SmartWay U.S. Environmental Protection Agency* Featured Partner: Specialty Graphic Imaging Association About Specialty Graphic Imaging Association (SGIA) The Specialty Graphic Imaging Association is a North American trade association. SGIA represents manufacturers and distribu- tors of wide-format printing equipment and suppliers, as well as printer members that produce products using screen and digital printing technologies. The SGIA community supports digital and screen printers in the United States and Canada by providing the industry with up-to-date information on relevant topics. SGIA also is a key resource for education and regulatory information for members. For more infor- mation on SGIA's operations, please contact Allison Lundy at allison0sgia.org, or visit SGIA's website: https://www.sgia.org/. SGIA "SGIA prides itself on being an environ- mentally conscious organization, and is a proud supporter of the SmartWay program. Sustainable practices should be implemen- ted at all levels of an organization, includ- ing shipping. SmartWay makes it easy for shippers to keep track of freight emissions and gives them credibility when it comes to being sustainable, which is why SGIA ships with SmartWay carriers. As an affiliate of the program, we encourage our members to do the same." - Ford Bowers, CEO, Specialty Graphic Imaging Association Why SmartWay? SGIA became a SmartWay Affiliate in 2015, and over the past three years has actively supported the program's message to ship sustainably. SGIA encourages members to conduct business responsibly and sustainably SGIA encourages its members to consider the chemicals they use, the energy used to create products and energy used to keep their buildings running. SGIA discusses ways to transport its industry's products in the most efficient way The SmartWay program provides members an opportunity to reduce their carbon footprint thereby increasing their sustainability profiles and the program provides recognition for efforts in this arena. As an Affiliate, SGIA educates members about SmartWay, as well as best practices related to supply chain efficiency. Spreading the Word About SmartWay As a SmartWay Affiliate, SGIA's role is to support the program through education and outreach. Through a series of webinars, SGIA introduced SmartWay to its members and encouraged those attending to join as Partners. The first two webinars were for Canadian and American companies, respectively, and focused on program basics — what is SmartWay, how they can get involved, and the value of participating. The third webinar was a collaboration with the SmartWay program and YRC, a SmartWay Carrier. This webinar provided more in-depth information on registering as a SmartWay Shipper and the benefits of improving sustainability in an organization's shipping operations by working with a SmartWay Carrier. In addition to the webinars, SGIA continues to market SmartWay through other venues. In 2015, fliers about the SmartWay program were included in SGIA's Sustainability Zone at its annual EXPO. In April 2016, Sign Media Canada, a trade publication for the specialty graphics industry, featured an article that touted the benefits of SmartWay and sustainable shipping. SGIA also incorporates the use of SmartWay Carriers in its operations. SGIA ships with UPS and YRC and both are SmartWay carriers. SGIA also encourages its members that use UPS or YRC to register with SmartWay. Results and Success Stories: SGIA supports its members' efforts to comply with environmental regulations, and encourages them to seek opportunities to go above and beyond compliance in their sustainability efforts. Continued U.S. EPA SmartWay | EPA-420-F-18-007 | May 2018 | www.epa.gov/smartway ------- \NSmartWay U.S. Environmental Protection Agency^ Specialty Graphic Imaging Association Continued SmartWay is a great tool for engaging with the organizations member companies on sustainability issues in a substantive way by giving actual examples of how being sustainable helps the environment and can help them. SGIA sees its role in SmartWay as supporting the program through educating members and encouraging active participation in the program. Being a SmartWay Affiliate helps give SGIA susta inability efforts more credibility by showing its industry members that SGIA is walking the walk. Participating in the program makes it easier for business associations like SGIA to convince members to join. Being an Affiliate also gives SGIA many opportunities to collaborate with other organizations. For example, SGIA has reached out to other EPA program offices, including Energy Star. The SmartWay program also helped improve relations with like-minded companies and has opened up networking opportunities with other organizations that share common susta inability goals. What's Next? In the upcoming year, SGIA will continue to educate its members on the benefits of sustainable freight. SGIA plans to update its fliers to include information on SmartWay Shippers affiliated with SGIA, and will extend its sustainable shipping goals by encouraging all exhibitors at upcoming SGIA conferences to ship using SmartWay Carriers. SGIA works closely with the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership, a certification program for printers, and will continue to champion efforts to integrate SmartWay strategies into the certification criteria. SGIA was proud to be an honoree for the 2015, 2016 and 2017 SmartWay Affiliate Challenge, and will strive to continue to successfully support the program over the coming years. ------- |