Climate Changes
When addressing attendees at the Sustainability in Printing conference held at the Doubletree Hotel in Philadelphia last June, Gary Jones, director of environmental, health and safety affairs for The Printing Industries of America, Sewickley, Pa., stressed there would be a culture change going forward. Instead of a policy, he cautioned, businesses of all sizes will need a formal management system, along with continuous improvement measures, put into place. In fact, an effective environmental, health and safety management system is critical for becoming a certified green printer under the Sustainable Green Printing (SGP) Partnership program, which Jones helped organize. Fortunately, there is a hidden benefit many printers don’t realize—making changes to internal operations in response to environmental groups and customers can mean tremendous cost-savings.