Everyone seems to be focused on DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion), ESP (environmental, social, and governance), EPR (extended producer responsibility) and dozens of other acronyms that have to do with justice and environmental improvement. All of these are supposed to focus on making us better. Better culturally; better environmentally; better sustainably. Better! 

The ultimate goal is improvement. In the case of environmental focus, to reduce emissions of CO2 (carbon dioxide) and CH4 (methane), which will slow down climate change.

Okay, I admit it’s stretching a bit to include DEI, but if you think about the benefits of working as one, equal, regardless of race or religion, I believe we bring a greater contribution to all aspects of our society. In other words, there is more positive with many versus one. So, humor me and agree that the object of all of these is improvement and change for the better.

All of this struck me as I prepared for Labelexpo Americas 2024 in Rosemont, IL: the fact that our industry is so diverse yet all focused on a common objective – making pressure sensitive adhesive technology the very best print technology that industry has to offer. That’s one of the common threads, right! 

The other common thread is sustainability – reducing our carbon footprint, reducing greenhouse gas. Isn’t this now a common purpose with all industry, not just print technology? Don’t we all have common purposes? This idea of commonality became clearer as I studied the proposed disclosures rule on climate-related issues by the SEC, the Securities and Exchange Commission. We’ve had DEI, ESG, and EPR for quite a while.

However, this latest proposal by the SEC is new. It is a reflection by the Commission to adopt “the environment and standardization of climate-related disclosures for investors.” In other words, climate change, greenhouse gas emissions are as important to us in the print industry as to private investors. Wow! The question, of course, begs whether the SEC has overstepped its authority. Does climate change impact not just those of us attending Labelexpo, but the average private investor? 

Take a quick read of the following:

The SEC is an independent agency of the US Federal government. According to its website, www.sec.gov, the SEC protects investors, promotes fairness in the securities markets, and shares information about companies and investment professionals to help investors make informed decisions and invest with confidence. The purpose of the SEC’s Climate-Related Disclosures rule is to provide transparency to investors regarding potential climate-related risks to publicly traded companies, strategies those companies are pursuing to mitigate climate-related risks and foreseeable losses due to extreme weather events. The Climate-Related Disclosures rule applies to medium and large, foreign and domestic, publicly traded companies listed on US exchanges and all companies pursuing an initial public offering (IPO). Any company not legally required to register with the SEC is under no obligation to comply with the rule. The SEC estimates that approximately 2,800 companies will be impacted by the rule should it proceed as written.

Staying with the concept of the common thread, I believe we need common touch points whether discussing print technology, steel manufacturing, plastic extrusion, packaging, or investor protection. One very simple way to keep us all grounded in common endeavor and common language is to follow the definitions of greenhouse gas emissions.

This standardization goes back to the Kyoto Protocol developed between 1993 and 1997. In 1997, the WRI (World Resources Institute) and the WBCSD (World Business Council for Sustainable Development) partnered to create Greenhouse Gas Protocol. All of this was agreed and published in 2004, and today we know this standardization as Scope 1 and Scope 2. These provided guidance on how emissions should be measured. In 2011, the Protocol added Scope 3, and in 2017 it added Scope 4.

I have tried to give simple definitions of each scope, but first understand what gas emissions we’re measuring. 

The gases include:

Scope 1 – measures direct emissions from a site
Scope 2 – measures indirect emissions from energy sources
Scope 3 – measures indirect emissions from suppliers (vendors)

Scope 4 – Scope 4 is different. It is really emissions avoidance. It doesn’t measure production of carbon. It measures how a carbon product or service helps to reduce the creation of additional CO2 emissions in the first place. 

Scope 4 is more esoteric and a bit hard to measure. An example may be switching lighting to LED and measuring CO2 savings, which, by the way, your utility can do.

The point of this exercise is measuring gas emissions on equal footing, whether as an investor or a manufacturer. Scopes 1, 2, 3, and 4 allow each of us the opportunity to demonstrate improvement.  After all, isn’t that what it’s all about? Isn’t that what we are all trying to do? – Improve at home, at work, and in our world.

Another Letter from the Earth


Calvin Frost is chairman of Channeled Resources Group, headquartered in Chicago, the parent company of Maratech International and GMC Coating. His email address is [email protected].