Halfway Through

 As we approach mid-July we are all in summer mode with thoughts of vacations, barbecues and beaches. The beginning of summer also represents the half way mark of the year.

2010 started with a lot of uncertainty and wondering if things will ever get back to the way they were. One thing we know for certain now is that things will not go back; the world has moved on. Not necessarily bad, just different - the natural evolution of life where one must adapt to survive.

This brings me to the half way point of 2010. How many have hit their environmental goals or are on track to do so?  How many of us have changed or altered our initiatives?

I believe that sharing ideas, initiatives and progress with others helps with accountability, primarily to yourself, while encouraging others and spreading ideas.

I started out this year with the goal of changing the NovAcryl product line and incorporating all base substrates that have recycled content.  Although challenging, the NovAcyl GR product line was recently introduced and we will almost certainly have the complete product line converted by the end of the year.

The second initiative was to change the way Nova does business by creating a paperless environment and tweaking the way we interact with clients to be more efficient, cost effective and less wasteful.  This has proven to be very challenging but we have implemented several new program and have many more things to roll out before the end of the year - more to come.  

There has also been great progress made with the SEGD Sustainability Forum with the launch of the SEGD Green Resource Guide website and the sustainable issue of segdDesin magazine.  We will be doing a work show in NYC July 23 and will be rolling out the Green Certificate Program by the end of the year.

The ISA Environmental Subcommittee is also making great progress.  The committee ran a campaign to find out the level of "green" knowledge in the industry as well as to get an understanding of the industries needs.  The results have let to several initiatives including the development of resources specific to Best Practice for sign companies and suppliers.

Overall a good start to the year with much more to come.