Ahead of the World Printers Summit in Rotterdam from 4 to 6 October 2026, Wan-Ifra spoke with the managing director of UK-based Two Sides about some of the biggest misconceptions surrounding print and paper sustainability, the relevance of print in a digital-first world, and why the industry needs to do more to communicate its environmental progress.
“Go paperless, save trees” has become one of the most familiar environmental messages of the digital era. Jonathan Tame says slogans like this can be damaging to the print and paper industries.
As managing director of Two Sides, Tame has spent years pushing back against misleading claims around print sustainability.
While digital alternatives are often presented as the greener option, Tame argues that the environmental impact of both print and digital channels should be considered more carefully.
Two Sides has long worked with the print, paper and packaging sectors to challenge misleading environmental claims and promote fact-based conversations around sustainability.
In this interview, Tame shares his perspective on how the conversation has evolved and where the industry goes from here.
WAN-IFRA: For readers unfamiliar with Two Sides, how would you describe the organisation’s mission and its work with the print and paper industries?
Jonathan Tame: Two Sides’ mission is to explain the sustainable nature of print, paper and paper packaging. Through research and facts, it challenges unsubstantiated and misleading statements that digital alternatives are environmentally better, providing the industry with facts to explain the sustainable nature of our products to both marketeers, users of print, and consumers alike.
What are the biggest misconceptions about print and paper sustainability today?
The two most common myths are;
1) that the paper industry is a primary cause of deforestation and
2) that print and paper are wasteful and go straight to landfill.
The facts are that in Europe, from which European paper is commonly sourced, forests are growing in size by the equivalent of 1,500 football pitches every day. These managed forests play an indispensable role in climate and biodiversity protection. They protect soil and water resources, provide livelihoods, and contribute to the wellbeing of rural and urban communities.
Paper is highly recycled and, in Europe, paper fibres were used on average 3.5 times in 2022. In 2023 a total of 54 million tonnes of paper was collected and recycled in Europe providing 52 percent of the fibre used in paper making.
Two Sides has actively challenged misleading “go paperless, save trees” messaging. Why is that issue still important today?
These misleading messages, commonly used by organisations to move customers to digital, reach millions of consumers every year. They are extremely damaging to our industry, impacting consumer opinion without properly considering that digital, through servers and energy use, has impacts too.
Two Sides engages these organisations with the facts and is successful in getting companies to remove such statements.
How has the sustainability conversation around print evolved over the past decade?
The industry has come a long way in reducing impacts and is more able to help customers make better decisions. Sustainability starts with design, and today printers and organisations within our sector are better equipped and knowledgeable to advise customers on design, materials and production.
As publishers continue balancing print and digital strategies, what role do you see print playing in a sustainable media future?
The decision is not one or the other, but how the 2 mediums can work most efficiently, effectively and sustainably together. In a recent Two Sides study, 76 percent of consumers did not want to be forced into a digital-only solution and had concerns over security and health with digital communications.
What environmental progress has the print and paper industry made that deserves greater public recognition?
Sustainability is not a new word for the paper industry. Our key raw material, paper, is a natural and renewable material and an important part of the circular economy.
Ahead of the World Printers Summit, what message would you most like publishers and print leaders worldwide to take away about the future of sustainable print?
It is up to us as an industry, paper makers, printers and publishers together, to tell our sustainable story. Both through the Two Sides facts www.twosides.info, and publishers getting directly involved and supporting the Love Paper consumer messaging www.lovepaper.org.
The author of the article is Wan-Ifra’s Aultrin Vijay (aultrin.vijay@wan-ifra.org)
First published on Wan-Ifra on 19 May, 2026
