There are many environmental initiatives that have impacted the printing industry in recent years. On May 20, 2009, the Digital Imaging Association and PaperLinx hosted a presentation designed to identify and demystify environmental standards. DIA invited Wendy Nadan to lead the discussion.
Wendy Nadan has worked for Envision Compliance Ltd. for 10 years as an environmental consultant, having worked for a printer for the previous six years. In the 10 years with Envision, Nadan has worked extensively with the printing industry on air, wastewater and solid waste issues as well as environmental management systems.
Shopping List of Certifications
Nadan’s presentation addressed a complete range of environmental certifications and programs for printers:
Process or Facility Certifications include Sustainable Green Printer (SGP), EcoLogo ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, Green Press Initiative and EPA Design for the Environment.
Product Certifications include EcoLogo products Paper (FSC, SFI, PEFC, AFF), Energy Star for electronics, Chlorine Free Products Association, Windpower: Bullfrog Rainforest Alliance and EPA Green Chemistry Project.
Nadan unraveled each of the programs for attendees. This article will only address the various paper standards that have been bandied about the printing industry for more than five years.
Paper Standards Defined
Clarification is particularly important to our industry because our client companies (especially in the large corporate community) are finding themselves the target of environmental groups with a mission to find the most vulnerable point in their environmental practices and launch a very public attack.
The result is that printed materials have become an “attack point,” forcing companies to ensure their promotional materials come from environmentally-responsible sources. And what has resulted are three certification programs – FSC, SFI and PEFC.
Says Nadan, all standards certify the forests then pass the certification down the chain to the end user via the Chain-of-Custody certification. About 10% of the world’s forests are currently certified to a recognized sustainable forest management standard. And, Canada has more fibre originating from third-party certified forests than any other country in the world.
Chain-of-Custody is a process whereby printers purchase certified paper that is then tracked and documented through the production workflow. Product made from certified paper may carry the specific standard’s logo. And lastly, records are kept for auditing purposes.
FSC Certification focuses on 10 key points:
• Legal requirements / compliance
• Forest security / tenure
• Indigenous people and resources
• Community and worker relations
• Economic viability / benefits
• Environmental impact
• Management plan
• Monitoring
• High conservation value forests
• Plantations (alleviate pressures on natural ecosystems).
Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) is an independent, charitable organization dedicated to promoting sustainable forest management. It is a North America only certification scheme. Board members include environmental, conservation, professional and academic groups, independent professional loggers, small family forest owners, public officials, labour and the forest products industry. SFI is an American designation that can also be used by members of the Forest Products Association Canada.
The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that supports sustainable forest management globally and was formed for the assessment and mutual recognition of national forest certification schemes. It is a European standard that endorses SFI and CSA.
The Popular Frog Seal
Printers that achieve FSC Certification through SmartWood have an added advantage. They can also leverage the power of the Rainforest Alliance’s worldwide reputation for promoting good forestry, responsible farming and tourism through its certification programs. In addition, the popular frog seal of approval demonstrates compliance with strict guidelines protecting the environment, wildlife, workers and local communities.
SmartWood scrutinizes the practices of forestry operations and awards certification to those that meet the standards of FSC for responsible forestry. Since its founding in 1989, SmartWood has certified 2,876 operations and 131,884,204 acres (53,371,644 hectares) in 65 countries to FSC standards.
You Can Make a Difference
The printing industry as a whole has demonstrated an outlook toward environmental responsibility. This article has only addressed one aspect of this responsibility. Those who participated with Wendy Nadan at the DIA presentation gained a clear understanding of all issues listed in the “shopping list” above. We encourage all printers to adopt an encompassing approach to sustainability – now and into the future. Together we will make a difference.