Webcrafters Inc. is one of a select group of companies to earn the designation of “Green Master,” the highest tier in the Green Masters Program established by the Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council. As a Green Master, the printer has performed actions in each of the nine sustainability areas tracked in the program and has scored in the top 20 percent of all participating companies.
The Paper Trail website offers personalized reports that measure Domtar products across five categories: water usage, the distance its fiber travels to a paper mill, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, waste send to landfills and renewable energy usage.
Eleven in-plants have just achieved Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) chain-of-custody certification through the new InGreen group certification program for in-plants. Managed by Printers Green Resource LLC, the InGreen (In-plant Graphic Reproduction for the Environment, Ecology and Nature) program allows U.S. in-plants with annual print sales of less than $5 million to get certified for about half the cost of doing so independently. At the same time, InGreen handles many key administrative and compliance requirements, such as documented procedures and training.
University of Arkansas Little Rock Printing Services recently attained Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) chain-of-custody certification, becoming the first state printing agency in Arkansas to get certified. Director Chuck Werninger felt it was important to demonstrate responsible stewardship, both to prospective students and to the community.
Hasbro Inc.'s 44-employee in-plant boasts one of the most impressive game and puzzle printing operations south of Santa's Workshop. A web and sheetfed operation, the shop produces packaging, box and board labels, puzzle board, internal game components and various general printing in support of its parent company.
A brand new organization has been formed, dedicated to helping in-plants obtain economically affordable and administratively feasible FSC certification. Print Resources, LLC, was created to provide FSC certification at a lower cost to in-plant print operations through the InGreen group certification program.
The big green bus has arrived (there really is a big green bus, but I’m speaking metaphorically). The development of sustainable initiatives and programs in business are not only driving that big green bus, they are becoming a driver of business decisions on all levels.
Invariably in a plane or at a hotel I'll get into the typical "So what do you do?" conversation with another fellow road warrior. My answer has been boiled down to a classic elevator speech. "I'm a consultant in the wood and paper industry, primarily dealing with chain-of-custody certification, which tracks trees and reclaimed material from their source all the way to the end user through transparent, credible, third-party auditing systems. FSC, the Forest Stewardship Council, and SFI, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, both offer labeling systems where certified organizations are licensed to apply trademarks to their products and advertising. Anything made from wood or wood fiber, like paper, can be certified to ensure that the material used came from legal, ethical and responsibly managed sources."
Our core business isn't necessarily printing, it's educating students," declares Bill King, Supervisor of Printing and Publishing at Mesa Public Schools. "We ask ourselves, 'How can we shape our operation to mirror the core values of the school district?' "
If we want to determine how our actions impact the earth—environmentally, economically and socially—we need to create goals that are relevant, flexible and measurable. These goals need to be relational to an ongoing effort at becoming a more sustainable operation.
