The Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP), a authority in sustainability certification for the printing industry, announced the public review period for Version 4.0 of its certification criteria. SGP certification is attainable by top sustainability leaders in the printing industry who complete the rigorous certification requirements and comprehensive facility audit evaluating the three areas of sustainability – people, planet and profit.

The SGP criteria revision proposed demonstrates a higher level of commitment of printing industry facilities to sustainable business practices including a mandatory solid waste audit, comprehensive quarterly metrics on energy, water and facility management.

“Every five years, we review the SGP certification criteria to ensure continued relevance,” says Marci Kinter, SGP vice-chair, Technical Committee and Printing UNITED Alliance representative. “In the proposed revised criteria we moved to incorporate elements that spoke to the circular economy in addition to the continued effort to strengthen best practices. Our goal is that through the certification criteria, SGP certified facilities continue to be leaders in sustainable practices for the printing industry.”

Since 2008, SGP certification has been driving sustainable activities in the printing industry. With its sustainability management system and annual improvement projects, SGP certified facilities are industry leaders in providing sustainable printing and independent validation of their claims for a sustainable supply chain. SGP certification is given to facilities meeting the rigorous standards of the criteria developed by SGP. This is the only whole-facility certification program developed as a collaborative effort of the printing industry to define what it means to be a sustainable printer and to offer credible validation by a third party.

The SGP Technical Committee’s proposed changes raise the bar on sustainability for the print industry. SGP certified facilities are already leaders in sustainable supply chains. Now by placing greater emphasis on documenting their sustainability performance, the new certification criteria sets a benchmark for sustainability in the printing industry as well as in general for process and manufacturing facilities,” says Jonathan Graham, SGP Chair and TE Connectivity representative.

“The proposed criteria is groundbreaking as it focuses on the purpose of a sustainably-driven company, so brands and print buyers can be assured SGP certified printers take the entire life cycle of print into account. It`s also a tool to easily validate sustainability claims made by the print facility,” Graham says.

During the public review which is open until Sept. 30, 2021, the public is invited to comment and suggest any additions or revisions to the criteria. The criteria document is on the SGP website at https://sgppartnership.org/2021-certification-revision/

Print facilities interested in eliminating waste, reducing energy consumption, transitioning to sustainable materials, and winning new business from organizations that require sustainable printing practices should visit the SGP Certification webpage at http://www.sgppartnership.org/certification to learn more about becoming SGP certified.