As “going green” becomes the expectation rather than the exception, models for proving the environmental compatibility of the entire ecosystem—rather than point devices—will be necessary. In this paper, we explore the ecosystem advantages of variable data printing for sustainability. Sustainability, like security, is more effective when built in from the ground up. Variable data printing (VDP), pre-adapted for use in security printing, is likewise preadapted for utility in sustainable printing. In this paper, we show the preadaptation of VDP toward sustainability, and explore the factors involved in determining the Environmental Return on Investment (E-ROI) of printing.