Pennington, N.J. --  Direct Group, a fully integrated direct marketing solutions provider, announced that it has earned the Forest Stewardship Council’s (FSC) Chain-of-Custody (COC) certification, demonstrating the company’s commitment to utilizing renewable, environmentally friendly sources of direct mail paper and printing materials. 
 
The COC designation was conferred by Rainforest Alliance, an independent, FSC-accredited certifying organization that uses its own evaluation process to ensure compliance with FSC principles and standards.  The Alliance’s SmartWood program criteria were used for initial certification, and will be used in an annual audit to ensure Direct Group’s continued compliance with FSC standards.
 
Direct Group’s COC certification (number SW-COC-003979), the company’s latest “green” initiative, ensures that its customers can select paper products that can be specifically traced through the supply chain from FSC-certified forests, which are managed to the highest standards of social and environmental responsibility, to final delivered product.  COC certification allows companies that manufacture or market such forest products to brand them with the FSC logo.
 
“As an environmentally conscious company, we believe it is important to provide our customers with printing materials that reflect a commitment to renewable natural resources,” said Don McKenzie, Direct Group President and CEO.  “This certification is a great achievement for Direct Group, as it ensures we are complying with the highest environmental standards for paper and wood products, thus contributing to the healthy future of the world’s forests.”
 
In order to receive its COC certification, Direct Group launched a comprehensive internal study, which was immediately followed by an independent audit by Rainforest Alliance, one of only 12 FSC-accredited certifiers worldwide.   The evaluation process consisted of an audit of all steps in the supply chain, from the harvesting of trees through product delivery, and was designed to ensure that the company’s procedures met or exceeded the worldwide standards.
 
“For those customers that share our concern for the environment, our COC certification ensures that their desire to produce ‘green’ marketing materials can be realized every time they work with Direct Group,” said McKenzie.
 
In addition to COC certification, other Direct Group recycling and “green” programs include the installation of more than 340 energy-efficient fluorescent lamps at the company’s largest mail production facility in Swedesboro, N.J., as well as the company-wide recycling of paper, corrugated, plastic wrap, wood pallets and inks.  Also, Direct Group’s recently installed Océ printing systems, including two JetStream™ 2200s, are recognized among the most energy-efficient printing solutions available today.