An Informed Dialogue with Natural Logic CEO Gil Friend & ISC Research Fellow Don Carli

Are you an advertising, marketing, digital media or print media professional interested in greener media? If so, save the date and join thought leaders Gil Friend and Don Carli for breakfast and a provocative dialogue on the environmental impact of print and digital media on between 8:30 and 10:30 AM on May 11th. (Coffee, tea, bagels and fruit will be served.)

Green and "paperless" campaigns imply that print media is harmful to the environment and digital media is not. For example: “Please consider the environment before printing this email"

But …what if this warning is wrong?  What if digital media is more destructive to the environment than print media?

• Is our growing reliance on information technology and digital media sustainable?
• What are some of the real environmental impacts associated with print and digital media?
• What is life cycle analysis and how can it help you make informed decisions?
• How can you employ print and digital media responsibly and feel good about your choices?

Join us to learn how you can make wiser decisions about print and digital media.

Gil Friend (Natural Logic CEO, noted sustainability consultant, and author of "The Truth About Green Business") has recently conducted extensive review of the environmental lifecycle data for print and digital media. His research indicates that apples-to-apples comparisons between print and digital media are difficult and limited by the lifecycle data that is currently available. Gil will share insights from a soon to be published whitepaper that identifies effective guidelines based on existing materials, performance, and energy data which can help procurement and operations professionals choose eco-effective print and digital media solutions.

Don Carli (Institute for Sustainable Communication Senior Research Fellow and PBS MediaShift Contributor) has recently published a series of articles and a whitepaper titled "Print vs. Digital Media: False Dilemmas and Forced Choices" exploring the rhetoric, risks and realities behind overly simplistic “Print vs Pixels” choices. His research challenges the conventional wisdom about whether going paperless really saves trees or is better for the environment. It also addresses steps being taken by industry and government to discourage “greenwash” and to reduce the negative impacts of print and digital media supply chains.

If you can't make it in person, please tell your colleagues about it, and tune into our live uStream.tv feed and use Twitter or Facebook to share your questions & comments:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/print-vs-digital-media-false-dilemmas-hidden-opportunities

Speaker Bios:

Gil Friend, president & CEO of Natural Logic Inc., is a noted thought leader on sustainable business, with more than 37 years of experience and clients including Agilent Technologies, Coca-Cola, Dean Foods, Hewlett Packard, Levi Straus & Co, Nike and Sun MicroSystems. He is Adjunct Faculty at Presidio Graduate School. He has written more than 100 articles, contributed chapters to several books, including Worldchanging: A Users Guide to the 21st Century, Sustainable Enterprise Report, Sustainable Enterprise Fieldbook, and is the author of The Truth About Green Business and the forthcoming book Risk, Fiduciary Responsibility and the Laws of Nature. He holds an MS in Systems Ecology from Antioch University, a black belt in Aikido, and is a seasoned practitioner of "The Natural Step" sustainability management system.

Don Carli is Senior Research Fellow with the Institute for Sustainable Communication (ISC) where he is director of The Sustainable Advertising Partnership and other programs addressing advertising, marketing, corporate responsibility, sustainability, and enterprise communication. Don is an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Industry Studies Program Affiliate Scholar, Sustainability Editor of Aktuel Grafisk Information Magazine in Sweden and a contributor to PBS “MediaShift.” Don has been extensively quoted on issues related to sustainability, advertising, media and green marketing in The New York Times, Fortune Magazine, AdAge Magazine, as well as on NPR radio’s “Morning Edition” and North Country Public Radio. A graduate of St. Lawrence University, Don is a member of ISO TC 130/TF 1 Standards Committee for the Carbon Footprinting of Print Media, he is a member of the board of advisors of the AIGA Center for Sustainable Design, a member of the Institute for Supply Management and recipient of the P3 Foundation “Luminaire Award” recognizing outstanding achievement and dedication by graphic communication industry innovators.

This free breakfast dialogue is presented by the NYU Graduate Program in Graphic Communications Management and Technology in partnership with the Institute for Sustainable Communication, with support from Domtar Corporation.