PRINTITRESELLER.UK 29 and lowering the environmental impact of technology production and disposal.” Despite vendor efforts, interest in refurbished/remanufactured devices remains low. Just 14% of respondents rank remanufactured devices in their top three considerations for reducing print environmental impact. A slightly higher percentage (19%) consider refurbished devices important. Awareness of the availability of these devices is high, with 57% of respondents saying they know their manufacturer offers refurbished devices and 49% aware that they offer remanufactured devices. Together, this indicates that their role in a more sustainable print environment has yet to be realised. “Vendors are stepping up their remanufacturing and refurbishing programmes, with several manufacturers offering certified ‘as-new’ products back to market. This has yet to influence buyers, however, as interest in such products has stayed consistently low. However, with regulations such as France’s anti-waste law focusing on promoting the circular economy, including refurbished devices, it is an area that we expect to see growing in the short- to medium-term,” Louella said. “The findings from this year’s Quocirca Print Sustainability Trends Study underline the need for more education around print sustainability, with clear and transparent data provision, robust reporting and rigorous monitoring all important to help customers achieve sustainability goals,” she concluded. www.quocirca.com environmental data available on printers and MFPs is cited as the second biggest challenge associated with reducing environmental impact after cost. Concerns about greenwashing have also risen considerably in the past year. 28% of respondents say it is a major challenge of reducing the environmental impact of printing, moving it from sixth place in the list of challenges to third. Quocirca’s CEO Louella Fernandes said: “Organisations are exhibiting increasing focus on reducing environmental impact – especially at the most senior level. They want data but don’t feel that it is easily accessible, and they are alert to greenwashing. Vendors therefore have a dual challenge – first to provide the data at the level required, and second to build customer trust that it is evidenced and accurate. “As customers increasingly focus on environmental reporting requirements, getting accurate information about emissions and impact grows in importance. Technology providers such as print vendors, MPS providers and channel partners, can play a pivotal role in enabling organisations to effectively track and manage their Scope 3 emissions.” Commitment to circularity She continued: “Vendors are also demonstrating their commitment to circularity, with several offering product life extension options or longer initial design life. By doing this, vendors contribute to reducing electronic waste Quocirca’s survey, conducted among 560 IT decision-makers from the UK, US, France and Germany, revealed that businesses increasingly link sustainability to commercial performance, with 59% of survey respondents stating they expect that sustainability will be extremely important to business performance by 2026. The study also found that regulatory pressure, stakeholder expectations and the need to increase operational efficiency, are the three key factors driving efforts to cut impact. However, cost, a lack of clear environmental data, and greenwashing concerns, are seen as barriers to sustainable print choices. 78% of IT decision-makers now say it is important that their supplier monitors the environmental impact of their print environment, an increase from 65% in 2023. This rises to 86% among C-level executives, indicating the extent of executive focus on this topic. Energy efficiency has grown in importance and is the top product selection factor for sustainability, rising from 27% in 2023 to 38% in 2024. Sustainable consumables and device longevity are the joint second most common considerations, important for 33% in each case. A clear sustainability data gap 83% of decision-makers say it is important that they get environmental data on the print infrastructure – a figure that rises to 93% among C-level executives. However, the lack of SUSTAINABILITY continued... Print sustainability trends Quocirca’s Print Sustainability Trends Report 2024 reveals that IT decision-makers’ expectations of print suppliers are higher than ever as they aim to reduce the environmental impact of print in their business Louella Fernandes Greener printing Remanufactured printing devices are a good option for organisations looking to reduce the environmental and monetary cost of print There are many well-documented benefits of choosing a remanufactured product over a brand new one. The obvious one is cost – a printer entering its second life will perform just as well as a new model, but comes with a significantly lower price tag, remanufacturers also offer warranties, which provides peace of mind. However, the biggest impact has to be on the environment, supporting the circular economy helps reduce electronic waste and lower the environmental cost of print – and that’s a powerful message to convey to customers. As Quocirca notes, vendors are stepping up their remanufacturing and refurbishing programmes. Among them
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