Forest Certification in the In-plant

IN MARCH 2007, Nordstrom announced it would incorporate more environmentally sound practices into its printed products. It became the first of its peers in fashion specialty retail to print on Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified stock. As a result, virtually all of the company’s printing partners are now FSC-certified by mandate.

This is just one example of how the Corporate Social Responsibility phenomena has turned what was once just a preference for certified paper into a policy in some organizations.

In my article from the January 2008 issue of In-Plant Graphics, I explained how the FSC is regarded as the gold standard among forest certification systems due to its Triple Bottom Line approach, which looks beyond just environmentally sound forest management practices, into the social and local economic impacts to communities and people impacted by logging activities. In this article, I will concentrate on FSC, since it is the most stringent—and therefore sought-after—of all chain-of-custody (COC) labeling systems.

FSC and the In-plant

According to the FSC Web site (www.fscus.org), there are more than 700 certified printers in the United States alone. Out of that, just a handful are in-plants. From all indications, that trend is about to change.

There is now growing interest in FSC in the public and private sectors, wherever in-plants exist. Many corporations and institutions are implementing new sourcing policies, not the least of which is for FSC-certified print. In order for the in-plant to be able to brand its printed pieces with certified trademarks and tracking numbers (commonly referred to as COC Labels) it must be certified.

The in-plants that are getting certified run the gamut from public to private, and from institutional to manufacturing, service, retail and everything in between. We’ll look at two of them.

Access Business Group

Access Business Group is the in-plant for Alticor and Amway. According to Allen Senninger, Paper Products Division supervisor, Access is becoming certified as part of the parent company’s commitment to environmental stewardship. Senninger says his external clients are asking for FSC-certified printed products as well.

When asked what the biggest challenges are to becoming certified, his response was integrating the tracking and reporting requirements into his MIS (Management Information System), and making sure the internal shop-floor tracking and identification systems are implemented successfully. He rates the degree of difficulty in implementation as a five, on a scale of one to 10.

Washington State University

Steven Rigby, director of printing at Washington State University, decided to pursue FSC certification before anyone asked for it. Since then, however, he’s seen quite a bit of excitement generated by both his customers and his administration.

The in-plant received its FSC certificate recently. Rigby says the in-plant plans to hold educational seminars to promote the adoption of FSC-labeled products. He also plans on offering FSC-certified paper for WSU’s copier management program.

Rigby says the implementation process ranked about seven on a one-to-10 scale in terms of difficulty. He felt that not enough printer-specific information was provided up front. This is not uncommon. The best advice I can offer is to get clarification and definition from your certifying body and auditor.

Certification is Required

To use the FSC label on a printed product, a printer must be certified. FSC trademark use is a tightly controlled process that involves approval from a certifying body (CB). FSC uses independent, accredited third-party organizations to carry out initial assessments, annual audits and trademark approvals. These CBs are the direct point-of-contact that printers have regarding FSC once they’re certified.

There are four CBs in the U.S.:

• Smartwood (SW).

• Bureau Veritas (BV).

• Scientific Certification Systems (SCS).

• The SGS Qualifor Program (SGS).

When you see an FSC label on a printed piece, the first two initials are the CB’s, followed by COC, and then the certified organization’s unique number. An example is SW-COC-12345.

In choosing which CB to go with, it is important to note that BV, SGS and SCS are all certification companies, specializing in, among other things, ISO. Some also offer engineering, medical, or other certification and verification services.

Smartwood is unique. Of the four, it is the only CB connected with the sustainability movement. Smartwood is a program of the Rainforest Alliance. As such, when a printer gets certified through it, in addition to being able to FSC-label products, the printer is also licensed to apply the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal. From a green marketing perspective, this is huge.

The Chain-of-custody Process

COC is best defined as a process of transfer of ownership and documentation from certified supplier to certified recipient, until it reaches the end user (who does not have to be certified). Certification also has to be in place whenever a transformation takes place, such as the printing process, even though an in-plant, and by extension their parent organization, is technically the end user.

COC is also about making trademark claims. An FSC claim is defined as the documentation of a specific classification of certified product which adheres to FSC standards. There are three Product Groups from which claims are made:

• Pure: 100 percent FSC-certified virgin fiber.

• Recycled: 100 percent recycled fiber.

• Mixed: a mixture of FSC Pure, Recycled and what is classified as Controlled Wood fiber, something we don’t have space to fully explain in this article.

FSC’s standards are broad based, since they cover every kind production imaginable, from paper mills, to lumber mills; from mousetrap manufacturers, to printers. What appears daunting at first is pretty simple, if you understand the basics and know what does and does not pertain specifically to printers.

Certification Basics

Applicant organizations for certification are assessed by the CB. The organization must have a written Documented Control System (DCS) describing how they will implement the requirements (an outline from the CB is provided to make this easier). The procedures outline seven basic sections which consist of: purchasing and receiving; production; shipping and sales; labeling and trademark use; outsourcing; training; and record-keeping.

The key to success is keeping things simple. Integrate as many requirements as possble in with your existing systems. There are two FSC identification areas to be concerned with.

The first is what I call Public Facing. The most common are packing slips and invoices. The easy way to put it is that the COC number and Product Claim (in addition to the normal stuff, like job number, quantity, etc) need to be on all documentation from your supplier to you, and from you to your customers. Find an area in your MIS during estimating, so that this carries through automatically to all documents.

The second are internal. This includes purchase orders, job tickets, stock tickets, load tags, etc. Again, if you can find ways to enter the required information once, and have it carry all the way through, fulfilling the requirements will be simple. The difference here is that you only need to find ways to identify orders as FSC both physically and on paper. Organizations usually use identifiers such as green paper or a green sticker for purchase orders, job tickets and load tags.

Reporting, if set up properly, is a simple matter of generating a report based on the information input in the estimating stage. An annual volume summary is required for audits, which are conducted on-site each year. The contract period, by the way, is for five years, renewing thereafter for additional five-year periods.

Trademark approvals must be requested on each unique layout. Smartwood averages about four hours from the time they receive a PDF of the layout to the time it’s approved. Repeat layouts (templates) can be self-approved with permission from the CB.

Your Triple Bottom Line

To the uninitiated that may sound like a lot, but really, it’s all about preparation and having a good system set up from the start. Yes, there is a bit to grasp and understand, but you won’t go it alone. Again, I speak from experience with Smartwood. They are extremely helpful in answering any questions you may have as you go through the certification process.

Involve as many people with areas of responsibility as possible. Designate key personnel to ensure procedures are followed, and design your training so it’s not only an educational event about the process, but also why it benefits your enterprise as a whole. Promote FSC certification as a positive action in your department’s efforts to foster your parent organization’s sustainability efforts. In the end it’s good for you economically, socially and environmentally. IPG

Vic Nathan Barkin has more than 30 years of experience in the printing industry and currently owns a consulting practice specializing in digital printing business development, workflow and technology implementation geared to the in-plant community. He also offers expertise in “Green Printing” practices, FSC certification facilitation and is an FSC auditor for Smartwood. Barkin is a past president of the IPMA’s Arizona chapter, and has been a presenter at ACUP, SUPDMC, Big 12, NGPA and PIAMS Green Industry Showcase. He currently serves as vice president for the Mountain States Printing Education Foundation and is a consultant for Vista Research, a division of Standard and Poore’s. Barkin was the manager of Northern Arizona University’s Printing Services department for 12 years and recently served as solutions sales manager, digital printing, for Kodak’s Graphic Communications Group. He can be reached at (928) 853-1547 or via e-mail at vicbarkin@netscape.net