Yellow Pages Group Releases New ecoGuide

The Canadian based Yellow Pages Group began inclusion of its new “ecoGuide” which is located within the first pages of the 2009-2010 Calgary Yellow Pages.  The ecoGuide was created in partnership with Earth Day Canada and The City of Calgary.   The guide, which is also available online at http://calgary.yellowpages.ca, is intended to be a local reference with helpful tips on responsible consumption.  It includes:

• a directory to Reuse & Recycle covering more than 400 household items such as tires, computers, electronics, mattresses, carpets and smoke detectors) to be disposed of ecologically and a list of addresses of where to take them
• a list of materials that are accepted/refused in recycling bins, along with details on the collection of green and hazardous domestic waste
• 35 ecological certifications to help consumers make more responsible purchases
• 15 simple ways to reduce our environmental impact (composting, tempering temperature reduce the water consumption, etc.) while saving fuel, electricity, water and of course, money.

The Recycle and Reuse directory should be a useful tool for residents to use in their daily efforts to support the environment.  For example, is a pizza box recyclable?  Apparently in some municipalities it is not, but it is accepted in The City of Calgary’s recycling program.

Kudo’s to YPG for this new consumer tool.  The full press release can be found here:

http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Yellow-Pages-Group-TSX-YLO.UN-1054802.html

Cincinnati Bell Seeks Regulatory Permission to Stop White Pages

Channel 5 – WLWT in Cincinnati reports that Cincinnati Bell has asked the Public Utilities Commission in Ohio for a waiver to cease the required annual devliver of  the printed White Pages to each residential customer.

This 1950′s era regulatory requirement made sense in the pre-Internet days when the Telco was the only source for numbers in the local area.  But attempts by publishers in several areas to discontinue this archaic practice have been met with resistance from local regulatory groups.  Most recently AT&T attempt to make this change in North Carolina and met significant resistance (source).  Most commissions view it as some kind of back door opportunity for the Telco to raise 411 – directory assistance rates, even though the changes have been supported by government recycling authorities.  In most markets in Canada, Yellow Pages Group is on a biennial distribution schedule for its residential white pages.

The value of commerce generate by the printed Yellow Pages is not the question here.  It is the value of printed residential white pages which do largely go unused.   I think the industry and consumers can gladly come together to support these type changes in every jurisdiction which still requires it.

YPG connecting eco-friendly sellers with eco-conscious buyers

Kudos to the Yellow Pages Group (YPG) which today announced the launch of a pilot project an “EcoFinder” directory section to promote businesses that provide environmentally-preferable products or services or that have leading environmental operational practices. Here is link to company press release.

During the month of May, residents of Laval, Saint-Eustache, Sainte-Thérèse, and Terrebonne, will receive the enhanced Yellow Pages with this new section. The introduction of this new section follow a recent YPG survey which revealed that 93% of Quebec residents thought the creation of a section like this was a good idea and 88% confirmed that they would like both a print and online version.

Who says that print Yellow Pages can’t be the preferred source for environmental oriented shopping information?? With it’s wide distribution in the community, you would have to believe that other publishers will also jump on this trend which further supports the value of Yellow Pages in these environmentally sensitive times…