforts. This caused us to review Sprint’s messaging about electronic media across multiple touch points.”
“Many in the graphic communications industry, from family forest owners to paper mills, printers, mailers and related businesses, are tired of seeing misleading environmental claims about print and paper. Our campaign has been focused on educating corporate marketers on the unique social and environmental benefits of print and paper, and to ensure that claims used to promote e-services are based on credible science and facts,” states Two Sides North America President Phil Riebel.
Two Sides’ main reasons for challenging “Go Paperless – Save Trees” claims are:
Alison Moodie, a writer for The Guardian – Sustainable Business covered the Two Sides campaign in February 2014 (Is Digital Greener than Paper?) and noted, “Manufacturing electronic products also leaves a carbon footprint, as well as the energy needed to power them. And a growing concern is the rapid growth of discarded electronics, especially in developing countries. E-waste is on the rise, with a global increase of 40 million tons per year, especially in third world countries.” She concludes that, “Until more research has been done on the life-cycle and environmental impact of electronics, pitting paper and e-media against each other is somewhat futile. It doesn't need to be an "either/ or" situation. There is a place for both paper and e-media.”
About Two Sides
Two Sides is an independent, non-profit organization created to promote the responsible production, use and sustainability of print and paper. Two Sides is active globally in North America, Europe, Australia, South Africa and Brazil. Our members span the entire print and paper value chain, including forestry, pulp, paper, inks and chemicals, pre-press, press, finishing, publishing, printing, envelopes and postal operators. For more information about Two Sides North America, please contact us at 1-855-896-7433 or info@twosidesna.org. Visit the Two Sides website at www.twosidesna.org and follow Two Sides on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.