Mainstream Media Not Very Sustainable on the Environment

With another Earth Day upon us and especially with this being the 40th anniversary of the very first Earth Day, you can expect an avalanche of positive and upbeat green stories in every newspaper, magazine, radio, TV and of course all over the Internet. Very few of them are likely to offer any valuable insight and even fewer will provide solutions, but most will be the “feel good” green stories the media loves and believes we want to hear.

We had firsthand experience with this last year when a local newspaper asked to interview us for its Earth Day feature article. I chatted with the reporter for over a half hour about the role the packaging industry must play in the environmental solution, the fast growing green market and about the many misconceptions including the most popular one - earth friendly packaging products are more expensive.

What appeared was an article focused our personal recycling effort at home which is what the reporter could relate to and what she obviously thought her readers could understand. I believe she sold her readers short and underestimated their concern and grasp on a very important topic.

Sustainability Has Grown Up

Overall, the public has matured past the need for eco pabulum and though we are all entertained by stories of people who make lampshades out of used plastic containers or furniture out of empty aluminum cans, most of us seek answers and guidance.

God bless the creative people among us who find new ways to use what would otherwise be trash. They make for interesting stories, especially around Earth Day but they are not going to solve our depleting landfill problem, our drinking water shortage or our climate change crisis.

Earth Day is undoubtedly the one day of the whole year when most of the world is focused on the environment and a tremendous opportunity to inform and educate is for the most part lost. The media continues to feed us easily swallowed “green Jell-O” which is eye catching and fun to eat but not very filling.

Earth Day – The Morning After

My question to every media outlet whether it is print or electronic, is where will you be on Friday, April 23rd, the day after Earth Day? The answer in most cases is somewhere else. They will be writing and talking about summer fashions, the newest trendy restaurant, or perhaps Memorial Day events. They will be focused on almost anything other than the obvious problem with the environment and the world that is slowly running out of green.

I recently met with a magazine publisher who is very proud of the fact that they now produce an annual green issue, of course in April to coincide with Earth Day. I think that is wonderful but I cannot help but notice the other eleven issues they publish every year, rarely include a word about the environment or sustainability. Their responsibility to their readers has to go far beyond telling them about the recycled content of the paper they use for their magazine or the type of ink they utilize to print it.

Most segments of the media could stand to learn from their brothers and sisters whose work is focused on the packaging industry.

Packaging - Part of the Problem and Part of the Solution

Being involved in the green movement and also being part of the packaging industry is not always easy. It is kind of like being a fan of the Chicago Bears, and spending time in Wisconsin during football season. The packaging industry is one of the most popular targets and quite often unjustly blamed for all that is wrong with the environment.

However, I am proud to say the industry has generally acknowledged being part of the problem and assumed responsibility for helping to develop short and long term solutions for the problems that they/we helped to create. Tremendous progress has been made in a relatively short period of time in terms of source reduction, the use of recycled content, manufacturing with recyclable content, and even in the design and marketing of reusable packaging products

What I am also very pleased with is the way publications like Packaging Digest and other industry print and digital media have covered sustainability, day in and day out. They tell it the way it is, good and bad and that is exactly what is necessary to continue positive forward momentum. New products and solutions are being developed almost daily and the packaging media is the one spreading the news and helping to bring about the necessary change of products, processes and mindsets.

Happy Earth Day to all with a sincere wish for continued education and innovation to go along with the celebration.