Corporate Sustainability Statement

Sustainability has been a buzz word in the packaging industry for some time now with environmentalists questioning the impact businesses and consumers are having on greenhouse gases, and the effect those emissions are having on global warming.
Inquiries from Flint Group customers relating to the sustainability of Flint Group inks have also continued to increase over the last several years with printers looking to respond to market requirements to provide environmentally sustainable products.

Sustainability for inks and coatings is a complex subject with little scientifically-based life cycle analysis research being conducted in this area. Water inks, which most people consider to be more environmentally benign, contain raw materials that are petrochemical-based. Some solvent inks, containing petrochemical-based solvents, also contain raw materials coming from renewable resources. It is certainly a very complex, and complicated, subject.

Inks, in general, make up such a small portion of the mass of the entire package, it makes little sense to expend significant effort to make changes to a material that will have a minimal overall impact on the sustainability of the package.

In addition, inks are a visible part of the package that the consumer can see. Inks have a large impact on the final performance and aesthetics of the package. The recycle content of paper can be changed and the consumer will likely not see the change. A film can be downgauged and the consumer may not see a change. Brand equity is often based on product consistency. A branded product must be very careful in changing the package. If a change is perceived, the consumer may wrongly believe the product has also been changed. For all of these reasons inks are well down the list of items that will be changed based on sustainability.

But this doesn't mean that Flint Group can't or shouldn't look at what can be done to improve sustainability as it relates to inks and coatings.

Flint Group continues to work closely in partnership with customers, who are actively looking to increase the sustainability of their inks and coatings. The Packaging & Narrow Web Technical Support teams have implemented a methodology and number of control systems devised through intensive research and experience to focus on some key areas to increase sustainability including ink film thickness, inventory management of press returns, ink ordering, press wash-up, additive usage and, finally, ink storage.

There are other issues that can be looked into, but the key area is in reducing the amount being used, and the amount being wasted. In doing so, operations and products become more sustainable, while also reducing costs.

The Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) has said in the past that there currently is no such thing as a completely sustainable package. The short-term goal is to incrementally improve sustainability. As suppliers to the printing industry, Flint Group continues to make these incremental improvements to ensure that individually and collectively significant gains can be made to the sustainability of the products its customers depend on.

Flint Group is proud to be an active member of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition and support its vision of responsible sourcing. For more information about SPC follow the link below.

Flint Group participated as a stakeholder in the founding of the Sustainable Green Printers Partnership. The SGP is a materials neutral independent organization which can verify and certify printers as having a viable and robust sustainability initiative within its printing operations. For more information about SGP follow the link below.