LONDON,
June 14, 2011
(Press Release) -
Two Sides will now be starting up in the U.S. with support from the NPTA Alliance and its member companies. Kevin Gammonley, CEO of the NPTA Alliance states: "We are very pleased that the paper merchant community has taken a pro-active stance to support Two Sides. In our first phase of fundraising, we have received commitments from over 30 paper distributors who have decided to become early adopters of Two Sides in the U.S. The initiative can now establish a U.S. office and governance structure while defining its priorities to promote the sustainability of paper and print in the U.S. market."
One of the successes of Two Sides in Europe has been its campaign to challenge misleading messaging related to the environmental benefits of electronic billing. Research carried out prior to the UK campaign launch revealed that 43% of the major banks, 70% of telecoms and 30% of utilities were using misleading environmental statements to support their marketing messages, thereby conflicting with current advertising regulations which are in place in most countries. Martyn Eustace, Founder of Two Sides and UK Director explains: "In 2010, Two Sides launched a campaign to target companies who claim that switching to online communication is better for the environment without verifiable supporting evidence. As a result, Two Sides has so far convinced 27 out of 33 major corporations to change their environmental claims or use wording that doesn't include misleading or incorrect statements related to e-billing. Every day we see misinformation but there is now a growing confidence that our industry has a good case to argue and a great record on sustainability."
The second phase of fundraising of Two Sides U.S. will target paper producers and other U.S. companies in the print media value chain. All early adopters of Two Sides U.S. will be announced later this summer.
Phil Riebel of Two Sides U.S. explains: "This is an exciting time and support has been fantastic. We are building on the success of Two Sides in Europe and we will be tailoring the campaign to the U.S. paper and print media market to ensure people understand that the responsible use of print and paper is a sustainable and effective way of communicating. A number of major pulp and paper producers and a large U.S. brand name retailer have already joined as early adopters. We are now sending out the message that we need strong support from the entire print and paper media supply chain to make Two Sides U.S. an effective organization that can produce results."
Chris Creighton, President of PaperlinX North America states: "PaperlinX has been a European member of Two Sides since its early days and we are thrilled to see the organization move into one of the largest print media markets in the world. There is a lot of negative, misleading and frankly ill-informed messaging about print and paper in the U.S., and therefore confusion as it pertains to the sustainable life-cycle of print products. Two Sides will help our industry send a positive, credible and consistent message based on facts. Its presence in the U.S. will also greatly strengthen the international network committed to the sustainability of print media."
