1. Project LIFE
Tag & Label Manufacturers Institute
November 17, 2008
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2. Agenda
• What is Project LIFE?
• Why should I participate?
• How much will it cost?
• How does it work?
• What Resources are available?
• Next Steps
• Grand Rapids Label Experience
• Q&A with Bill Muir
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3. What is Project LIFE?
Certification program developed by TLMI to:
• Support member response to growing pressures in the
marketplace about environmental performance
• Create incentives for improving environmental
performance in the industry
• Encourage continual improvement through cost-effective
tools that enable custom prioritization
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4. This is a Member Driven Initiative
Task Force Members:
• Thomas Dahbura Hub Label
• Calvin Frost Channeled Resources (ex-officio)
• Tim Goodwin Resource Label
• Jack Kenny L&NW (ex-officio)
• Doug Kopp Kopco Graphics
• John McDermott Label World, (Chair)
• Mark Miles G-3 Enterprises
• Bill Muir Grand Rapids Label Co.
• Terie Syme Prestige Label
• Nick Van Alstine Macaran Printed Products
• Jeff Salisbury Label Impressions
• Five Winds International (Project Consultants)
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5. Why should I participate?
• Customer Relations:
– Anticipate and be ahead of requests
• Marketing:
– Differentiation will turn into Compliance
• Good Management:
– “What you can measure you can manage”
– Identify cost savings and innovation opportunities
– Empower employees
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6. Why Should I Participate?
• Tailored to label converters and their issues
– Emphasis on matrix and liner waste and label design issues
– General enough to cover entire business operation and diverse
technologies
• Easy to participate in
– Simple process to follow and grow into
– Flexible reporting and valuation
– Proceed at the pace that makes sense for your business
• Affordable
– No special fees to support program overheads
– Pay only for direct audit costs and investments in your business
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7. How do I communicate about LIFE?
• Certification is for your company/facility, not your product
• Certified members can use the logo on marketing materials,
but not the product package
• Guidelines exist for claims and use of the logo
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8. How Much Will This Cost Me?
There are no fees paid
• TLMI annual fees cover… to TLMI to participate
– Project LIFE development and maintenance in Project LIFE apart
– Website access and maintenance from annual TLMI
– Project LIFE marketing costs member fees.
• Participant pays for
– Cost of self-assessment
– Cost of improvements
– Cost of audit every other year
– Cost of marketing their individual certification
• Self-Assessment: Time commitments will vary based on availability and
quality of existing activities and information
• On-site Audit: Cost will be determined by time required by auditor to review
documentation (on average 1-2 days)
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9. Estimated Audit Costs
Travel expenses additional
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10. How Do I Participate?
Set Register
Download Conduct
improvement scorecard
materials self-audit
plans with TLMI
Repeat Market Get
cycle results audited
• TLMI maintains a list of certified members on their website, but is not
expected or able to produce Scorecards if requested by a customer.
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11. How does it work? Scorecard
1. Open and Save a blank copy of the Excel-based Scorecard to serve as a template for future assessments.
Then, Save another copy with the date, facility name, or other identifying characteristic.
4. Enter the date the
3. Enter Name of scorecard was
2. Enter your facility being
Company Name completed
scored
5. Enter the name of the
person that completed the
scorecard.
6. Enter Y in the column that
best describes your level of 7. This column fills in
engagement in each activity. automatically. This is
your Score.
9. Enter any comments or detail
on your score in this requirement.
Please note that supporting
documentation must still be
8. Enter the amount of any submitted for certain levels.
performance improvement in this
requirement from the previous
year, using the unit of
measurement listed.
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12. More on the Scorecard
• Scorecard organized in 4 categories with 31 total metrics:
– 1.0 Clean production techniques
– 2.0 Energy and greenhouse gases
– 3.0 Product design
– 4.0 Management practices
• The scorecard has several metrics particular to label converters (e.g. liner waste) but
most are generic to most businesses and informed by ISO 14001
• Each metric is scored by:
– Not applicable
– No activity
– Investigating
– Engaged
– Public reporting
– Improvement from previous year
• There is no overall “Score” for the scorecard as different stakeholders will emphasize
different metrics
• Participants are encouraged to share the total scorecard with employees, customers
and other important stakeholders.
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13. How does it work? Certification Decision
Should I Become Certified?
 I have met all of the criteria required for certification (see below).
• Must have scored a minimum of ‘Engaged’ for all requirements in the Management
section
• Must have a score of and supporting documents for at least the level of
‘Investigating’ for all requirements, with explanation for any that are considered not
applicable
• Must demonstrate a process for how priorities will be or were determined for
creating formal programs
• Must demonstrate that the facility has incurred no significant environmental
violations
 Certification would allow me to more easily communicate my environmental
commitments to my customers or local regulatory bodies, or my customers
have actively been asking about Project LIFE Certification.
 My company would like to take a leadership position on this issue.
If you do not check any of the above, use the Reference Manual and other
resources to further develop your engagement with environmental activities, and
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consider certification again in the future.

14. Getting Started at www.tlmi.com
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15. Resources Available
• LIFE Reference Manual and Guidelines for Use of Logo
• TLMI Member Site: Green Guide
• TLMI Environmental Best Practices Task Force
• Local Dept of Environmental Quality
• EPA Printer Sector Notebook
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16. Resources Available – Reference Manual
1.1.1 To decrease facility VOC and HAP
releases to the air:
• When printing, use low-VOC inks such
as vegetable oil-based or water-based
inks, or UV inks (rather than solvent-
based inks), coatings, including
varnishes and primers, and cleaning
products.
• When adhesive coating, use low-VOC
adhesives such as water-soluble, hot-
melt, or UV adhesives. Note that UV
materials require additional safety
protection.
• Use automatic cleaning equipment for
parts washers and other equipment.
16 This equipment can often be retrofitted
to existing presses and operations.

17. Next Steps
• Visit the Member website to download the materials:
– www.tlmi.com
• For further questions contact:
John McDermott Frank Sablone
Environmental Best Practices TLMI
Task Force
fas@tlmi.com
JohnM@labelworldusa.com
630-357-9222
585-235-0200, X104
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