By Neg Norton, Local Search Association
I spend much of my time talking to and working with Yellow Pages companies on sustainability programs. We recognize there is value to Yellow Pages. Directories help consumers find local businesses in their community and continue to be an effective tool for anyone wanting to buy local products and services. Nearly three million U.S. small businesses advertise in print Yellow Pages because they depend on the customers those ads bring in the door. Still, we have to recognize — and reduce as much as possible — the environmental impact of our products. We have to produce, deliver, and reuse our paper products in a sustainable way that is respectful to the communities we serve.
Over the past few months, we’ve achieved several important sustainability milestones that demonstrate we’re on the right track. One key reflection of these efforts can be found in the latest Municipal Solid Waste report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which indicates phone directories are becoming an even smaller contributor to the waste stream.
Over the past few years the industry – along with municipalities and consumers nationwide – have implemented recycling initiatives that ensure that used phone books don’t end up in the trash. With the proliferation of curbside recycling, more than 71% of the paper used in directories, newspapers and similar products is being recycled. That’s a strong participation rate by all counts and I’m pleased to see that so many people are recycling.
I was encouraged by EPA data from 2009 showing phone book directories as the smallest contributor of paper and paperboard products to the solid waste stream, representing only 0.3% – significantly less than other paper product categories like newspapers (3.2%). In last year’s report, the EPA stopped measuring directories altogether and instead included them with newsprint and other mechanical paper. This signals to me that directories are such a negligible portion of the waste stream that the EPA doesn’t believe it’s critical to try to collect data on a product that amounts to such a small percentage of municipal waste.
Recycling is only one component of the industry’s sustainable business practices. Yellow Pages publishers have made substantial reductions in paper usage. In fact, paper suppliers project the industry will use 50% less paper by the end of 2012 than they did in 2007. This decrease has been driven by changes in the size of directories, more efficient manufacturing, an industry-sponsored effort to reduce printed residential white pages, a general decline in the number of directories distributed, and our national consumer choice website at www.YellowPagesOptOut.com.
As mentioned here before, the industry has developed and is maintaining consumer choice programs that allow consumers who do not want Yellow Pages delivered to their homes to limit the number of directories they receive, or stop delivery entirely. Consumers nationwide can visit www.YellowPagesOptOut.com to easily manage directory delivery to their homes and businesses. We’re continuing to update our site to make it an even better user experience, and I can tell you that we are economically motivated to get this right. Delivering a phone book to someone who doesn’t want one is an unnecessary expense for our publishers.
Even with these consumer choice options, I don’t believe that print Yellow Pages are going away any time soon. Millions of local businesses in the U.S. choose to advertise in print directories each year because directories are one of the most useful resources to help people find and shop at their communities businesses. Independent research continues to show that a majority of Americans turn to a print Yellow Pages at some point in the year when they want to shop locally.
Still, it’s not news to any of us that the media landscape is changing. In the past decade, the Yellow Pages industry has evolved from focusing on publishing print directories to serving as integrated local search providers via print, online, mobile and social media. We’re constantly working to transform and innovate so that we can continue supporting local businesses and consumers in the most environmentally friendly way.
Neg Norton is president of the Local Search Association, leading the best local search marketers who deliver cutting-edge solutions spanning digital, print, mobile and social media that help local businesses succeed.
