At the 2008 National Environmental Health and Safety Conference, SGIA, in conjunction with the Printing Industries of America/Graphic Arts Foundation and Flexographic Technical Association, formerly launched the SGP Partnership. The stated mission of the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP Partnership) is to encourage and promote participation in the worldwide movement to achieve economic, social and environmental success of the graphic communications industry through sustainable green printing practices.
Green initiatives and pressure for sustainable production practices in manufacturing operations are gaining considerable momentum. For the printing industry, sustainability has reached a critical mass of interest due to the demands of customers, environmental groups, investment firms, government agencies, and consumers. Printers of all sizes are under pressure by their customers to demonstrate that they are producing products by using a manufacturing process that is considered environmentally friendly. The SGP Partnership is designed to provide the mechanism to demonstrate commitment to economic, social and environmental success.
The goal of the SGP Partnership is to define sustainable green printing and identify steps that help the printing industry establish manufacturing practices and products that are more environmentally sustainable. This serves as the foundation for a broader sustainability initiative that encompasses both social and economic elements. The SGP Stakeholder Group has offered a straw man proposal outlining criteria for two levels of participation: Candidate Verifying Participation and Sustainable Green Printer. Both levels require that the facility be in compliance with all applicable federal, state and local regulations. This requirement pertains to environmental, health and safety as well as employment issues. The full criteria document can be found at www.sgppartnership.org.
In order to accomplish the goal of the SGP Partnership, it is necessary to create a transparent, credible registry of printing facilities that want to be recognized for their green or sustainable efforts. To create this registry, the SGP Partnership will be a cooperative venture supported by all major printing associations representing the various print platforms. The SGP Partnership will contain a clear set of criteria establishing performance standards that must be met to be included in the registry. The established standards will be reviewed on a periodic basis to ensure viability.
All are encouraged to download the criteria, and offer comments and suggestion. The Partnership anticipates that the program will be fully operational by July 2008.
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