01732 759725 30 MARKET TRENDS According to Quocirca’s Sustainability Market Trends Study 2023, more than three-quarters of organisations are accelerating their sustainability strategies in response to stakeholder demand and growing regulatory requirements A rising focus on sustainability environmental impact. Louella Fernandes, CEO, Quocirca, said: “A combination of stakeholder expectations and the implementation of legislation such as the corporate sustainability reporting directive (CSRD) are prompting organisations to speed up their sustainability initiatives. This is driving a broader cohort of decisionmakers to put more emphasis on the sustainability performance of the solutions – and suppliers – they select. “However, they are not always able to get the data they need from vendors. There is a clear need for vendors to offer more clarity around the sustainability credentials of their products; demand for relevant data and analysis will only increase in the future and vendors that can’t offer it will lose their competitive position.” Sustainability initiatives are paperdriven The study found that the most common strategies implemented to reduce environmental impact around the print infrastructure are focused on reducing paper consumption. The top three practices in place are adopting print policies to encourage responsible printing, adopting digital workflows, and using paper from certified sources. Fewer companies are currently using remanufactured or refurbished hardware or leveraging environmental analytics – these are in place at only 31 per cent of businesses. Companies view digitisation of paper-based processes as a central pillar of sustainability – 70 per cent say it is important to achieving their objectives, second only to the adoption of a cloud platform, rated important by 75 per cent. “The pursuit of a less-paper workplace is nothing new, and limiting consumption through pull-printing and process digitisation is a logical focus area. However, companies should explore the entire range of options for reducing the impact of the print infrastructure from cradle to grave,” Louella explained. “With many businesses embarking on significant investment in workplace technology to meet hybrid, distributed working requirements, now is a great time to modernise the print infrastructure with a view to meeting sustainability goals, as well as improving efficiency, security and reducing costs,” she added. Sustainability maturity varies While there is consensus around speeding up sustainability initiatives, companies are starting from different levels of maturity. Most organisations are still developing their strategies: 42 per cent report they are just starting their sustainability strategy and a further 34 per cent have several initiatives in place. Just 19 per cent of organisations report they have a fully implemented company-wide sustainability strategy, dropping to 11 per cent among SMBs and rising to 22 per cent among large enterprises. A company’s level of sustainability maturity is evident in its responsiveness to broader issues such as ESG legislation. The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, for example, has impacted 60 per cent of surveyed companies overall, but this figure rises to 86 per cent among those that have fully implemented a sustainability strategy. “Whatever their level of sustainability maturity, companies should explore print infrastructure modernisation as a win-win for meeting sustainability goals. The industry has a long history of embedding circular economy principles into the value chain. Buyers can benefit from advances in technology and service provision that will help them meet energy efficiency, waste reduction, and wider environmental impact targets,” Louella concluded. www.quocirca.com Quocirca’s latest study reveals that corporate sustainability goals are influencing print supplier selection as the drive to improve environmental performance accelerates. As a wider cohort of stakeholders in senior and mid-management exert greater influence over sustainability initiatives, buyers have high expectations of supplier and device performance. Seven in ten decision-makers say it is important that suppliers demonstrate that they are reducing their own environmental impact, and the same percentage say it is important their supplier provides a range of sustainable products and services. Notably, a majority (69 per cent) of respondents which includes IT and business decisionmakers with involvement and awareness of sustainability and print technology decisions, say they formally track the environmental performance of their print supplier. Demand for relevant data However, despite the rising focus on sustainability, decision-makers say a lack of data from vendors about the environmental impact of printers and MFPs is a barrier to achieving their corporate sustainability goals. Also, while 80 per cent say they are willing to pay a premium for products with environmental features, the cost of such products is still cited among the top three challenges faced by organisations attempting to reduce their Louella Fernandes Seven in ten decisionmakers say it is important that suppliers demonstrate that they are reducing their own environmental impact
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