Launched in a wobbly economic climate to an industry undergoing a severe identity crisis, EcoPrint was really rather special. The conferences were jam-packed and although this meant that traffic was light in the aisles, people were having plenty of the right conversations.

And conversation is what our industry desperately needs when it comes to understanding the whys and wherefores of environmental impact reduction. The many sessions at EcoPrint were designed with this in mind – to provoke ideas and observations so that participants could better understand how to move their businesses forward sustainably. Sessions ranged from considering the future of print as a medium, to those going into more detail about what has been and can be done – for example, explaining what the paper industry has done to reduce its environmental footprint.

There was even a session to choose a winner from a selection of six competing innovations, won by Cooley Paper, which wrapped the Olympic Stadium with a green material that had 40 percent less emissions in its creation than the conventional alternative. Other contenders included Arjowiggins, with high-quality recycled papers suitable for digital and offset printing, and EFI's integrated Jetrion label press. As well as reducing energy use because it is a single system, this machine saves label printers having to invest in multiple bits of kit.

Saving money was the underlying driver of many of the sessions we participated in, including the session on standards and labels. For most companies compliance with formal standards has required investment, but it has quickly paid off in terms of savings through efficiency improvements. Process control improves performance and standards are a means of implementing a streamlined workflow.

The arguments in favour of standards are pretty clear, but those regarding labels are less transparent, partly because there are so many of them. This topic attracted considerable interest in the EcoPrint standards and labels debate, particularly when it came to the recently published EU Ecolabel. The Ecolabel is voluntary and intended to promote environmental competition amongst all products and services, apart from food and medicines, sold in the European Union. The creators of the label hope that consumers will use environmental impact as part of their decision-making processes when buying these products and services. Since the label is based on impact reduction criteria it will take some time for manufacturers to come up with sufficient base data against which reductions can be compared.

The Ecolabel had a cautious reception at EcoPrint, and there was a general sigh of relief when it emerged in discussions that Intergraf has been working with the EU for the last few years. Intergraf is an international print federation, an association of print industry associations, which works to further the interests of its members. Located in Brussels, Intergraf is ideally placed to lobby the commission to make sure its voice gets heard.

The general view at Ecoprint was that labels are only valuable if they have teeth. There is no doubt that the EU Ecolabel fits this particular bill, but it may be hard for companies to implement and costly to audit. According to Jon Stack, managing director of Print and Media Certification and auditing outfit in the UK, "the EU Ecolabel is a very high standard, so 99 percent of printers won't be interested. It is suitable for very long run work, but this is contrary to trends in the printing industry towards shorter runs often produced on demand."

For Uwe Sayer, the FSC representative at EcoPrint, the current crop of labels doesn't do enough. Even with the FSC label and the EU Ecolabel, Uwe believes that "we need much more throughout the supply chain."

His view is echoed by Axel Fischer of Ingede, who wants to see specific labels for different types of printed products that communicate the amounts of recycled material contained. "Labels are a signal to consumers [...] a ticket to know that they fit into the recycling and sustainability chain for green product," he argues.

Standards and labels obviously need to be accessible and easy to implement, but this is easier said than done. Although most of the people in these sessions at EcoPrint recognised the value of standards, only a small percentage had actively gone for certification. It is important that printers and their customers are encouraged to take steps towards standards compliance in a simple and accessible way, with a transparent and educative approach. Food for thought for Ecoprint 2013.