Graphic Design USA - January 2012 Green Newsletter

McD’s PUTS FACE ON FOOD
McDonald’s and DDB, Chicago, have teamed to spotlight some of the restaurant chain’s growers and suppliers. The goal: to respond to heightened consumer interest in local food movements, where their food comes from and what’s in it. The campaign kicked off earlier this month featuring four of its U.S. beef and produce suppliers. “We thought putting a face on the quality of the food story would be a unique way to approach this,” U.S. Chief Marketing Officer Neil Golden told Ad Age. “We acknowledge that there are questions about where our food comes from. I believe we’ve got an opportunity to accentuate that part of our story.” Plans include print, digital and tv, which will run intermittently throughout 2012. Shown here: Dirk Giannini, lettuce grower, out in his field. Potatoes and beef are also on the menu. Recently, several food companies such as Domino’s and Chipotle have put farms in their advertising. McDonald's has emphasized product quality – not actual suppliers – in some of its past advertising. Since nothing the fast food giant does comes without raising flack, critics have already begun to dub the campaign “farmwashing,” noting that the chain doesn’t deal directly with local ranchers or farmers but with large suppliers such as Cargill and Coca-Cola.

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DESIGNING UNDER PRESSURE

GDUSA + Wacom present an informative webinar that pushes back the barriers of conventional design. It is the third in a very popular series of absolutely free webinars specifically for designers.

See how today’s leading graphic applications have been designed specifically to take advantage of the pen tablet using Adobe® Photoshop® and many other apps.

Take a (short) break from the pressures of your day-to-day workflow and learn how you can make pressure work for you! The date is February 28.

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BUS WRAP SHEDS LIGHT ON NATURE
The Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority (TARTA) and the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo OH is providing the opportunity for the local artists to show elegance and beauty through arts throughout the region. TARTA and the Arts Commission have partnered with representatives of Bowling Green State University and The University of Toledo to provide the opportunity for local artists to encourage the community's exposure and appreciation for the arts through the enhancement of buses, bus shelters and stops throughout the service area. The theme: Restore Planet Earth: Our Universal Sun. Shown here: a detail of the latest bus wrap created by Morgan Swedberg, a graphic design student at Bowling Green, including words from a poem written by Marissa Stewart, who participated in the Young Artists at Work program. Six buses with newly created wraps recently debuted.

PRATT GETS PAT ON BACK
Pratt Institute is one of the country’s most environmentally responsible colleges, according to The Princeton Review. The guide selected the Institute for inclusion in the listing, which notes that Pratt's “reputation as a prestigious art school makes it an obvious choice for students interested in green design, and its urban campus provides a unique challenge for putting green design into practice.” Pratt was recognized by the publication for the sustainability focused education it provides its students as well as for its commitment to the greening of its campus buildings and grounds. In January 2011, Pratt Institute opened a new 120,000-square-foot green academic and administrative facility named Myrtle Hall in Brooklyn NY, which serves as a physical manifestation of Pratt’s commitment to sustainable design education. And back in 2009, Pratt submitted an official climate change action plan to the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment, which documents Pratt's commitment to reducing its campus greenhouse gas emissions and outlines a series of academic initiatives designed to educate faculty, students, and the local community on issues related to sustainability.

GDUSA STAFFER SASHA KAYE...

is appearing in an original comedy ‘Waiting On Others’ about trying to make it as an actor/waiter in NYC...

