The Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP) is celebrating its fifth anniversary. To date, it has certified 52 facilities in Canada and the U.S. for environmental sustainability and social responsibility.

Facilities are audited by a third party in accordance with guidelines for reducing volatile organic compounds (VOCs), avoiding landfills, minimizing electricity and water consumption and increased use of recycled materials. SGP’s efforts are supported by 25 patrons, including HP and 3M, which help maintain application and certification fees at affordable levels.

SGP’s certification criteria have been increasingly accepted as valuable, objective metrics over the years, particularly by large corporate print buyers—like Starbucks and Adidas—that have implemented their own sustainable supply-chain requirements. This market demand has led to a return on investment (ROI) for print shops and a recertification rate of 95 per cent.

“I am proud of SGP’s leadership in the graphics community as we drive sustainability further into corporate supply chains and retail,” says Paul Lilienthal, chair of SGP’s board of directors.