The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Chain of Custody certifications from received by Colbert show that the paperboard used in the three factories comes from a well-managed forest.
“These certifications were awarded for our ability to track certified paperboard used in our customers’ packaging from a responsible forest all the way to the retail shelf, and in this way, they are also a win for our customers, retailers, consumers and the environment,” said Colbert Packaging president Jim Hamilton.
Commitment to sustainability
The three certified factories in Illinois and Indiana manufacture secondary packaging for several industries including cosmetics and personal care.
According to Jennifer Moravec, marketing co-ordinator and chain of custody administrator for Colbert Packaging, the certifications are not only key components of Colbert’s sustainability goals, but were also requested by a number of the company’s customers to help meet their own corporate sustainability objectives.
“With sustainability being a major buzzword in today’s day and age, and an ever-growing request from retailers to meet sustainability demands, both manufacturers and consumers want added assurance that they are doing something good to help the environment,” she said.
Moravec said that Colbert’s customers can choose to have the SFI or FSC logos printed on their cartons to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability, which in turn assures consumers that they are purchasing products from environmentally conscious companies.
Rigorous certification process
The SFI certification was awarded by NSF-ISR and the FSC certification by Scientific Certification Systems (SCS). According to Moravec, the process of obtaining the internationally-recognized certification is quite rigorous.
“Companies must develop a documented control system in compliance with both the FSC and SFI standards as well as implement this system, train employees conduct internal audit reviews and undergo an on-site audit with a third-party certification company who is accredited to certify companies to the international standards,” she explained.
Colbert also has a fourth manufacturing facility located in Kentucky, but, as Moravec explained, it was acquired after the initial third-party audit was conducted across the other three facilities, and so could not be included in the initial certification process.