SEE THE FIRST TWO WEBISODES >

SUCCESSFUL GREEN MEETINGS
Green meetings were a hot topic for trade show and event planners in 2011 and are sure to be more of one in 2012. Thanks to Successful Meetings magazine, here are the ten “greenest” cities in the U.S. courtesy of Mother Nature Network. 1. Portland OR; 2. San Francisco CA; 3. Boston MA; 4. Oakland CA; 5. Eugene OR; 6. Cambridge MA; 7. Berkeley CA; 8. Seattle WA; 9. Chicago IL; and 10. Austin TX.
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GDUSA Green Newsletter January 2012
ANYTHING YOU SAY... In the internet age, anything you say is on record – and can and will be used against you in the court of public opinion. Just ask Michael O’Leary, head of low cost airline carrier Ryanair. This summer, the airline instituted an agressive marketing program dubbing itself “Europe’s Greenest Airline.” Marketing Magazine (UK) has called this a top 10 marketing mishap the year, noting that O’Leary has, in the past, labelled global warming “horseshit” and said the company would never stoop to using green claims. He is also on record as stating: “The problem with the airline business is that it is mostly run by a bunch of spineless nincompoops, who actually don't want to stand up to the environmentalists and call them the lying wankers that they are.'” This is a wonderful cautionary tale about loose lips. It is also the only time I will ever get to use the word “wanker” in GDUSA. — Gordon Kaye
McD’s PUTS FACE ON FOOD McDonald’s and DDB, Chicago, have teamed to spotlight some of the restaurant chain’s growers and suppliers. The goal: to respond to heightened consumer interest in local food movements, where their food comes from and what’s in it. The campaign kicked off earlier this month featuring four of its U.S. beef and produce suppliers. “We thought putting a face on the quality of the food story would be a unique way to approach this,” U.S. Chief Marketing Officer Neil Golden told Ad Age. “We acknowledge that there are questions about where our food comes from. I believe we’ve got an opportunity to accentuate that part of our story.” Plans include print, digital and tv, which will run intermittently throughout 2012. Shown here: Dirk Giannini, lettuce grower, out in his field. Potatoes and beef are also on the menu. Recently, several food companies such as Domino’s and Chipotle have put farms in their advertising. McDonald's has emphasized product quality – not actual suppliers – in some of its past advertising. Since nothing the fast food giant does comes without raising flack, critics have already begun to dub the campaign “farmwashing,” noting that the chain doesn’t deal directly with local ranchers or farmers but with large suppliers such as Cargill and Coca-Cola. FREE WEBINAR! DESIGNING UNDER PRESSURE GDUSA + Wacom present an informative webinar that pushes back the barriers of conventional design. It is the third in a very popular series of absolutely free webinars specifically for designers. See how today’s leading graphic applications have been designed specifically to take advantage of the pen tablet using Adobe® Photoshop® and many other apps. Take a (short) break from the pressures of your day-to-day workflow and learn how you can make pressure work for you! The date is February 28. LEARN MORE OR SIGN UP > BUS WRAP SHEDS LIGHT ON NATURE The Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority (TARTA) and the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo OH is providing the opportunity for the local artists to show elegance and beauty through arts throughout the region. TARTA and the Arts Commission have partnered with representatives of Bowling Green State University and The University of Toledo to provide the opportunity for local artists to encourage the community's exposure and appreciation for the arts through the enhancement of buses, bus shelters and stops throughout the service area. The theme: Restore Planet Earth: Our Universal Sun. Shown here: a detail of the latest bus wrap created by Morgan Swedberg, a graphic design student at Bowling Green, including words from a poem written by Marissa Stewart, who participated in the Young Artists at Work program. Six buses with newly created wraps recently debuted. PRATT GETS PAT ON BACK Pratt Institute is one of the country’s most environmentally responsible colleges, according to The Princeton Review. The guide selected the Institute for inclusion in the listing, which notes that Pratt's “reputation as a prestigious art school makes it an obvious choice for students interested in green design, and its urban campus provides a unique challenge for putting green design into practice.” Pratt was recognized by the publication for the sustainability focused education it provides its students as well as for its commitment to the greening of its campus buildings and grounds. In January 2011, Pratt Institute opened a new 120,000-square-foot green academic and administrative facility named Myrtle Hall in Brooklyn