Standard Register (SR) recognizes its responsibility and commitment to the environment and to the communities in which we work and serve.  The company has been working for years, and will continue to endeavor, to eliminate non-recycled waste and to reduce its “carbon footprint”, as well as lessening and eradicating environmental hazards

Through a very close partnership with its suppliers, Standard Register is obtaining certifications with Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).  This ensures that papers used are from sustainable forests – comparable to farming the material bases. The company received a chain-of-custody certification for printers in March of 2008 for one of our largest plants.  Standard Register is the 100th company to achieve this certification, and other facilities will follow this year.  Some of our main raw material providers are certified, and we will endeavor to steadily grow this number. 

The FSC and SFI chain of custody systems connect responsible forest management practices and products with consumers.  Through FSC/SFI chain of custody, companies can demonstrate their commitment to environmentally and socially responsible forest management and label their products with the FSC/SFI trademarks.  FSC/SFI chain of custody certifications are for companies that process, transform or trade FSC or SFI certified forest products.  It enables companies to:

• Identify and control certified sources  and reclaimed/recycled material
• Show their customers that they meet FSC/SFI requirements for the control of non-FSC certified wood and fiber
• Use the FSC/SFI trademarks and labels to promote their products in the marketplace

We have an eye on energy consumption too.  SR has engaged an energy consultant to audit our facilities and recommend actions to make significant reductions in energy usage from both manufacturing and facility use.  This involves all energy from all sources and consumption points.  They will also help to implement the corrective and energy reduction actions and conduct a Green House Gas Emissions Assessment to identify opportunities for reductions of our carbon footprint.  

SR also has a “Green Initiative” to continue to reduce sources of non-recyclable waste products from our facilities.  This includes:

• Identifying all internal sources of waste and current disposal methods
• Classifying wastes
• Ongoing measurement of waste streams
• Action plans for each waste stream which continue to reduce and eventually eliminate the waste stream from the facility and, in turn, company-wide.  

Sustainable Green Printer Initiative
A new national partnership is being organized by three print associations (PIA/GATF - Printing Industries of America/Graphic Arts Technical Foundation, SGIA – Specialty Graphic Imaging Association, and FTA – Flexographic Technical Association)  to help printing companies achieve “Sustainable Green” status and implement the best practices of others in the industry towards a common goal.   

SR is watching the development closely and is considering becoming a charter “SGP Printer.”  www.sgppartnership.org  SR will be attending the National Environmental Health and Safety Conference to participate in activities to validate the roadmaps presented for becoming a certified sustainable green partner in the printing industry.

Standard Register has been working on waste management and elimination for many years with the following practices:

• Paper Recycling Initiative
  • In the 1990s SR’s rotary manufacturing plants initiated a program for segregation and recycling for the majority of plant-generated scrap paper. This program continues today, significantly reducing much of the landfill practices that were in place prior.
• Move from Acid-Based Papers to Alkaline-Based
  • Again in the 1990s, SR switched from an acid based to an alkaline based paper.  This greatly improved the quality of the effluent from the paper mills to local rivers, and allowed for more abundant “fillers” reducing the number of trees required.
• Change from oil-based to vegetable (SOY) ink
  • Soy-based inks are now used as the standard in all of SR’s offset printing applications. One alternate is UV inks – which do not contain any solvents. For flexo-based printing, SR uses water-based inks which are non toxic – any waste is treated at the municipal water treatment center.
• Plate Processing
  • Plate making, prior to the 1990s, often utilized very caustic or hazardous chemicals. Today, plate-making for offset printing uses a water-based solution which is neutralized and rendered harmless prior to introducing to the municipal water treatment center for final processing. Plate processing for flexo-printing is thermal.
• Film processing
  • The vast majority of all plate-making processes at SR have moved to Computer to Plate (CTP) over the past five years. This completely eliminated the use of film negatives to make plates, and the associated chemistry for film processing.
• Press Fountain Solution
  • Offset printing requires the use of a fountain solution in the printing process.  The fountain solution was an alcohol-based solvent prior to the 1980s when SR moved to a water-based synthetic, which is safe to flush down the drain for treatment at the municipal water treatment center.

Other areas of significant improvement include:

1. Changeover from propane to electric lift trucks
2. Changeover from Freon to synthetic coolants
3. Recycling of all rags used by shop floor operators
4. Changeover from chlorinated solvent cleaning solutions to safe synthetics
5. In 2001, our main carbonless provider became the only carbonless manufacturer to offer the environmentally responsible soy-based carbonless capsule – NatureSolv™.  All carbonless paper from this supplier utilizes this capsule and is environmentally responsible.

Standard Register has a history of engaging in activities to ensure our company, our customers and our supply chain have a positive impact on our environment.  Our “less paper strategy” for managing our customers’ document flow has had a significant impact on reducing total paper consumption in North America.  The initiatives above show how we continue to maintain a leadership role in environmental stewardship.