Toppan America achieves FSC Chain of Custody Certification
Toppan America has always known that our environment is something to be treasured and preserved. As printers, we have felt a responsibility to care for the environment. We work to increase awareness of environmental issues through programs that help educate and encourage others to also take responsibility. We were one of the first printers to be dual certified in both ISO 14001:2004 for Environment and ISO 9001:2000 for Quality. Today we are proud to be Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified.It is also important to note that our customers have expressed their concern for the environment, looking for a quantifiable method to show their own constituents their responsiveness to the need for conservation. These factors encouraged Toppan America to pursue and attain the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Chain of Custody certification.
Toppan looked at the numbers, the amount of paper being used and the forestry it takes to make that paper. It made our decision easy.
"The US is the largest market for paper products in the world, producing 90 million tons of paper annually and, in-turn, consuming about 100 million tons. Roughly, 50% of US paper products are being recaptured and recycled, and recent campaigns may lead to a further increase in recycling. However, despite improved technologies for refining post consumer pulp, virgin fiber is still a significant requirement, as only 35% of current consumption is met by using recycled fiber; in addition, approximately 25% of recovered fiber is exported. Roughly 25% by volume of timber cut annually in the US is used for paper production."
As part of the largest printing company in the world, we wanted to express our concern by following measurable methods for using recycled and certified papers.
The Forest Stewardship Council accredits third party entities that award printers Chain of Custody certification after a rigorous review of the methods and suppliers that a printer uses. The printers must show their recycling methods, official procedures for record keeping, and meet with other criteria set forth by the FSC's assessment process. Toppan America is proud to be one of only seven printers in New Jersey to have gained this honored FSC certification.
Toppan America's President, George Maruta, is very enthusiastic about being involved with Smartwood and the Rainforest Alliance, the certification agency for the FSC. "Toppan is very pleased and excited to be awarded FSC Chain of Custody certification. This is further proof that we remain committed to not only giving our customers the best and highest quality printing and service, but also of our commitment to providing them with environmentally sound products."
Customers have enthusiastically embraced the FSC designation. Universities, pharmaceutical companies, marketing agencies and others have taken advantage of Toppan America's expertise in printing while showing their support of the environment by meeting the requirements to include the FSC logo on their products.
The FSC has third party, independent certification organizations which assess how a forest is managed using the FSC principles, criteria and standards. These certification organizations evaluate the forest management systems and activities as well as the tracking process of the forest products to their final destination. This second type of certification is called Chain of Custody, the certification that Toppan has achieved.
When you see an FSC CoC logo on a printed product, you then know that the paper was from a certified forest that uses a responsible forest management system. The wood then went to a certified mill that prepared the paper following specific guidelines. That paper then came to a certified printer to produce the final product. This system provides an assurance of social and environmental responsibility on the part of the producer.
Toppan is proud to be one of those environmentally conscientious producers.
For more information about FSC Certification and Toppan's Corporate Social Responsibilities, click here (goes to FSC pages in site).
Toppan Printing Company America Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Toppan Printing Company Ltd., which is the largest printing company in the world, servicing many Fortune International 500 clients with sales of more than $13 billion. Toppan America offers customers high-quality prepress, printing, POD, Mailing, fulfillment, and distribution. Toppan America has become one of the top 100 printers in the USA, winning many major awards including the SAPPI "Printer of The Year," and recently earning dual ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001:2004 certification.
1- http://www.fscus.org/paper/ - Forest Stewardship Council –US
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