Under realistic conditions, printed advertising is in many cases more climate-friendly than digital formats – especially in the case of brochures. This is the conclusion of a recent LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) study by the Öko-Institut Freiburg, which comprehensively compared the greenhouse gas potential of print and online advertising. Traditional print advertising media such as brochures and newspaper advertisements were examined in comparison to their digital counterparts (online PDFs and web banners).

The most important results: Printed brochures generate around 642 kg of CO₂ per 1 million impressions – around five times less than online PDFs and
Print ads in daily newspapers generate 67 kg of CO₂, digital banners 102 kg of CO₂.

The study clearly shows that the actual environmental impact depends on several factors – including paper type, production processes, range, data volume, useful life and energy consumption. Sustainability is therefore not the result of a blanket “print or digital”, but of conscious decisions in the right context.

An often underestimated aspect: printed media is shared more frequently – on average, brochures reach 1.9 readers and newspaper advertisements even reach 2.7 readers. This spreads the CO₂ emissions over more people and significantly improves the balance per contact. While digital advertising causes emissions primarily through data volumes, server performance and the use of end devices, print can be optimized in a targeted manner – for example by using sustainable paper, renewable energies and efficient production processes.

Many companies have hastily written off print in recent years – in favor of purely digital strategies and in the belief that this would automatically make them more sustainable.
This study shows that the reality is not that simple.

As a printing company, we are particularly pleased with these findings – not as an end in itself, but out of a sense of responsibility. Every day, we show what climate-conscious print products can look like today: efficiently produced, implemented to a high standard and with real added value for brands and campaigns.

Perhaps now is the time to re-examine old decisions – and to rethink print not as a “bygone medium”, but as a conscious, effective and reliable solution for sustainable communication.