Green Stamping

What constitutes “officially green” or “verifiably sustainable” printing has yet to be defined. So far, buyers and producers of print and printing systems are relying on a smorgasbord of certifications and seals of green approval.

The first step for any printer is to be in compliance with regulations set by the Environmental Protection Agency and local authorities. From there, printers have generally moved to obtaining certification for papers used, with three groups at the forefront: Forest Stewardship Council (FSC); Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI); and the European Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).

Some 650 printers are now FSC-certified. The Schiele Group, Chicago, is among the most recent (see p. 44). RR Donnelley has certified 22 facilities that it acquired this year. Prior to the acquisitions , all its U.S. and Canadian locations had achieved FSC status.

The simplest way for printers to address the CO₂ impact/global warming issue is to buy emission offsets or use resources with built-in offsets. Nongovernmental organizations and standards bodies play a significant role in the certification of green printing. The International Organization for Standards ISO 14000 family addresses various aspects of environmental management. The first two standards, ISO 14001:2004 and ISO 14004:2004, deal with environmental management systems (EMS). ISO 14001:2004 provides the requirements for an EMS, and ISO 14004:2004 gives general EMS guidelines.

At Graph Expo PIA/GATF, SGIA and FTA formed the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (www.sgppartnership.org). The group's definition of sustaibable print, which is expected to result in a registry of printers that meet it, is under development.

The Book Industry Study Group (www.bisg.com) has teamed with the Green Press Initiative to launch of the U.S. Book Industry Climate Impacts and Environmental Benchmarking Survey. The survey is designed to establish a baseline for tracking climate impacts and progress toward environmental improvements throughout the entire U.S. book industry. Printers Maple Vale, Malloy, Lightning Source and Thomson-Shore are among the charter members.

Across the industry, printers large and small are taking environmental protection very seriously. Firms are actively earning certifications and seeking ways internally and via new products to minimize eco-impacts.