Business News

Sustainability Initiatives Lead NEHS Conference

Friday 26. March 2010 - Keynote presentation featured Extreme Recycling at Subaru

Specialty imagers from around the country recently met for the annual 2010 National Environmental Health and Safety (NEHS) Conference (Indianapolis, March 15-17) to discuss sustainability and other issues affecting the graphic communications industry.

“The NEHS conference provides printers of all platforms the opportunity to network with their peers, take home new ideas to implement, and receive up to the minute information on safety, environmental and human resource issues that directly impact all operations,” said Marci Kinter, SGIA Vice President, Government & Business Information.

Denise Coogan, Manager, Safety and Environmental Compliance at Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc., opened the conference with the keynote presentation “Extreme Recycling at Subaru.” The plant set a “green” standard in 2004 when it became the first “zero landfill” auto factory in the US. Attendees learned about the operational decisions, culture and benefits that have accrued from Subaru’s persistent focus on environmental stewardship.

The Sustainable Green Printing (SGP) Partnership certification program was another key topic of discussion. The SGP Printer Panel discussed activities involved in becoming certified as well as how they have benefited from achieving SGP status. Attendees also participated in pre-conference workshops, learned the latest health and safety practices, and developed action plans to employ sustainability programs and projects in their facilities.

“We are just starting to implement our sustainability program,” said NEHS attendee Mark St. Louis of Holland & Crosby (Mississauga, Ontario). “The conference provided me with a great opportunity to network with other facilities looking to implement similar programs.”