By Noel Jeffrey

Depending on the printers' customers, Forest Stewardship Council Chain of Custody (CoC) certification may be a necessity or a differentiator. An increasing number of corporate clients are requiring FSC certification for approved vendors. Of those who are not, many understand the public relations benefits that accrue from being able to display an FSC stamp.

"My belief is that it will be important for specific printers because of their clients. I assume that most large, international and even national corporations will push for certification. And this will make printers interested in certification," says Gerry Bonetto, government affairs director, Printing Industries of California.

In order to use the FSC logo as an "environmental claim" on paper, the product must have flowed through the FSC "chain-of-custody" from the FSC-certified forest, to a paper manufacturer, merchant and finally printer who have FSC chain-of-custody certification. If any of these components in the supply chain are not FSC certified, the chain is broken. In other words, a printer that is not certified may purchase paper from a merchant that is, but cannot use the logo.

Interestingly, the FSC Web site states, "While recycled fiber is a key element of the traditional model for responsible consumption, it is becoming increasingly clear that forest management in the production of the wood used in paper manufacturing has more fundamental importance than even recycled fiber."

A Bit of History
The FSC, with U.S. headquarters in Washington, D.C. and international headquarters in Bonn, Germany, got its start in 1993 when a group of loggers, foresters, environmentalists and sociologists came together to set standards for forest management around the globe. To date, these standards have been applied and forests certified in over 58 countries.

FSC has developed a set of Principles and Criteria for forest management that is applicable to all FSC-certified forests throughout the world. There are 10 Principles and 57 Criteria that address legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits and environmental impacts surrounding forest management.

Certification, whether it's for the forest or the printer, is handled by independent companies accredited by the FSC and are listed on the FSC Web site. One of these is the Rainforest Alliance's SmartWood program, which, according to a story in DMNews, certified 100 million acres of forests in 58 countries last year. This number represents a 50 percent rise in the number of certified acres from 2005 to 2006.

CoC Process for Printers
Liza Murphy, senior manager of Marketing and Business Development, Sustainable

Forestry, for the Rainforest Alliance, points out that the CoC process is far more complex for a forest than it is for a printer. "For printers, the CoC certification is about inventory management," Murphy says.

Note that printers are not obligated to purchase FSC-certified paper exclusively. They just have to be able to keep track of which stock is FSC and which is not.

She explains that an interested printer has to submit an application to a certifier and the two parties reach a budget and service agreement. Then an auditor is sent to the printing company, does an assessment to make sure that inventory controls are rigorous enough, and offers training on proper inventory procedures.

"It can take a couple of hours to a day for a single site," Murphy says. "A ballpark annual cost for a single site could be a low as $3,000. I realize that the cost is not minor if you're a small shop, but the perception that FSC certification is in the $10,000 range is not even close."

Benefits
Gary Jones, director EHS affairs, PIA/GATF, says, "The FSC issue has been heating up recently. There appears to be big push by customers on several fronts regarding the greening of print and the FSC is one of them. The FSC program is actually one of two that address the issue of green forestry. The other one is the SFI program."

"Regarding benefits to the printer, I am not sure there is a direct benefit in terms of operations or profits, but some printers have lost business because they were not FSC certified," Jones says. This of course, would have an impact on business! The FSC CoC Certification is not free and some printers have reported that it has cost them $5,000 to have the third party audit done at their operation. So, a printer has to make the decision if the cost is worth the ability to either not lose business or go after new business.

"I have also spoken to printers whose competitor has received the certification and are now using it to differentiate themselves by saying that they are a green printer. Of course this claim may or may not be a true statement, but when it comes to marketing, anything goes," he concludes.

Murphy says, "After printers start promoting their participation, they are coming back with new business as a result - Business with existing clients may increase and certification can be an entry to new clients because the printer can offer to provide solutions to their supply chain challenges - It's a win/win for everybody involved."

The Competitive Program
According to its Web site, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI0 program originally spearheaded by the American Forest & Paper Association, but now fully independent, is a comprehensive system of principles, objectives and performance measures developed by professional foresters, conservationists and scientists, among others that combines the perpetual growing and harvesting of trees with the long-term protection of wildlife, plants, soil and water quality. There are currently over 150 million acres of forestland in North America enrolled in the SFI program.

The SFI Program is overseen by the Sustainable Forestry Board (SFB), an independent 501(c)3 organization, which is responsible for maintaining and enhancing the SFI Standard and verification procedures. SFI also offers a labeling program.

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This article is reprinted with permission from Blueline, the quarterly print buyers publication of the Printing Industries of Northern California (PINC).

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Additional Resources
According to a post by Gail Nickel-Kailing, a WhatTheyThink Webinar entitled "The Value of Certifications as a Business Strategy" garnered 500 registrants. If this statistic is any barometer, third-party certification are of more than passing interest to many in the industry. The site published two articles on the topic by Vic Barkin, consultant and auditor for Smartwood's FSC-certification program, that you may also find helpful. Click on the links below to read them.

Part One
http://sections.whattheythink.com/environment/
2008/06/getting-fscsfi-chain-of-custody-certified-part-one

Part Two
http://sections.whattheythink.com/environment/
2008/06/getting-fscsfi-chain-of-custody-certified-part-two

Please note that PaperSpecs does not endorse or recommend a particular consultant or third-party certifying body. The information presented is the experience of the authors and is offered as a starting point for your own research. We encourage you to contact the consultants and/or certifying bodies of your choice for specific details on their individual programs, costs and benefits.

6/25/08