Sun Chemical, the world’s leading producer of printing inks and pigments, released its first sustainability report, which provides data-driven performance measurement for seven key sustainability metrics to help customers and consumers understand the company’s environmental footprint.
This first-of-its-kind report evaluates data collected since 2005 from approximately 170 Sun Chemical sites in over 25 countries. The key sustainability metrics measured in the data include: energy consumption/conservation at production and non-production sites, the energy carbon footprint at the production sites, process waste reduction, water consumption, material safety, and employee safety.
Providing a report that shows the ongoing management and monitoring of key sustainability metrics is an important part of Sun Chemical’s recently updated sustainability policy that was introduced at Print ’09.
“Sun Chemical’s sustainability policy is different from other company policies and positioning because it is supported by data that goes far beyond that which is normally reported,” said Felipe Mellado, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Sun Chemical. “Our customers and the marketplace are looking for much more than the standard sustainability rhetoric. They want to know what their suppliers are doing to improve their sustainability performance. This sustainability report does just that with very specific metrics.”
Sun Chemical has also initiated a project to analyse and manage the carbon footprint of its products. The project includes an assessment of eight different ink products manufactured at seven different facilities in the United States and Europe and is expected to be released during the first half of 2010. This assessment is conducted by ENVIRON International Corporation, a consultant with which Sun Chemical partners to offer its SunCare™ Environmental Services.
The first sustainability report is available to customers and can be requested online. Customers in Europe and the U.S. can also calculate the initial carbon footprint for their facility operations by visiting www.sunchemical.com/suncare.
Sun Chemical’s Sustainability Policy
Sun Chemical’s updated sustainability policy (www.sunchemical.com/company/sustainability) stresses its responsibility to raise awareness of environmental issues within the graphic arts industry. Product stewardship and risk management are also important components of the policy as well as its commitment to take an analytical-based approach to its efforts.
Providing customers with enhanced sustainability of their processes and end products is the ultimate goal of Sun Chemical’s sustainability policy. In order to reach that goal, Sun Chemical will use rigorous development processes and analytical tools to evaluate and improve the eco-efficiency of both its manufacturing procedures and products.
This data-driven approach in the policy means Sun Chemical will be able to set improvement targets for its processes on energy and water consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and solid waste emissions as well as develop products with a structured approach that includes risk management and eco-efficiency improvements as criteria.
Focusing on “Getting More—Using Less–Eco-efficiency,” Sun Chemical’s sustainability policy underscores its proactive role in minimising the life cycle footprint of its products and its customers’ impact on the environment.
“As the world’s foremost producer of inks, pigments and colour technology, we continually push the limits of efficiency and strive to adopt the best operational practices to create value and remain competitive. We remain 100 per cent committed to making sure that the print industry is one of the most efficient and environmentally friendly industries in the world. At Sun Chemical, we believe in all our customers and are constantly looking for ways to make them leaders in their industry and improve their efficiency even further”, concluded Felipe Mellado.
About Sun Chemical
Sun Chemical, a member of the DIC group, is the world’s largest producer of printing inks and pigments and a leading provider of materials to packaging, publication, coatings, plastics, cosmetics, and other industrial markets. With annual sales over $3.5 billion, Sun Chemical has more than 10,000 employees supporting customers around the world.
Sun Chemical Corporation is a subsidiary of Sun Chemical Group Coöperatief U.A., the Netherlands, and is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, U.S.A. For more information, please visit our Web site at www.sunchemical.com.