Since joining IWCO Direct in March, I have been impressed with the importance our company places on being good environmental stewards. We were recently honored to learn that IWCO Direct was recognized by Canopy, an international environmental non-governmental organization (NGO), for our sustainability efforts and continuing to prioritize forest conservation and low-footprint, sustainable paper sourcing throughout the challenges of the last year. We are also proud of the fact that we were the highest ranked direct mail printer in the last full Blueline Report issued in 2019.
Sustainable Paper Procurement
IWCO Direct supports environmentally responsible practices to ensure that fiber is sourced from well-managed forests consistent with the conservation of natural resources and with a focus on environmental protection. We partner with paper mills and merchants that have forestry certifications such as ISO 14001, FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council®), SFI® (Sustainable Forestry Initiative®), and/or CSA® (Canadian Standards Association®).
We have held FSC® Chain-of-Custody (COC) certification in all our facilities since 2008. In 2020, approximately 22% of the paper purchased by IWCO Direct was FSC® certified and more than 10% contained recycled content.
IWCO Direct’s recently announced $50 million strategic investment, much of which is directed to enhancing our state-of-the-art digital print and finishing platform, will drive paper waste reduction across our platform, further reducing our environmental footprint.
Sustainability Efforts Include More than Just Paper
IWCO Direct supports a variety of promotional card substrates including our proprietary recycled plastic substrates C-Stream℠ and Revive℠. More than 96% of the plastic card substrates purchased by IWCO Direct in 2020 contained recycled content. We also offer more environmentally friendly options for envelope window film, including a polystyrene product engineered by using an additive to accelerate the initial degradation and ultimately the biodegradation of polystyrene in common disposal environments.
Our robust recycling program operates across all facilities and includes paper, corrugated cardboard, broken wooden pallets, waste from plastic card production, and used aluminum printing plates.
Employees Making an Impact in Our Communities
Each year around Earth Day or Arbor Day, we sponsor a spring “clean-up” event in which employees pitch in to gather litter and other trash from the grounds of each of our facilities, not only removing waste from our environment, but also helping to beautify our communities. The 2021 event, held in late April, involved 54 volunteers from all seven facilities who collected 50 extra-large bags of trash along with an assortment of tires, signs, and other miscellaneous debris. In addition, the teams planted three trees and an assortment of flowers in honor of Arbor Day.
We appreciate the partnership and support we receive from Canopy as we continue our journey toward an even more sustainable future. We are committed to working with suppliers and stakeholders to identify additional means to minimize our environmental footprint and use paper and print more responsibly. To learn more about IWCO Direct’s sustainability efforts and our dedication to environmental stewardship, check out the Sustainability Practices page of our website.
