Business Management - Sustainability

Sonoco announced it has received certification from the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)® for the management of its forests.

GOEX Corp, a manufacturer of quality printable plastic sheet, has announced that The John Henry Company, a division of Multi Packaging Solutions, is among the first companies to participate in the GOEX Corporation’s “closed-loop” plastic recycling program.

Wal-Mart has clout—there’s no doubt about that. When Wal-Mart speaks, people listen—especially its suppliers. The company created a real buzz for RFID a few years ago, when it announced that it was mandating the use of this technology from its suppliers. Although this effort has faded from the limelight and has been largely redefined in scope, RFID technology received more attention during a two-year period than it would have gotten in a decade. RFID technology still has a ways to go in terms of reliability and cost, but Wal-Mart’s initiative probably did a lot to advance its development.

The 2009 National Environmental, Health and Safety (NEHS) Conference will tackle one of the most significant issues that has the printing industry abuzz: becoming a Sustainable Green Printer (SGP Printer).

PITTSBURGH, Pa.—The Label Printing Industries of America (LPIA) has announced the dates for its third annual LPIA Technical Institute. The program will take place Feb. 22–24, 2009, at the Printing Industries of America in Pittsburgh, Pa.

The trend toward ‘going green’ has affected everything from large corporations to personal households as entire countries, governments and industries continue to adjust their practices in an effort to decrease their environmental impact. This change has not gone unnoticed in the labels and labeling industry where manufacturers are faced with not only meeting their own sustainability goals, but providing customers and end users with products that will help them achieve their green initiatives as well.

The company plans to reduce desktop and laptop packaging materials by approximately 10 percent worldwide, increase sustainable content in cushioning and corrugate packaging by 40 percent and ensure that 75 percent of packaging components are curbside recyclable by 2012.

Three Flexographic Technical Association (FTA) printer members are well on their way to certification by the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP).

NEW YORK, N.Y.—ABI will conduct a workshop on creating business opportunities through green initiatives while avoiding such pitfalls as green washing and commodification at at the PIRA 2009 Sustainability in Packaging Conference, which will be held March 2-4 in Orlando, Fla.

PHILADELPHIA—Specialty materials company Rohm and Haas announced that the recent “Innovation Takes Root” conference hosted by NatureWorks LLC., provided an ideal forum to explore innovative future applications for sustainable, corn-derived polylactic acid (PLA) and its alloys.