Certifications

After a rigorous certification process, Imperial became ISO Certified in June 2000. In September 2010, the company became upgraded to ISO 9001:2008. ISO is a quality management standard which certifies that Imperial is committed to the highest level of customer satisfaction and to long-term continual improvement of its quality related processes. Some of the requirements in ISO 9001:2008 include the following:

• Maintaining a set of procedures that cover all key processes in the business;
• Monitoring processes to ensure they are effective;
• Keeping adequate records;
• Checking output for defects, with appropriate and corrective action where necessary;
• Regularly reviewing individual processes and the quality system itself for effectiveness; and
• Facilitating continual improvement

Imperial consistently strives to provide the highest quality printing and paper box manufacturing services in our industry. These services always meet or exceed our customers’ requirements while remaining in full compliance with the ISO 9001:2008 quality management standard. Our highly trained and fully qualified personnel remain actively involved in our continual improvement program. Further, we pledge to maintain a safe and environmentally friendly workplace in recognition of our responsibilities to our employees, our customers and our community.

In September 2009, after undergoing a rigorous audit, Imperial received Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) chain-of-custody certification. The Forest Stewardship Council promotes environmentally responsible, socially respectful, and economically viable management of the world’s forests. Chain-of-custody certification provides a guarantee about the production of FSC-certified 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. This means that customers can be sure that FSC-certified paper purchased by Imperial is traceable to responsibly managed forests, and that there are documented controls in place to make sure that the integrity of the environment is upheld. Achieving FSC chain of custody certification is consistent with Imperial’s environmentally conscious philosophy of producing eco-friendly recycled green boxes.

FSC is available upon request. Imperial is among the few certified printers who can print the official FSC Logo on printed products. Customers can promote their environmental stance by requesting FSC Certified paper, and print the FSC Logo on their printed boxes through Imperial. Imperial is set up to print on FSC 100%, FSC Mix, or FSC Recycled paper.

Imperial supports the development of clean energy projects by offsetting 100% of our electricity use. To achieve this, we’ve purchased 150,600 kWh of renewable energy credits (RECs). RECs are the way that green power is tracked and traded in North America and are used by thousands of U.S. and Canadian organizations, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to decrease environmental impact. The purchase of each REC allows the buyer to claim the same positive environmental attributes as one megawatt-hour of on-site clean power generation without the cost and operational complications presented by on-site technology. The RECs we’ve purchased are sourced from 100% U.S. wind power facilities and are certified by Green-e® Energy, the nation’s leading certification program for renewable energy.

For further information regarding RECs, visit our partner’s website at http://www.renewablechoice.com/.