What Does Green Mean to Great Big Pictures? - GSP

April 22 marks Earth Day this year. Since Wisconsin is the home of the founder of Earth Day, as well as our home, we have a special affinity to it. More than choosing recycled paper, sustainability is a part of our way of working at Great Big Pictures. It’s even bigger than reduce – reuse – recycle. We take the whole life cycle of our products into consideration – from sourcing to graphics and transit to its final destination. That includes everything from ensuring a healthy environment for our employees to choosing the most efficient manufacturing and shipping procedures for our clients – and ultimately, how we responsibly dispose of waste.

Our commitment to sustainability encompasses four key areas: Environmental stewardship, community involvement, waste management and energy conservation. All of our efforts are guided by these principles as well as our clients’ bottom line. And, as it turns out, these environmental solutions are often the most economical, too.

Here are just a few of the daily practices we’ve put into place as part of our ongoing commitment to becoming a sustainable, green printer:

1. Identify the most efficient use of materials, layout, packaging and logistics by considering end-of-life cycle implications.
2. Help clients choose environmentally friendly materials and high-yield layout options when possible.
3. Incorporate environmental, health and safety considerations into equipment and material purchases and use.
4. Train employees to minimize waste – from accurately estimating purchases through to the proper use of inks, solvents and chemicals as well avoiding over-printing.

We believe that every choice counts in the production process – even these options, which of themselves seem small – can make a big difference:

• Take shipping size and weight into consideration: Lightweight products make the shipping process more efficient and can help save on fuel used during transit. We order custom-size boxes for larger runs and always look for opportunities to consolidate packing for multiple campaigns in order to save resources – and save you money, too.
• Think about modular designs. They are easier to recycle and repurpose into future displays, thus giving them a longer lifespan.

For us, sustainability practices are about being authentic and creating systems that allow our team to imagine the best possible outcome for people, planet and profit.