Sustainability
Inspires Innovation

Forest Stewardship Council ®

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) is a global not-for-profit organization that sets the standard for responsibly managed forests world-wide, both environmentally and socially.

In 2004, Hemlock became the first FSC certified printer in the Pacific Northwest to embrace this gold standard chain-of-custody certification as the leading model for sustainable forest management. We are proud of the continued growth in FSC paper usage by our clients, which now exceeds 90% of the stock on which we print, a 10% increase from 2016.

Environmental Benefits Statement

Post-consumer waste (PCW) paper contains fibres that have served their purpose as a consumer item and been redirected from the landfill. Using paper that contains PCW saves resources such as water, energy and trees and diverts solid waste from the landfill and GHG emissions from entering the atmosphere.

Hemlock creates customized Environmental Benefits Statements based on the percentage of PCW fibre in a print job, which can be used to clearly demonstrates your environmental commitment.

Green-e Certification

Green-e paper certification can only be applied to paper that is manufactured at mills which use 100% certified renewable energy, including electricity created by wind, solar, biomass or run-of-river sources.

Hemlock is the only Green-e certified printer in Canada and certifies our own electricity use under the same program.

Ancient and Endangered Forest Purchasing Policy

Hemlock has established a comprehensive Ancient and Endangered Forest Purchasing Policy which provides the guidelines to help us to continue to grow our use of FSC and Post-Consumer Waste papers, shift to grades that have a lower carbon footprint and ensure that all the paper we buy comes from sources that protect and preserve the ancient and endangered forests globally.

As part of our commitment to the conservation of the world’s ancient and endangered forest ecosystems, we strongly support the North American commercial scale development of pulp, paper and packaging alternatives that are derived from agricultural residues like wheat straw as a way to diversify the fibre basket and meet our continued need for high quality, cost effective products.

Coronado SST 100

A shining example our innovation and initiative is the unique partnership with Neenah Paper and Offsetters we established to develop Coronado SST 100, the first paper of its kind certified carbon-neutral throughout its lifecycle. Available only from Hemlock Printers, Coronado is a 100% post-consumer recycled premium uncoated sheet for both digital and offset production and is both FSC and Green-e certified.

Forest Landscapes of Hope

Hemlock is conscious of the impacts of sourcing decisions on endangered species, high conservation value forests, communities and climate, in places like the Boreal and the Broadback Forest, Coastal Temperate Rainforests and Indonesian Rainforests. We are working closely with not-for-profit Canopy on policy implementation to ensure we carefully assess our fibre sourcing to avoid ancient and endangered forest regions. Alongside Canopy, we encourage governments and the forest sector to support and advance protection of the world’s ancient and endangered forests. We are committed and proud to contribute to the creation of conservation legacies in these landscapes of hopes.

Environmental Technology

Hemlock’s equipment runs on 100% renewable energy and our move to LED lighting reduced our electricity consumption by over 35%. In addition to operating as a carbon neutral company, two of our most recently installed Heidelberg presses are manufactured carbon neutral, effectively reducing emissions in our supply chain. As we embrace UV print technology to replace our conventional offset presses, our Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emissions continue to shift to virtually zero. Our presses also create the opportunity to embrace closed-loop systems. Investment in dampening filters and a fountain replenishment system allows us to purify and reuse water and additives for up to four months, ultimately reducing the wastewater from our presses by 65%.

Recycling & Waste Reductions

Identifying ways to reduce waste is integral to Hemlock’s sustainable outcomes. We divert 98% of all solid waste generated in our business operations from the landfill by providing dedicated recycling programs for aluminum, plastic and wooden pallets.

The recent installment of Heidelberg’s energy efficient XL 106 8-colour LED press cuts the time to the first saleable sheet by 50% and reduces paper waste through sheet size optimization using CutStar technology.

Supply Chain Partnerships

Guided by a comprehensive Ancient and Endangered Forest Purchasing policy, Hemlock works closely with valued supply chain partners to advocate for more recycled material and agricultural residues in paper. Since creating this policy, our clients have purchased approximately 50% more paper made from 100% recycled fibre than in 2010, amounting to over 450 metric tonnes of paper purchased annually.

With the assistance of Canopy’s intuitive ForestMapper application tool, we actively extend our reach to paper mills to increase transparency of sourcing locations, allowing us to make more informed and sustainable purchasing decisions.