GREEN Scene
Eco-Friendly Printers Honored For Their ‘Green’ Printing Initiatives
BRANCHBURG, NJ—Agfa Graphics recently selected H&S Graphics of Lodi, NJ, and Accell Graphics of London, Ontario, as the inaugural honorees for its Environmental Recognition Awards program. The award recognizes Agfa customers that use “green” printing technologies, promote environmental awareness to their customers using those technologies, and whose environmental efforts go beyond using Agfa’s ThermoFuse plate products. Additional steps taken by H&S and Accell include recycling 99 percent of production materials, printing on FSC- certified stocks, using green energy and cutting VOCs from their inks.
INDUSTRY NEWS
Corey B. Brinkema has been appointed as the new president of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), a global leader in the development of standards for the certification of sustainable, well-managed forests. Brinkema previously served as the executive director of the Green Institute in Minneapolis, where he obtained extensive experience in standards development of green building programs and management of FSC chain-of-custody certification.
The Printing & Imaging Association of Georgia (PIAG) has published its first Georgia Printer magazine dedicated entirely to educating readers about the topic of “Going Green” within the industry. The publication was printed on Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) chain-of-custody certified paper made of 30 percent post- consumer waste. The magazine was also produced by an FSC-certified printer and member of the PIAG.
Printing Industries of the Gulf Coast (PIGC) has partnered with SmartWood, a certifier of responsibly harvested wood products from well-managed forests whose certification allows companies to use the FSC logo and Rainforest Alliance seal. PIGC members will receive a 10 percent discount on the cost of certification.
PRINTER NEWS
Pearl Pressman Liberty Communications Group (PPLCG), Philadelphia, announced its recent entrance into the Energy Star program, where in one month the printer completed energy efficient lighting upgrades that are now producing savings of more than $21,000 a year. The energy reduction is equivalent to removing 28 cars from highways or planting 56 acres of trees.
PPLCG has been involved in the environmental movement for several years and has made some noteworthy achievements along the way. It is FSC chain-of-custody certified, recycles all of its paper waste and uses soy-based inks. Recently, the printer installed a new auto blanket wash system that will reduce VOC emissions from 7,840 lbs. annually to 850 lbs.
Quad/Graphics, Sussex, WI, has received an Environmental Excellence Award from the U.S. EPA SmartWay Transport Partnership. The printing corporation was recognized for its leadership in reducing emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases from its freight transport activities.
In 2006 alone, Quad/Graphics prevented the emission of 11,878 tons of carbon dioxide, 70.5 tons of nitrous oxide and 1.13 tons of particulate matter from its fleet of trucks. It reportedly is the first company in the graphic arts industry to join the EPA SmartWay Transport Partnership.
Quad/Graphics has been a leading environmental steward for years and has earned many honors for its efforts, including the 2007 Wisconsin 75 Going Green Award, and Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce’s Business Friend of the Environment Award.
Geographics, Atlanta, recently produced a brochure, titled “GeoGreen—The FSC Label: A Guide for Producing FSC-Certified Materials,” to help its customers better understand sustainability issues. The brochure, printed on 100 percent post- consumer waste (PCW) paper, contains info on a wide range of topics, such as The Disappearing Forests, Certification and Chain-of-Custody Monitoring, Consumers Get It and Wall Street Is Watching, Only FSC-Certified Printers Can Provide the Label, A Little Goes a Long Way (environmental savings calculator), and Four Easy Steps (to an FSC project).
Hopkins Printing, Columbus, OH, has recently received FSC chain-of-custody certification. Its other environmental initiatives include using soy-based inks, recycling blanket wash, and installing waste removal systems and a paper baler.
Fort Nassau Graphics, Paulsboro, NJ, has been awarded FSC chain-of-custody certification.
Label Impressions, Orange, CA, has earned FSC chain-of-custody certification and carbon neutral status through Carbonfund.org. In conjunction, the company announced a partnership with sister company Natural Source Printing, which is also carbon neutral and FSC certified, to provide a wide range of eco-friendly printed materials.
O’Neil Printing, Phoenix, is now FSC chain-of-custody certified.
SUPPLIER NEWS
A new sustainable plastic recycling system has been introduced by GOEX Corp., a manufacturer of printable plastic sheets. The company has developed a PVC plastic sheet that can be “pulled back” from non-plastic materials (magnetic tape, over-lamination film, signature panels, etc.) after the manufacturing process so that scrap can be recycled, by GOEX, back into a functional, printable plastic sheet that can be used again.
Time Inc., the world’s largest magazine publisher, has named UPM North America as its top environmental paper supplier for the second year in a row. UPM achieved the highest score on the publisher’s Sustainable Development Report Card, which involves an extensive environmental performance review that covers areas such as forestry practices, manufacturing, energy, waste and reporting.
The HP Planet Partners program helps keep computer hardware and print cartridges out of landfills. Planet Partners allows customers to recycle their HP hardware, print cartridges and LaserJet supplies at no charge. To date, the company has recycled more than 1 billion pounds of hardware and HP print cartridges globally.
Xerox Corp. has issued its 2007 Report on Global Citizenship, titled “Our Word, Our Work, Our World.” Among the areas covered are the company’s sustainability initiatives, which include diverting 2 billion pounds of waste from landfills through reuse, recycling and remanufacturing. Also outlined are its sustainability goals, which focus on climate change, biodiversity and the world’s forests, waste prevention and clean air and water.
