Clunky acronyms aside, this development is the first in what we can expect to be a series of evolutionary steps to make SGP more relevant to the broader graphic communications industry, more credible to external stakeholders, and more attractive to potential participants.
The new BFLL criteria was developed to fix what some stakeholders saw as a defect in the original SGP “printer’s” certification criteria, which were focused on the ink-on-substrate portion of production and were not particularly relevant to finishing operations. Granted, this is a small industry sector, but with the launch of the BFLL criteria, operations that are primarily non-imaging have a standard by which to benchmark and demonstrate their sustainable practices. (As with the printer’s standard, the BFLL criteria mandate the development and maintenance of a Sustainability Management Plan, adding rigor to the program.)
The BFLL criteria will also be used to benchmark performance of that portion of an “integrated facility” – one with imaging and finishing operations. These facilities will have to obtain certification for both aspects of their operations, there will be no “opting out” of certification for either type of operation. (The cost structure will remain the same – certification of an integrated facility to both standards will not cost extra.)
So where does SGP go from here? (Besides its cool new logo treatment?)
For starters, the printer’s certification criteria are being revised for greater clarity and increased rigor. This process is currently in a working committee but the revised criteria should be made available for a 60-day, public-comment period during the fourth quarter of 2010, says SGP Board Chair, Marci Kinter. Based on that schedule, the vetted and finalized criteria should be adopted in early 2011.
SGP also is looking at ways to increase the practice of responsible sourcing. It has formed an alliance – largely educational in nature – with the Canadian ENGO Canopy, a group that advocates for the use of high-post-consumer content recycled paper, and has its own Ancient Forest Free paper eco-label program. SGP also is exploring ways to amp-up the sustainability performance of the supply chains serving the various printing sectors. How or when this will be implemented is an unknown, but, given the number of single-attribute certification programs (of varying degrees of quality and credibility) that are already in the marketplace, it seems doubtful that SGP would add to the clutter with its own criteria for environmentally preferable products.
Stay tuned...
Commentary & Analysis
More Alphabet Soup: SGP Adds BFLL Certification
This week, the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP) announced the launch of its certification program for Binding, Finishing, and Loose Leaf (BFLL) operations. Clunky acronyms aside, what else does SGP have up its sleeve?
This week, the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP) announced the launch of its certification program for Binding, Finishing, and Loose Leaf (BFLL) operations, including a set of certification criteria developed especially for that sector.
Clunky acronyms aside, this development is the first in what we can expect to be a series of evolutionary steps to make SGP more relevant to the broader graphic communications industry, more credible to external stakeholders, and more attractive to potential participants.
The new BFLL criteria was developed to fix what some stakeholders saw as a defect in the original SGP “printer’s” certification criteria, which were focused on the ink-on-substrate portion of production and were not particularly relevant to finishing operations. Granted, this is a small industry sector, but with the launch of the BFLL criteria, operations that are primarily non-imaging have a standard by which to benchmark and demonstrate their sustainable practices. (As with the printer’s standard, the BFLL criteria mandate the development and maintenance of a Sustainability Management Plan, adding rigor to the program.)
The BFLL criteria will also be used to benchmark performance of that portion of an “integrated facility” – one with imaging and finishing operations. These facilities will have to obtain certification for both aspects of their operations, there will be no “opting out” of certification for either type of operation. (The cost structure will remain the same – certification of an integrated facility to both standards will not cost extra.)
So where does SGP go from here? (Besides its cool new logo treatment?)
For starters, the printer’s certification criteria are being revised for greater clarity and increased rigor. This process is currently in a working committee but the revised criteria should be made available for a 60-day, public-comment period during the fourth quarter of 2010, says SGP Board Chair, Marci Kinter. Based on that schedule, the vetted and finalized criteria should be adopted in early 2011.
SGP also is looking at ways to increase the practice of responsible sourcing. It has formed an alliance – largely educational in nature – with the Canadian ENGO Canopy, a group that advocates for the use of high-post-consumer content recycled paper, and has its own Ancient Forest Free paper eco-label program. SGP also is exploring ways to amp-up the sustainability performance of the supply chains serving the various printing sectors. How or when this will be implemented is an unknown, but, given the number of single-attribute certification programs (of varying degrees of quality and credibility) that are already in the marketplace, it seems doubtful that SGP would add to the clutter with its own criteria for environmentally preferable products.
Stay tuned...
Clunky acronyms aside, this development is the first in what we can expect to be a series of evolutionary steps to make SGP more relevant to the broader graphic communications industry, more credible to external stakeholders, and more attractive to potential participants.
The new BFLL criteria was developed to fix what some stakeholders saw as a defect in the original SGP “printer’s” certification criteria, which were focused on the ink-on-substrate portion of production and were not particularly relevant to finishing operations. Granted, this is a small industry sector, but with the launch of the BFLL criteria, operations that are primarily non-imaging have a standard by which to benchmark and demonstrate their sustainable practices. (As with the printer’s standard, the BFLL criteria mandate the development and maintenance of a Sustainability Management Plan, adding rigor to the program.)
The BFLL criteria will also be used to benchmark performance of that portion of an “integrated facility” – one with imaging and finishing operations. These facilities will have to obtain certification for both aspects of their operations, there will be no “opting out” of certification for either type of operation. (The cost structure will remain the same – certification of an integrated facility to both standards will not cost extra.)
So where does SGP go from here? (Besides its cool new logo treatment?)
For starters, the printer’s certification criteria are being revised for greater clarity and increased rigor. This process is currently in a working committee but the revised criteria should be made available for a 60-day, public-comment period during the fourth quarter of 2010, says SGP Board Chair, Marci Kinter. Based on that schedule, the vetted and finalized criteria should be adopted in early 2011.
SGP also is looking at ways to increase the practice of responsible sourcing. It has formed an alliance – largely educational in nature – with the Canadian ENGO Canopy, a group that advocates for the use of high-post-consumer content recycled paper, and has its own Ancient Forest Free paper eco-label program. SGP also is exploring ways to amp-up the sustainability performance of the supply chains serving the various printing sectors. How or when this will be implemented is an unknown, but, given the number of single-attribute certification programs (of varying degrees of quality and credibility) that are already in the marketplace, it seems doubtful that SGP would add to the clutter with its own criteria for environmentally preferable products.
Stay tuned...
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