The SGP Certification and Why It Matters

If your company pursues sustainability as part of its mission, you need to know about the Sustainable Green Partnership (SGP) and its SGP certification for printers. This certification is rapidly gaining traction as a way for businesses to show their commitment to sustainable printing by working with SGP certified printers and therefore adhere to specific environmental obligations.

The SGP is a non-profit organization that certifies printing facilities’ sustainability best practices, including and beyond regulatory compliance. Its certification considers the entire print facility—its process, its products, and its social areas. SGP certification elevates a printer into an elite group of sustainable printers recognized by print buyers and the printing industry.

What is necessary to become an SGP-certified printer? Here are just some of the criteria:

• Formal sustainability policy includes full regulatory compliance, focus on continual improvement, and transparency with all stakeholders.

• Establishment of a sustainability committee that meets regularly and includes both management and employees.

• Adherence to all environmental, safety, and health regulations as documented by environmental audits every two years.

• Formal policy supporting continuous improvements around one of the sustainability “pillars” of planet or people.

• A written procedure for change management, including energy usage and audit, environmental and air emissions assessments, the environmental impact of equipment and consumables purchases, employee exposure to hazardous materials, compliance with environmental, safety, and health requirements, and solid waste generation and audit.

• Documented training procedures.

• Regular communications and accountability to stakeholders, including employees, the community, customers, and suppliers.

• Documented procedure for checking and correction, as necessary.

When you work with an SGP-certified printing partner, you are working with a company that has a proven record of using best practices that support a robust environmental policy. Combine this with ordering environmentally certified substrates for your marketing and packaging projects, and you are making smart, responsible choices for our environment and your company.