TheHomeMag Greener
Being Green.
This way of living means many different things to many different people. The act of being green, by nature, is the concept of being ecologically responsible while living our everyday lives - and certainly being better for it. We will curb the way we discard items. We are made aware of better fuel consumption. We are even very conscious about the type of building products we put into our homes - to name a very small few.
Being Green to TheHomeMag also means many things, but can be summed up in a simple single sentence...for every tree lost in the creation of our magazines; we want two planted in its place. The thought of a magazine - a paper magazine no less - being green doesn't exactly scream "wow" in the world's green effort. However, I would like to take this time to educate all of our readers and our advertisers on the efforts that we, through our manufacturing and print partners, take on a regular basis to ensure a greener and more vibrant earth remains abundant a bit longer.
Our Printer Partners Each of our Print Partners has an aggressive environmentally proficient habit of operating, and so too do the paper mills that produce our paper. To name them all would be lengthy, but I will elaborate on a few key outstanding practices.
Let me start with Trend Offset, a print partner for TheHomeMag in numerous magazines across the country. Trend has very recently achieved certification in the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)*, which verifies that Trend is part of the Chain of Custody from the forest to the printer, and ultimately into your mailbox via TheHomeMag. Additionally, Trend's California plant received a Waste Management Reduction Program (WRAP) award in May 2007 from the California Integrated Waste Management board for responsible waste prevention, recovery, reuse and recycling activities. Also this year, the Jacksonville Electric Authority (JEA) awarded Trend Florida an Environmental Stewardship Award for achieving 100% environmental compliance in industrial pretreatment for 2006.
Finally, the paper that the TheHomeMag uses through Trend is SFI certified, which stands for the Sustained Forestry Initiative. Basically, paper mills throughout the US will voluntarily join the SFI and commit a portion of their revenue toward the replanting of trees.
Quad/Graphics, a new print partner of ours and one of the largest commercial printers in the US, has an impressive environmental initiative. To start, they've accomplished a 99.5% solvent recovery efficiency system in their printing facilities throughout the US. Basically, the potentially harmful waste emissions are being captured and cleaned before leaving their plants. Just to note, the EPA requires a minimum efficiency of 92%, and the industry average is a proud 95%. In addition to reducing utility consumption by nearly 6% system-wide though the use of retrofitted light fixtures and energy efficient machinery, they've been able to reduce the emission of 28,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually (that's the same as removing over 5,300 cars from the road). Quad is the only commercial printer to formulate its own ink, which contains no heavy metals and includes a blend of corn, soy, and linseed oils - no animal oils here. Quad recycles 98.5% of all materials leaving their plants including paper, metals, lamps, wood, and even concrete.
Journal Graphics in Portland, OR, a print partner for our Northwest magazines, also has a variety of socially conscious initiatives in place. To name a few, Journal Graphics has state-of-the-art emissions equipment.
Their Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer System (RTO) is actually energy positive as recognized by the State of Oregon. It contains a system which controls all heat-set presses at 95% efficiency plus, with destruction efficiency up to 99%, far beyond state and federal guidelines. In addition, this system uses up to 50% less natural gas in its operation compared to conventional methods. Along with a stunning recycling program, they too are FSC* Certified. Our commitment to improve the quality of our magazine will not be at the expense of the environment - and our Print partners play a very active role in this effort.
Last, while I am confident that you will always enjoy receiving our magazine, I too am a realist. In the unlikely event that you do not keep our magazine and you wish to discard it, take comfort in knowing that TheHomeMag is 100% recyclable - despite the notion that a glossy magazine is not recyclable. In fact, if you wish to not receive the magazine in print format, but still want the benefit of our inspiring home improvement ideas, we have a solution. Instead of landing in your mailbox each month, ask for it to land in your in-box. Your digital version of TheHomeMag is as impressive as the paper magazine, simply without the paper and ink..
For every tree lost in the creation of our magazines; we want two planted in its place. The FSC, the Sustained Forestry Initiative, energy reduction, recycling, waste emission control - they all play a major role in replanting our landscape and keeping our air clean. This is our small, but important story in the human effort of environmental responsibility.
Thank you for taking the time to learn about how TheHomeMag is greener. No matter what we do, we all have a responsibility to preserve this planet for generations to come. Take care.
With Regard, Chris Goebel - President, TheHomeMag