Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
The SmartWood Program of the Rainforest Alliance has certified Times Printing Co., Inc to FSC Chain-of-Custody standards. Please contact your Times Printing sales person for more information regarding using FSC certified paper.
What does FSC mean?
FSC stands for Forest Stewardship Council, and is a part of the Rainforest Alliance. There are other certification bodies out there such as Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI); Canadian Standard Association (CSA) – used in Canada; Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) – used in Europe. FSC is arguably the most well known and highly respected certifying body in the United States, and is the "original" international forest certification system. FSC was created by forest managers and producers, conservation groups, labor and indigenous and other social interest groups globally.
Why FSC paper?
FSC paper or certification addresses the remaining 70-90% of the paper fiber that's not recycled. Most paper mills produce 30% post consumer waste in text and cover. Forestry certification addresses the virgin content of the paper. There are growing demands by consumers because of the awareness of forest destruction and degradation that has led consumers to demand that their purchases of wood and other forest products not contribute to the destruction but rather help to secure forest resources for the future.
What is FSC?
Forest certification is a system of forest inspection and a way of tracking timber and paper through a "chain of custody" (COC). This process follows the raw material through to the finished product. The COC assures the consumer that the products have come from forests which are well managed. This means that the foresters take into account environmental, social and economic principles and criteria.
FSC Product Labels
FSC or Smartwood, which is the governing and certifying body of FSC certification, main tool for achieving its mission is a product-labeling system. It is essential to their mission that the authority, integrity and credibility of the trademark is maintained, which is accomplished through the COC certification process. Certifications or "claims" are broken down into one of the three types of paper below:
FSC Pure – FSC 100%, products with an FSC 100% label originate entirely from forests certified as meeting the environmental and social standards of FSC.
FSC Recycled – Products with an FSC recycled label support re-use of forest resources and use only post consumer recycled wood or fiber in accordance with FSC standards.
FSC Mixed Sources – Products with an FSC mixed sources label support the development of responsible forest management worldwide. The wood comes from FSC-certified well-managed forests, company controlled sources and/or recycled material.
Chain of Custody requirements
The chain of custody includes the forest, pulp mill, paper mill, paper, distributor and printer. When we purchase paper, we must follow a number of steps to ensure that the paper we receive for a customer's job is indeed FSC certified paper and is coming from a certified mill or distributor. We then must ensure throughout the production process that the job is tracked through the plant and is indeed printed on FSC paper. FSC certified jobs require that all parts of the job contain one of the types of FSC papers above in order for the FSC logo to be printed on the job OR any claim to be made that it is printed on FSC paper.
Useful Links & Additional Information
Forest Stewardship Council – www.fscus.org
Forest Stewardship Council International – www.fsc.org
Rainforest Alliance – www.rainforest-alliance.org
Forest Ethics – www.forestethics.org
Sustainable Forest Initiative (SFI) – www.sfiprogram.org
Wisconsin Green Tier
Times Printing's proactive involvement in the state of Wisconsin's Green Tier program signifies a strong commitment to superior environmental performance. The revolutionary Green Tier Program, the first of its type in Wisconsin, provides incentives that enable good environmental citizens to go beyond compliance and perform to a higher environmental level while allowing the DNR to focus its resources on facilities not meeting requirements.
Tom Eggert, Eastern Wisconsin Environmental Assistance Coordinator, WDNR, stated, "The complexity of environmental challenges facing Wisconsin demands that we move beyond the current compliance model. Green Tier represents the next generation of environmental regulatory theory. With both imagination and courage, environmental leaders such as Times Printing are utilizing this new cooperative approach to produce superior environmental performance."
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