EHS Resources

Following are a variety of resources available to help you with your sustainability initiatives. Additional resources are available under the Health, Safety and the Environmental Links on the left side of the blog.

The National Environmental Health and Safety Conference for the Graphic Arts Industry (NEHS) is an annual conference covering the vast array of environmental, health and safety topics pertaining to printing. - http://www.nehsconference.org/

The Virtual Flexo Plant (VFP) is an online resource developed by the Printers National Environmental Assistance Council in conjunction with the FTA and that provides a description of hazards associated with each department in a printing operation. It provides best practices, pollution prevention, pertinent regulations, tips and suggestions, as well as additional resources. - http://pneac.org/virtualflexoplant/

The Flexo Environment is a book published by the Flexographic Technical Association pertaining to the many environmental issues involved in a printing operation. The book is available through the FTA Store at http://www.ftastore.com/.

The Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (https://www.sgppartnership.org/), is an independent registration organization formed as a collaboration among the Flexographic Technical Association (FTA), Printing Industries of America / Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (PIA/GATF) and Specialty Graphic Imaging Association (SGIA) with the primary goals of defining sustainable green printing and identifying steps that help the printing industry establish sustainable manufacturing and business practices.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) launched a new flexography module as part of its interactive web-based training tool, Ergonomics in the Printing Industry eTool. The module and the eTool are products of the agency's alliance with the Graphic Arts Coalition. The Flexo Ergonomics Etool identifies safety hazards typical of printing operations and possible solutions to reduce the potential for injury. http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/products/etools/printing/flexography/flexography_index.html

The Flexographic Technical Association hosts an annual competition that recognizes the environmental initiatives of FTA members. The FTA Environmental Excellence Awards program honors those companies and organizations that utilize environmentally sound resources and practices that contribute to a healthier Earth and a healthier way of life. http://www.flexography.org/online/awards/enviro/index.cfm


Additional information can be obtained from the following Associations and Government Agencies:

OSHA - http://www.osha.gov/
EPA - http://www.epa.gov/
FTA - http://www.flexography.org/ (FTA offers a variety of additional resources including the EHS Direct newsletter, FTA Sustainability Committee, In-plant environmental self-assessment, and many others).
PIA/GATF – http://www.gain.net/
PNEAC – http://www.pneac.org/

FTA Environmental Excellence Awards

Every year, the Flexographic Technical Association acknowledges those companies that go above and beyond to develop processes and products that have a positive impact on the environment. This year, there was an outstanding group of nominees including Dion Label, Coating Excellence International, Overnight Labels, Creative Labels, Press Color, Allpak Trojan and The Lauterbach Group.

These firms presented a wide variety of innovative efforts aimed at energy and process efficiency, waste reduction, recycling, energy generation, and the development of environmentally friendy products. This was the largest field of nominations ever received in a given year since the Environmental Excellence Awards Competition began. The quality of the nominations made for an extremely challenging judging process. Environmental stewardship is clearly infiltrating every aspect of many organizations, as evidenced by this year's nominees. Some of the highlights of this year's nominations:

Creative Labels received an Honorable Mention for Technical Innovation for their installation of a solar energy system, which produces 45121 kwh/year and reduces CO2 production by 68000#/year.

Coating Excellence won 1st place for Technical Innovation for their development of an innovative film laminated to a woven poly bag. This material requires significantly less material to produce than conventional multiwalled bags, is recycleable, requires less ink to print on, and is produced with renewable energy. The construction of this bag is stronger, resulting in less product damage and associated waste.

Allpak Trojan received an Honorable Mention for Process Improvement for a variety of initiatives that included repair and reuse of 650 pallets/month, replacement of all solvent cleaners, developement of a recycleable protective inner packaging material, and installation of energy efficient lighting.

The Lauterbach Group recieved 1st place for Process Improvement for a comprehensive program of improvements to existing facilities, construction of a new LEEDs certified Energy Efficent plant, pallet recycling and repair, improved printing process efficiency, an awards program to recognize employees for outstanding results, semi-paperless office, ink recycling, and digital platemaking.

As an Environmental Excellence Awards Judge, I am proud to congratulate the winners and all of this year's nominees.