Cincinnati State College Joins SGP as Resource Partner

Cincinnati State Technical and Community College joins the Sayville, New York-based Sustainable Green Printing Partnership, a nonprofit organization that provides sustainability certification in the graphics communication industry, as its newest resource partner.

According to SGP, its resource partners “are non-profits, (non-governmental organizations) or educational institutions engaged in promoting, teaching or researching in the areas of graphic arts and/or sustainability. Resource partners are subject matter experts that assure our entire community is empowered with the acumen to advance sustainability in the printing industry supply chain.”

Cincinnati State has a long history as a supporter of green business, according to Gary Walton, professor emeritus with the college and director of print for Cincinatti’s BLOC Ministry.

“Our college color is green, so it’s just natural that we would be environmentally conscious in all that we do,” Walton says.

According to SGP, through its sustainability initiatives, Cincinnati State has achieved the following results:

• Fully transitioning to soybean and water-based inks
• Developing flexographic and offset plates with plain tap water
• Recycling paper
• Buying 95 percent of its supplies from local vendors

This fall, the Cincinnati State graphic imaging technology program celebrates 52 years of graphic arts training. With 1,000 print media companies in the local area alone, the school says it is eager to raise awareness about the many sustainable opportunities in the printing industry and encourage young adults to consider a career in sustainable print. Walton says, “Although it can be easy to forget in our digital world, print is still a large industry with plenty of jobs. The print industry is becoming more and more green, and Cincinnati State is proud to lead the way.”

Cincinnati State says their partnership with SGP is an important part of its sustainability strategy and commitment to green business. As a resource partner, it will provide support to help more printers achieve SGP Certification and implement best practices for sustainability in their facilities.