Taylor Communication's Sustainability Initiatives
Working Together to Reduce Environmental Impact

Since your supplier’s environmental footprint adds to your own, don’t you want to use suppliers that are committed in their efforts to reduce environmental impact?  Taylor Communications advances your reputation by being an environmentally responsible vendor.  In fact, we are leading the industry in our environmental efforts.

Taylor Communications recognizes its responsibility to the environment and to the communities in which we work and serve.  We continue to grow our green initiatives while looking for new ways to reduce non-recyclable waste, as well as lessen and eliminate environmental hazards.

Responsible Forest Management Practices

Twenty-three of Taylor Communication’s production facilities in the U.S. have obtained certifications with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI).   Our label facilities in Dayton and Monterrey, Mexico are not certified as they specialize in durable labels which usually involve printing on films and other synthetic materials.   Three remote StanFast locations remain uncertified due to size.

Through the FSC and SFI chain of custody systems, Taylor Communications connects responsible forest management practices and products with our customers.  With those certifications, we not only show our dedication to protecting the environment, but we also enable our customers to demonstrate their commitment to environmentally and socially responsible forest management and label their products with the FSC or SFI trademark. 

In addition, FSC and SFI certified papers also act as an alternative to recycled paper.  When our customers do not want the added cost associated with high post-consumer recycled paper, using FSC or SFI certified papers still provides the opportunity to show their commitment to lessening the environmental impact of daily operations. 

An Eye on Energy Consumption

Taylor Communications has enlisted leaders in the analysis and management of energy consumption to audit our facilities and recommend actions to make significant reductions in energy usage from both manufacturing and facility use.  They will also help to implement corrective and energy-reducing actions.  One of the main areas of energy reduction is occurring in our digital printing fleet.  Through our digital transformation project, we are updating the majority of our digital print on demand equipment.  The new equipment is more efficient, requiring less units, as well as more energy efficient than the older units.

Carbon Footprint

Taylor Communications has identified and calculated our baseline carbon footprint and has responded to the Carbon Disclosure Project’s annual survey for 2010.  The average score for participating companies was 48.  Our score of 91 demonstrates that we have a clear understanding of our environmental impacts; clearly identifying and measuring our sources of Green House Gas Emissions allows Taylor Communications to target the main sources and focus on developing and implementing programs to reduce these emissions.   We believe that participation in this program takes us to the next level of environmental responsiveness.

Awards and Recognition

In 2011 SR received the WhatTheyThink award for "Environmental Sustainability and Your Processes." 

Also in 2011, SR was the subject of numerous news articles on the web regarding environmental performance, including GreenBiz.com, Reuters, and The Wall Street Journal Online.

Waste Handling

Taylor Communications has undergone an extensive analysis of our non-recyclable waste handling procedures.  As a result, we have many initiatives and processes in place to identify and reduce the disposal of waste generated in our manufacturing processes, as well as our corporate office.  Examples of these include:

• Identifying all internal sources of waste generated by Taylor Communications facilities and current disposal methods
• Classifying wastes
• Ongoing measurement of waste streams and the costs associated with disposal
• Executing programs to eliminate, recycle, or render environmentally responsible disposal of waste.

As a result of implementing recycling programs, Taylor Communications has significantly increased our recycled waste percentages. Since these programs were started, our liquid hazardous waste has been reduced by 99%, and our trash tonnage has been reduced by 2000 tons.   In 2010, our company diverted over 80 percent of our total waste from landfill, due to recycling efforts and five percent more through burn-for-energy incineration.

Material Sciences and Eco-Friendly Substitution

To further capitalize on our company-wide waste management and elimination strategies, Taylor Communications also incorporates eco-friendly alternatives when considering raw materials for production:

• All petroleum-based inks have been converted to vegetable (soy) based.
• Offset printing technology has been completely transformed from alcohol/solvent-based to synthetic-based material that is environmentally healthy.
• Through computer-to-plate (CTP) technology, we have eliminated the vast majority of film processing to make plates.  Those facilities still using film add special filters to their processors to recover the hazardous component from waste, making what is left non-hazardous. 
• Our primary vendor for carbonless paper utilizes vegetable-based carbonless capsules in the manufacture of their products.    

Since the early 1990s, Taylor Communication’s Rotary Manufacturing Plants have participated in a program for segregation and recycling of the majority of plant-generated scrap paper.  This program continues today, significantly reducing much of the landfill practices that were previously in place.  Over the last year, company recycling programs have expanded to include our Corporate Office, as well as cardboard, plastics, metal and other recyclable items being generated at our facilities. 

Taylor Communications has a history of engaging in activities to ensure our company, our customers and our supply chain have a positive impact on our environment.  Our “less paper strategy” for managing our customers’ document flow has had significant impact on reducing total paper consumption in North America.  At the same time, SMARTworks®, our Web-based document management platform, provides our customers with an eco-friendly way to procure, manage and track document cost and usage, so they can make responsible choices.

The initiatives above show how we continue to maintain a leadership role in environmental stewardship.  For more information on ways to clean up your business processes with Taylor Communication’s suite of eco-friendly solutions, contact us today at 1-800-755-6405.  Together, we can share responsibility for reducing the environmental impacts of daily operations.