What it Means to Be Certified as a Sustainable Green Printer
Becoming certified as a Sustainable Green Printer (SGP) is no easy feat. It is the most rigorous and comprehensive sustainability certification in the industry. SGP ensures that certified printers meet or exceed strict sustainability criteria in their manufacturing process and monitors progress through an SGP Impact Tracker and bi-annual third-party audits.
In order to become SGP certified, sustainable printing facilities are required to:
- Pass environmental, health and safety, energy and water audits
- Complete successful indoor air quality tests
- Maintain documentation strategy for Best Management Practices
- Develop an employee team to coordinate sustainability efforts
- Reduce waste and hazardous materials
- Conserve energy
- Source sustainable materials
- Lower their carbon footprint
- Create a safer workplace
- Conform to all relevant environmental, health, safety & labor laws
- Adopt a comprehensive annual continuous improvement project
- Undergo a third-party recertification audit every two years
Our Sustainability Commitment
The most important part of any sustainability policy is continuous, measurable improvement. Each year our sustainability committee identifies at least one continuous improvement project with measurable objectives so that we may demonstrate progress.
Our continuous improvement goals:
- 2019 To recycle all #1–7 plastics and reduce trash by 5%. Shawmut’s waste pickups have decreased from three per week to one per week.
- 2020 To compost all food at our facility and eliminate all perishable food waste
- 2021 To promote the health and well-being of employees by creating a corporate garden. Shawmut’s vegetable planters were built with repurposed wood; each one is thoughtfully planted in the spring by Shawmut’s Green Team.
- 2022 To purchase a point-of-use (POU) water filtration system, encouraging employees to refill their own water bottles. The system calculates how many plastic water bottles are saved by refilling.
- 2023 To create a paper share program that uplifts local teachers and students in need. Shawmut commits to donating and repurposing paper for use in the classroom (i.e. notebooks, paper sheets for science and/or art projects). We believe that teachers should have materials and resources they need for their students. This project reflects Sustainable Development Goal (SDR) 4, the full title of which is “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” This is among the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations.
SGP’s Impact
With hard work, comes great rewards for people and our planet. SGP increases business opportunities among brands committed to sustainability while growing profits by reducing resource consumption and waste. It also provides transparent, measurable assurance that SGP certified facilities will help print buyers meet and exceed sustainability goals.
As one of the first printers in New England to become SGP certified, Shawmut is proud to join the ranks of hundreds of other environmentally-responsible printers, associations, and national brands such as Wal-Mart and REI.