中文The Sustainable Print Manifesto has taken a decisive step from aspiration to action with the launch of its Implementation Framework for More Sustainable Print, unveiled at the FuturePrint Packaging, Labels and DTS Summit in Valencia. The new Framework converts the nine universal principles established by the original Manifesto in April 2025 into practical, repeatable actions, a shared set of indicators and a maturity model that lets any print business see where it stands and what to do next.
The original Manifesto set out a common definition of what more sustainable print looks like. The Framework goes further. Rather than prescribing specific technologies or materials, it offers a foundation that organizations of any size, sector or stage of maturity can apply to their own circumstances. It gives OEMs, technology providers, printers and print service providers a shared way to demonstrate progress to brands and buyers, differentiate their offering and turn better sustainability performance into commercial opportunity.
At the heart of the Framework is a simple but powerful idea: progress beats perfection. It meets businesses wherever they are and shows them the next step, whether that is measuring for the first time, actively managing improvements, or optimizing and sharing data across the value chain. This staged approach is designed to lower the barrier to entry for smaller printers who may feel the subject is overwhelming, while still giving larger operations a structured path toward deeper change.
The timing is deliberate. The print and packaging industry faces mounting pressure from tightening regulation, rising customer expectations and the move toward item-level transparency through initiatives such as digital product passports. A common language and measurement system lets suppliers and buyers speak the same language instead of exchanging incompatible spreadsheets and certificates.
Canon’s decision to join the initiative as a Development Partner marks a milestone. It joins existing Development Partners Cimpress, Domino, Gallus, HP, Nazdar and Sun Chemical. As a Development Partner, Canon will help shape the initiative’s next phase and support adoption across the industry. Supporting Partners include Bespoke, BPIF, IPIA, Lightning Tree, Printing United Alliance, SteveLister.com, The Pack Scout and VIGC, while contributors such as CarbonQuota, CPI, Esko, Flint Group Digital Xeikon, Kavalan, Koenig & Bauer, Ricoh and TradePrint helped shape the Framework.
Elena Knight, marketing and content director at FuturePrint and facilitating partner for the Manifesto, said the first Manifesto established what more sustainable print looks like, but the Framework now enables the whole supply chain to demonstrate meaningful progress in a shared language. She stressed that this is a platform rather than a full stop, and the work continues with the entire industry invited to build it.
Martijn van Hoorn, senior vice president of R&D and head of the sustainability steering committee at Canon Production Printing, welcomed the partnership. Canon, he noted, has a long-standing commitment to improving the sustainability of print built on decades of expertise and close collaboration with customers, and is proud to support an industry-wide framework that turns shared principles into practical, measurable improvements.
The launch itself drew on real momentum. Ahead of the Valencia event, Knight joined a panel titled ‘The Era of Static Packaging Is Over: Structure, Story, and Sustainability as One Design Language’ at London Packaging Week on September 17, hosted by AuraVeo alongside Sandra Wagner of Koenig & Bauer and Tom Stone of Bakkavör. Sustainability expert Steve Lister will introduce the Framework to a UK audience in a one-hour headline slot at the Sign & Print Show in Birmingham on October 1.
For printers and converters, the practical value is clear. A maturity model reduces greenwashing risk by grounding claims in shared indicators, and it gives sales teams a credible story to tell brand owners who are themselves under pressure from regulators and consumers. As the cost of inaction rises, a common framework turns sustainability from a compliance burden into a route to new business.
The Sustainable Print Manifesto’s Implementation Framework is unlikely to be the last word on the subject, but it is one of the most concrete attempts yet to make sustainability measurable and portable across the print supply chain. By inviting the whole industry to co-build the next phase, its backers are betting that shared standards will move faster than a thousand incompatible internal initiatives.
The Framework’s strength is that it does not try to reinvent existing measurement systems. Rather than competing with established schemes such as ISO standards or customer-specific scorecards, it deliberately maps onto them, giving suppliers one common backbone they can then present to any buyer. For a mid-size converter, that means a single annual measurement exercise can feed multiple reporting obligations instead of each being a separate burden. Early adopters are expected to start with the simplest maturity level, measuring baseline energy, waste and substrate data before progressing to active management and, eventually, shared value-chain reporting.
What makes the launch credible is the breadth of the coalition behind it. With development partners spanning presses, inks, consumables and OEMs, no single vendor can capture the standard for its own advantage, which has been the failure mode of several earlier green-print initiatives. By keeping the Framework technology-neutral, its backers are betting that ubiquity will beat exclusivity.
Source: Labels & Labeling (https://www.labelsandlabeling.com/news/sustainability/sustainable-print-manifesto-launches-framework)
