“Green” certification is turning into alphabet soup and we’re all getting lost in the acronyms!

Confusion is swirling around not only the SGP guidelines, but also FSC and SFI certification. What does this all mean? Should my company consider one or all of these certifications? Let’s do a quick comparison of the SGP program with FSC/SFI certification programs.

Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP)
The Sustainable Green Printing Partnership was established to “encourage and promote participation in the worldwide movement to reduce environmental impact and increase social responsibility of the print and graphic communications industry through sustainable green printing practices.”

Guiding principals for sustainable business – according to the SGP - are:


  • Employ, wherever and whenever possible, materials derived from renewable resources or with low environmental impact, maximizing recycling and recovery efforts with efficient utilization of renewable energy.

  • Encourage the adoption of changes within the supply chain by strongly recommending the use of raw materials that do not threaten or harm future generations.

  • Educate the customer and ultimate consumer regarding the benefits of a restorative economy.


The SGP Partnership was established in 2007 as an independent third-party verification organization by three founding organizations—PIA/GATF, SGIA (Specialty Graphic Imaging Association), and FTA (Flexographic Technical Association).

At the NEHS (National Environmental, Health, and Safety) Conference, March 12, the Sustainable Green Printing (SGP) Partnership announced the release of draft guidelines for becoming a “sustainable, green printer” under the partnership’s registration program. You may get a copy from SGP and make comments until April 18.

The guidelines outline criteria for becoming an SGP Printer and include several categories of best practices in the area of management processes and systems and best practices. The best practices fall into three areas:


  • Product - the design aspects and input material management to create the product.

  • Process - all manufacturing steps involved with converting raw materials into a finished product, including process by-products that have an environmental, health and safety impact.

  • Envelope - all the manufacturing support activities and includes the building, grounds, utilities employee, and other functions at an individual site.


Forest Certification and Chain of Custody Certification Programs
In recognition of concerns about the forest crisis in Europe in the 1980s, forest certification programs were developed, for the most part, by non-governmental business, landowner, and environmental organizations (NGOs) in an attempt to harness the power of the private market to encourage compliance with forest management rules. FSC - the Forest Stewardship Council - was market-driven, and developed by a variety of NGOs, and comprises a world-wide organization; SFI - the Sustainable Forestry Initiative - was developed by the forestry industry itself, and is a North American entity.

Companies are certified as to whether their management practices follow specified rules regarding environmental, social, and business functions of the forests. Chain of Custody programs simply ensure that an “audit trail” exists to guarantee the certified products are being delivered to the consumer/end user as promised.

You can access a wide range of information about forest certification programs by going to the Yale Program on Forest Policy and Governance.

Do I Certify?
Certification under either FSC or SFI Chain of Custody (CoC) certification or the Sustainable Green Printer program is a business decision you have to make. There are costs and resource demands to any certification program; you need to commit people and their time to meet the requirements and there are certification and audit fees as well. For small companies, several thousand dollars may be out of reach; for larger companies, it’s easily budgeted.

While the “Seal of Approval” may be your long-term goal, the best short-term action you can take is to pick up the FSC/SFI CoC certification requirements and the SGP program criteria, and begin to implement them.

What you will have in your hands is a manual for good business practices – not just a guide to becoming more “sustainable.” Building good business processes is good business, and following these guidelines and best practices ensures that you will run a tighter, leaner company. A tighter, leaner company is a more profitable company.

Then, when the time is right for you, you will have already put into place all the practices required to qualify, and a simple audit will ensure your certification.