Specialty packaging manufacturer J.L. Clark is now the first metal lithographer in North America to have received SGP (Sustainable Green Printing Partnership) Certification for its facilities in Rockford, IL.

Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP) is the leading independent, non-profit organization providing a certification label for sustainability in the graphic communications industry. SGP is the industry standard for the certification and continuous improvement of sustainability and best practices within print manufacturing operations. To receive SGP Certification, J.L. Clark underwent a thorough audit of its facilities showing compliance with a host of rigorous environmental, safety, health and employment regulations, and its implementation of a Sustainability Management System for continuous improvement. “SGP Certification is an important industry recognition of the hard work being done by J.L. Clark and all its employees to minimize our environmental impact,” says J.L. Clark President Phil Baerenwald. “We have made enormous strides transforming our facilities, our operations, and our business practices so that we are now among the most ‘green, clean’ companies in our industry.”

Among the most notable of the J.L. Clark’s sustainability initiatives is its company-wide recycling program, which has diverted hundreds of tons of waste from landfill; an upgraded lighting project resulting in a carbon footprint reduction of more than 84,000 kW hours a year (the equivalent of saving 80 acres of forest); and the installation of new equipment and processes reducing annual natural gas usage by 30%.