RoArk’s Commitment to Environmental Sustainability

At RoArk, we do more than just talk about sustainability.  Our leadership and employees are working hard every day to make it a reality.  We recognize that our company and industry have a responsibility to the environment and to ensuring that our planet is inhabitable for future generations.

As part of our commitment to the environment, RoArk has implemented the following initiatives:

RoArk obtained its FSC certification in September 2008 and is the first commercial printer in Northwest Arkansas and one of the first in the state to obtain this level of recognition.

The Forest Stewardship Council is the only internationally recognized standard for managing forests sustainability. The certification was administered by SmartWood, a Program of the Rainforest Alliance and an independent certifier for FSC. The FSC logo guarantees that the source of the material in our products, bearing the FSC logo or identified on our invoice, originates from a certified forest.

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) promotes environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of the world's forests. The FSC logo identifies products which contain wood from well managed forests certified in accordance with the rules of the Forest Stewardship Council.

The FSC Chain of Custody system connects responsible forest management practices with consumers by providing a consistent, international basis for claims about the sourcing of material and products. Chain-of-custody is the path taken by raw materials from the forest to the consumer, including all successive stages of processing, transformation, manufacturing and distribution. The certification provides a guarantee about the production of FSC-certified products.

All of RoArk’s standard inks are vegetable-based. During the normal course of our manufacturing process, we do not use petroleum-based inks. All of our ink formulations are deemed non-hazardous so that what little waste results can be safely deposited in landfills.

With the adoption of a CTP workflow, RoArk eliminated film and with it, we have eliminated the heavy metals that accompanied that printing process. We have also been able to eliminate the hazardous film chemistry that was required for processing film-based printing.

All hazardous waste is shipped via a certified disposal company to minimize its impact on our environment.

For complete record keeping and in accordance with federal regulations, RoArk maintains MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets) for all chemicals utilized in our plant within close availability for managers and employees.

Recycling

All waste paper generated during the press and bindery processes are collected, bailed, and recycled.  RoArk has also implemented policies and procedures to substantially reduce the amount of waste paper generated by these activities. 

All printing plates are recycled through an aluminum recycler. Pallets are recycled. Electronics and computers are recycled. Office paper is recycled, as well as all lubricant oils used throughout the company.

RoArk encourages its employees to adopt a Personal Sustainability Project to find ways to address sustainability outside of their work lives.  The goals of the PSPs surround healthier eating and lifestyle habits, replacing inefficient lighting and home appliances with better ones, using environmentally-friendly and non-toxic home cleaning products, and getting involved in projects in one's community.

There is a role for all of us in the promotion of sustainability, so as an extension of our commitment, we actively encourage our customers and their agents, designers, print buyers and marketing managers to make design and purchasing decisions that reduce or remove the environmental impact for the products that we manufacture. We are pleased to consult with them in areas where they can positively address sustainability issues with respect to their print materials.