The CEOs of leading companies today are tackling such issues as toxic chemicals and climate change—not as cost constraints or as legislative mandates, but as business opportunities. Increasingly, progressive companies are realizing that a powerful strategic advantage lies in the environmental and social impact a business has on the world around it. Sustainability consultant Dr. Chris Laszlo, author of the new book Sustainable Value: How the World’s Leading Companies Are Doing Well by Doing Good, will discuss sustainability-driven business leadership and the best management practices based on case studies from major organizations that have made themselves more sustainable and more competitive.

Exchange ideas and solutions with industry peers who face the same challenges you do. Choose from 40 topics when you register. LEARN MORE.

How does your printing company compare against your peers in adopting green manufacturing principles? Find out as analyst Tim Greene presents the findings of a special sustainability benchmarking study done by InfoTrends in partnership with ST Media Group International. In the second half of this dynamic session, Marci Kinter of the SGIA will provide a thorough overview of the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership, an ambitious new certification program being developed for the entire printing industry. Find out what the executives of several SGP beta sites have to say about the program and their experiences in implementing it during an interactive panel discussion. For all printer attendees.

Drinks and hors d’oeuvres preceding Monday’s Networking Dinner.

With signage and graphics providers striving to become more efficient in a tight economy and their customers clamoring for more sustainable goods, a flood of new products and services are hitting the market to meet these twin demands. You’ll learn about more than 20 such developments in this rapid-fire overview of the latest solutions that can help your business be more efficient and environmentally responsible.

Our annual scramble at the host resort, complete with boxed lunch and prizes. Learn more. (Alternate activities for non-golfers will be available.)

This has been an unusually good year for large-format digital printing technology. Perhaps it’s because so many manufacturers gear their product-development schedules to showcase their latest innovations at DRUPA, the mammoth printing exhibition that took place last spring in Germany. Learn about the most recent technological breakthroughs in this session, including the latest high-speed single-pass systems, revolutionary new ink technologies, and more.

A lean economy accentuates the need for lean processes throughout a company—not just in manufacturing—because they allow organizations to create more value with the same or fewer resources. Contrary to widely held beliefs, lean manufacturing isn’t just for facilities doing high-volume orders. It’s for any company that wants to be more efficient and profitable.
In this session, a lean manufacturing expert and trainer will cover:
• The keen need to become lean today
• Benefits that attendees can expect by implementing a lean initiative
• Principles and steps of implementing a lean program
• Critical success factors—the reasons that lean ideas fail in so many companies, and how to avoid these pitfalls

Most companies begin their lean journeys focusing on the production facility, where waste reduction and other benefits can translate to great savings. But in many businesses, manufacturing accounts for less than half of the total lead time from order to delivery. This seminar will discuss how to use a concept called value-stream mapping to make your pre-production process (sales, design, client approval, purchasing, etc.) leaner. Learn how to get orders into production, to your customers, and to accounts payable faster and with fewer resources.

It’s said that necessity is the mother of invention, and some of the greatest innovation taking place in the signage and graphics industry begins when a client brings an unusual project through the door. In this fun show-and-tell session, your peers will share quick case studies of particularly challenging projects—what the client needed, how the requirements were satisfied, and why the job was extraordinary. You’ll leave the conference with plenty of fresh creative ideas you can use the next time you’re faced with an out-of-the-box opportunity.