A Green Looking New Year

Today is January 5th and marks the beginning of a new year. We can all agree that the there is a high level of uncertainty due to the economy as we head into the new year. The current economic state is fueling the importance of environmental issues such as energy reduction, manufacturing and distribution efficiencies along with the development of new lean processes and materials.

An economic downturn always results in the survival of fittest. Struggling company fold or sell while the strong companies innovate and lead.

What a perfect opportunity to lead and come together as an industry - strive to meet the demand of the changing world around us. The building industry has made fantastic strides in what is now the green movement. The USGBC's LEED rating system has shown everyone that going green has extraordinary financial benefits and has lead the way to a new mindset toward efficiencies and other universal environmental issues.

So what about signage? Where does the industry stand in terms of the environmental movement?

Traditionally the sign industry is not on the cutting edge of technology nor is the industry as whole excepting of change, especially in cases like LEED which has virtually no requirement for signage. This however can be a good thing, an opportunity for the leaders in sign industry to adopt the principals of green building and apply them to the manufacturing, installation and disposal if signage. What a great opportunity for the sign industry to become a leader in a movement that is gaining credence everyday while making signs something that is no longer an “afterthought” in the building process.

There are already many changes that are occurring in both the design and fabrication of signage. ASI Modulex and Apco Graphics exhibited at Greenbuild in Boston, MA this past November. The SEGD developed a Green Paper and has hosted lectures on Green Methodology for several years now. Many sign fabricators are developing new products and marketing the environmental attributes of their products and companies. Meanwhile, product manufactures are realizing profitability gains in efficiencies while capitalizing on the ability to gain market share over competition through marketing their environmental practices. This past spring the ISA hosted their annual suppliers and distributors conference which focused heavily on environmental issues concerning signage.

The economy may be shaky going into 2009 but the prospect for us as an industry has never been better. Have a happy and prosperous New Year!