The Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP), North America’s authority in sustainable printing certifications, recently announced that the data collected through its SGP Impact Tracker demonstrate continuous improvements to sustainability indicators generated by SGP certified printers. Data shows the print community significantly reduced water and energy consumption, carbon footprint, and waste produced.
The SGP Impact Tracker helps SGP certified printers monitor sustainability performance over time and benchmark efforts against an aggregate of other facilities. Since its launch in 2018, the SGP Impact Tracker has been compiling data, including historical data, to gauge the performance of SGP’s print community’s various sustainability efforts over time.
Currently, there are more than 50 SGP certified printers accounting for more than 9 million square feet of facility space. With SGP’s certification program emphasis on continuous improvement, on average, SGP certified facilities reduced electricity consumption by 60 percent; water use by 52 percent; carbon footprint by 63 percent; and solid waste from 76 percent to 83 percent.
These accomplishments mean monetary savings for SGP printers as well as substantial reductions in environmental impacts. A 90,000 square feet operation saves $26,000 per year for energy and water when compared to a 2010 baseline. The average annual greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions for SGP certified printers is said to be equivalent to planting about 2,700 trees and letting them grow for ten years.
“What is most exciting is the number of SGP certified printers is projected to double in the next year. Because of the support of print buyers, the demands of consumers, and the desire for printers to have more efficient and sustainable operations, SGP is experiencing the biggest growth period of its history,” said Doreen Monteleone, SGP treasurer, and Flexographic Technical Association representative. “Our results are truly exciting and testify to the commitment of our certified printers to create a more sustainable future.”
The Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP) is the only certification organization promoting sustainability in all printing processes throughout the United States and Canada. SGP promotes a sustainable print supply chain through best practices, innovation, information sharing and validation. The SGP program encompasses the three pillars of sustainability – people, planet, and profit. SGP partners include 3M, FLEXcon, Cooley/Group, Laird Plastics, Piedmont Plastics, Sun Chemical, REI, ANN, BrandKey Graphics, Snowball Print Marketing, InnerWorkings, major printing organizations, academic institutions, and other leading companies.