NY, which serves as a physical manifestation of Pratt’s commitment to sustainable design education. And back in 2009, Pratt submitted an official climate change action plan to the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment, which documents Pratt's commitment to reducing its campus greenhouse gas emissions and outlines a series of academic initiatives designed to educate faculty, students, and the local community on issues related to sustainability. GDUSA STAFFER SASHA KAYE... is appearing in an original comedy ‘Waiting On Others’ about trying to make it as an actor/waiter in NYC... SEE THE FIRST TWO WEBISODES > SUCCESSFUL GREEN MEETINGS Green meetings were a hot topic for trade show and event planners in 2011 and are sure to be more of one in 2012. Thanks to Successful Meetings magazine, here are the ten “greenest” cities in the U.S. courtesy of Mother Nature Network. 1. Portland OR; 2. San Francisco CA; 3. Boston MA; 4. Oakland CA; 5. Eugene OR; 6. Cambridge MA; 7. Berkeley CA; 8. Seattle WA; 9. Chicago IL; and 10. Austin TX. LEARN MORE >	RE-NOURISH SETS STANDARDS Re-nourish, a popular and respected website focusing on graphic design sustainability has kicked off the new year with a new set of standards. The standards cover print and digital projects, design studios, and printers. The effort is described as an “attempt to help answer key sustainability and ethical questions that face the graphic design and printing professions to combat greenwashing concerns that continue to dirty the industry. The Re-nourish Sustainable Design Standards assist to answer queries that many designers and printers are wrestling with daily. For instance, what criteria defines a greener printed or digital design project? How can one tell on first glance which printed emphemera is greener than another without transparency to its manufacture?” Site principals are Eric Benson and Yvette Perullo (Yvette was recently featured in the October ’11 GDUSA “Culture of Green” special report). They note that the standards are not a certification program, but instead a logical set of criteria for continued improvement towards a more sustainable print supply chain and future. READ MORE > GELLMAN FIRM TWO FOR TWO For the second year in a row, Stan Gellman Graphic Design designed and produced the St. Louis Green Business Challenge Award plaques for the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association. Playing off of the first years challenge and award plaques, the new versions, once again, were made from 100% renewable bamboo and the framing used earth friendly moulding with wood harvested from managed forests. This year 69 companies from the metropolitan region joined in the challenge and were awarded for their outstanding commitment to sustainable business practices and climate prosperity in the St. Louis region through completion of the St. Louis Green Business Challenge. BUSINESS CLIMATE IMPROVING A new report card by Climate Counts, a non-profit that scores large companies on their climate impact, suggests that major corporations are taking their impact on climate very seriously. This year’s scorecard, the fifth annual report, is particularly encouraging because more than 60 percent of all companies improved their score from 2010 to 2011. Unilever topped the chart – unseating Nike, the leader for the previous three years. AstraZeneca is the runner up. Some leading companies in their sectors include Southwest Airlines (airlines), Nike (Apparel/Accessories), Anheuser-Busch (Beverages), HP (Electronics), Marriott (Hotels) as well as Unilever (Food Products) and AstraZenica (Pharma). Unilever follows a Sustainable Living Plan which sets ambitious goals by 2020; its 400 brands include Axe, Bertolli, Dove, Lipton, Knorr, and Vaseline. READ MORE > DIGITAL COPIES OF GDUSA! You can now purchase single digital copies of the 2011 Design Annual online published this December. BUY NOW > QUOTE: A FLEET OF FEET “The Postal Service is one of the greenest mailing and shipping companies in the world. We offer more than a half-billion eco-friendly mailing and shipping supplies, free package pickup and holiday cards printed on recycled paper available in 2,000 Post Offices, and the Postal Service is leading the adoption of green practices by engaging our employees, customers and suppliers. We have a ‘fleet of feet’ delivering mail the greenest way possible, by walking.” – Thomas G. Day, Chief Sustainability Officer, U.S. Postal Service SEAL EXTENDED TO PAPER GOODS The Green Good Housekeeping Seal, introduced to test the green marketing claims of eco-friendly products on the market, has extended for the first time its assessment to paper products. Paper is only the latest category of products to be considered for the Green Good Housekeeping Seal. Other product categories include beauty; cleaning; paint and coatings; food; electronics and appliances; Scotts Naturals Bath Tissues, a toilet paper; and Pampers Cruisers, a diaper.

GDUSA Green Newsletter

January 2012