'SustainCommWorld --The Green Media Show’ Comes to Cal Poly Jan. 24

SAN LUIS OBISPO – Early next year Cal Poly will host “The Business of Green Media,” a special conference focusing on the development of sustainable communications.

The conference will be held Jan. 24 and is expected to bring together leaders in the production of sustainable media and will focus on the business challenges and opportunities that face the graphic arts community and those involved in media production.

“The Business of Green Media” will focus on what the graphic communication industry is doing currently – and what it plans to do in the future – to address issues related to sustainable business practices. The graphic arts industry includes printers, publishers, packaging companies, advertising agencies, graphic designers, Web and Internet site developers, and equipment and supply vendors.

“This is one of the most relevant and urgent challenges facing all segments of the communication industry,” said Harvey Levenson, head of Cal Poly’s Graphic Communication Department. “We need to come up to speed on sustainability efforts that can increase business and profits, reduce costs, enhance brand identity, and most importantly, demonstrate a sense of social responsibility.”

The Cal Poly Graphic Communication Institute, supported by the Cal Poly Graphic Communication Department and the College of Liberal Arts, will host the event in conjunction with SustainCommWorld LLC. SustainCommWorld is producing the "The Green Media Show” Oct. 1 and 2 in Boston.

Don Carli, senior research fellow at the Institute for Sustainable Communications, will be the conference chair for both the Boston and Cal Poly events. “Neither print nor digital supply chains, which we use to communicate, are sustainable today,” said Lisa Wellman, CEO of SustainCommWorld LLC.

“We believe this is a challenge and an opportunity if business steps up. The conference focus is on increasing brand equity, growing shareholder value, reducing business risk, managing supply chain, reporting sustainability — what these businesses need to be thinking about today.”

“The Business of Green Media” is sponsored by some of the nation’s leading graphic communication companies with the initial sponsorships coming from Mohawk Papers and Quebecor World.

The conference will take place at Cal Poly’s Performing Arts Center in San Luis Obispo. It is part of Cal Poly’s International Printing Week program taking place from January 22-25.

Participants are invited to the many events being held during International Printing Week, including sessions on design reproduction and packaging, gravure printing, and a graphic communication career fair.

The conference will be followed by a banquet at the Embassy Suites Hotel in San Luis Obispo.

For more information on “The Business of Green Media” conference sponsorships and attendance, contact Harvey Levenson at hlevenso@calpoly.edu or 805-756-6151. For more information on SustainCommWorld – The Green Media Show, go to www.SustainCommWorld.com.

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About Cal Poly’s Graphic Communication Department
(www.grc.calpoly.edu)
Cal Poly's Graphic Communication Department was founded in 1946 and is one of the largest and best-known programs of its kind in the nation. The department includes concentrations in printing and imaging management, electronic publishing and imaging, design reproduction technology, graphics for packaging, and individualized study.

The program is strongly supported by industry with equipment, supplies and software for the department's more than 33,000 square feet of modern laboratories.

About The Graphic Communication Institute at Cal Poly
(www.grci.calpoly.edu)
The institute focuses on services for industry, including research, testing, product evaluations, consulting, seminars, workshops and conferences.

About SustainCommWorld, The Green Media Show
SustainCommWorld LLC is focused on sustainable communications in the graphic arts and digital media arenas. Founded by five graphic arts veterans who have ridden the digital wave over the last 20 years, SustainCommWorld LLC organizes events, seminars and exhibitions and consults on projects aimed at expanding sustainability into all areas of communication.