Most economic systems work to maximize the use of limited resources, often without great attention to the harmful effects such use may have. Sustainability relates to the management of resources to limit the negative impact placed on the environment (our

Lecture

Let me tell you about an organization doing big things in the field of sustainability. Printing, like most other businesses, exploits limited resources such as paper and employs certain substances that can damage the environment such as ink, glues, and so on. If every printing company just went about their business without any regard for what impact they were making, the industry wouldn't last for very much longer.

A local printing company, however, has taken a different approach. This local printing company is so unique not because it doesn't use such material in its work, but because of the way it does so.

Rather than purchase paper from any company, it first attempts to purchase recycled paper whenever possible. If a client demands clean, un-recycled paper, the company buys it only from companies that themselves use sustainable practices, such as planting a tree for each one removed in the process of making paper.

Also, the ink used by most printing companies releases harmful chemicals into the environment, chemicals that add to air pollution. This company reduces its environmental footprint by taking advantage of vegetable oil based inks that release almost no toxic substances into the air and that are themselves made from sustainable companies.

The glue used to attach papers to produce books isn't itself as bad as the effect it has on the recycling process. This glue tends to damage the machines responsible for changing old, useless paper into usable, recycled paper. To limit this negative effect, this printing company employs glue in only limited