Certification Programs

Q. Which printers or paper merchants in my area are already certified FSC or SFI?
A. This list is constantly changing and the best way to find the up to date names is to go to the web sites of both FSC and SFI. These are; www.FSCUS.org and www.sfiprograms.org

Q. Who are the certifiers for FSC and SFI?
A. FSC and SFI duel certifiers:

SGS Systems & Services Certification USA
SGS Northeast Office (HQ)
(NJ, NY, PA, DE, MD, VA, CT, RI, MA, NH, ME, VT)
Mark Evers / Kristen Penny
201 Route 17 North
Rutherford, NJ 07070
Tel: (201) 508-3000
E-mail: mark.evers@sgs.com, kristen.penny@sgs.com
Website: www.us.sgs.com/forestry_us

FSC ONLY
SFI and FSC duel certification is available from a management agreement between Smartwood and Price Waterhouse Coopers
Smartwood Program
Website: www.smartwood.org
Please contact the following people for SmartWood in the US:
Chain of Custody- Central US
(AR, IA, IL, IN, KS, LA, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, OK, SD, TX, WI)
Scott Hansen; Tel:
(507) 663-6035;
shansen@ra.org

Chain of Custody - Eastern US
(AL, CT, DE, FL, GA, KY, MA, MD, ME, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, VT, WV, Washington, DC)
Tammy Coe: Tel:
(802) 434-8735

SFI and PEFC CoC, and CSA
Price Waterhouse Cooper's LLC
Six Collins creek
Greenville South Carolina 29607
(864)-675-9146
don.r.taylor@us.pwc.com
bruce.mcintyre@ca.pwc.com
www.pwc.com/ca/sustainability

Scientific Certification Systems
Mr. Robert Hrubes
Tel: (510) 452-8007
Fax: (510) 452-8001
E-mail: rhrubes@scscertified.com
Website: www.scscertified.com

Q. What is the cost of certification
A. The only people who can answer this question are the certifying auditors. Their fees are based on their travel and hotel expenses plus a fee per hour or day. Duel certification, FSc and SFI can be achieved with at least two of the certifiers that are listed above and who have the ability to certify on behalf of both programs.

The size of the print shop can also be a factor in determining costs. As a rough guide and without commitment, the cost of certification for a printer with revenues of about $5 million per annum is likely to be around $3,000.00 for the initial audit and a similar amount for each year thereafter

Q. What is PEFC?
A. PEFC- Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes) promotes an internationally credible framework for forest certification schemes and initiatives, which originally focused on European programs but now embraces programs in other parts of the world including SFI in the United States. The PEFC program Endorses SFI.

Q. Where can I find reliable information about environmental groups and the paper and print industries?
A. There are a number of relevant and important environmental groups that continually publish excellent information about the forests and about the paper and print industries with particular emphasis on climate change. Among these are;

• The World Wildlife Foundation
  
• NRDC-Natural Resource Defense Council
  
• Environmental Defense
  
• National Wildlife Foundation
  
• The Nature Conservancy
  
• The Rainforest Alliance
  

Among the more activist and exclusive groups;

• ForestEthics
  
• Dogwood Alliance
  
• Greenpress Initiative
  
• Greenpeace
  
• Rainforest Action Network
  

Q. What is carbon neutral?
A. Your carbon footprint reflects the amount of carbon which you put into the atmosphere.Carbon neutrality is when you have reduced your carbon emissions to zero. In printing and caper merchanting this will require a full evaluation of your energy usage and methods and also the raw materials which you use in your production programs. This is a true measure of environmental responsibility

Q. How do I get to carbon neutrality in print?
A. This is not an easy question as standards have not yet been published for the printing industry. It is suggested that this will happen during 2008 but in the meantime the services of a consultant that specializes in these matters is the best way to proceed. The EPA ( Environmental Protection Agency ) web site is helpful here.

Q. Is it true that the more recycled content in the paper the more environmentally friendly it is?
A. This is one of those questions which is not easy or straightforward to answer because there are several different issues that have to be resolved to find the right answer. What is most important is that there is consensus that the first and most important criterion for establishing the environmental value of paper is whether it comes from a sustainably managed forest or not. The SFI or FSC certification or equivalent is the guarantee of environmental origin. If the paper does not carry those certificates there is no guarantee of environmental integrity.

Both SFI and FSC offer labeling which covers the use of recycled fiber because both programs recognize the environmental importance of recycling. These certificates will only be given where the source of the recycled fiber is known. Clearly if recycled fiber originates from the illegally logged forests it has no environmental worth and in fact a negative environmental profile. In the case of pre-consumer waste which mostly comes from paper mill side runs, from paper mentioned or printer conversions, it is easy to establish the origin of the recycled fiber. In the case of post-consumer waste this is clearly more difficult.

In addition, the distance the recycled fiber has had to travel (particularly when this comes from overseas) carries an environmental cost as does the energy used if the fiber is recycled several times.

Finally the availability of recycled fiber,( particularly for printing papers) is limited and it is not always possible to obtain high recycled content material. Paper with a certified recycled content produced by environmentally responsible pulp and paper Mills and distributed by environmentally responsible merchants is the best guarantee of success.