Posty Cards is First Greeting Card Manufacturer to Become SGP Certified

Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP) has announced that the Kansas City, Missouri facility of Posty Cards has attained SGP Certification. Posty Cards offers personalized business greeting cards and calendars sold directly to end users, and is the first manufacturer in this market segment to become SGP Certified. SGP Certification demonstrates Posty Cards' use of best sustainable printing practices and its commitment to continuous improvement. Posty Cards values the SGP third party verification as an effective way to communicate to its employees, customers and the community the important role that sustainability plays in its operations. Beginning in 2014, the company will further communicate that interest by including the SGP Certification logo on the back of its products.

"We have a big vision for the role that small businesses can play in a more sustainable future and we're pleased that Posty Cards can be a role model for what small businesses can do," states Erick Jessee, President, Posty Cards. "Collectively, the decisions that small businesses make will have a huge impact on how quickly, as a country, we reduce our energy consumption. It is vitally important that businesses begin taking advantage of increasing opportunities to make their operations more efficient."

"SGP Certification demonstrates Posty Cards' commitment to sustainability and supports its initiative to become a role model for environmental efficiency nationwide," comments Paul Lilienthal, Chair, SGP Board of Directors. "We congratulate Posty Cards for being the first greeting card manufacturer to become SGP Certified."

Sustainability has played an important role in Posty Cards' operations throughout the facility's 65-year history. For decades, Posty Cards has maintained an extensive recycling program and used soy-based inks in its printing. The company also minimizes its environmental impact through a waste tracking and reduction initiative, which uses recycled, recyclable, and biodegradable packaging materials for customer shipments. Additionally, Posty Cards generates more than 20 percent of its annual energy usage via on-site solar PV installation, and offsets 100 percent of its electricity consumption through the purchase of Green-e Energy Certified renewable energy. In an expansion of their headquarters and manufacturing plant in 2012, a focus on energy efficient design allowed Posty Cards to double square footage while increasing energy use by only 5 percent.

Complementing its SGP Certification, Posty Cards holds other third party certifications that verify the sustainability of its business operations. Last year, Posty Cards became one of seven manufacturing facilities in the United States to attain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification. LEED Platinum is the highest certification level available, measuring the sustainability of building design, construction, and on-going operations. Posty Cards is also tri-certified for chain of custody, holding Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), and Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) certifications, which verify the sustainability of the facility's paper supply chain. Posty Cards sources paper exclusively from U.S. mills, using FSC-certified paper stock in over 95 percent its products.