PrintIT Reseller - issue 72

VOX POP 01732 759725 44 “Lexmark also actively participates in the circular economy by designing hardware that stays in use longer, resulting in less raw materials being used and less waste in landfills. We continually review product lifecycles in order to understand the entire impact of the product and offer the highest number of printer models with significant post-consumer recycled (PCR) content in the industry. Reclaimed PCR plastic is incorporated into nearly 50 Lexmark components. “An additional sustainability solution for our clients is Lexmark Print Release. This solution is designed so papers are not printed until the person scans into the printer with a badge or employee number. Print jobs are listed on the screen, and the user can delete unwanted jobs or select certain ones to print at the time of arrival. If jobs aren’t printed, they can be automatically deleted. We’ve estimated that a Print Release solution can save up to 30 per cent – with some of our customers reporting as high as 50 per cent paper savings as a result of the solution.” www.lexmark.co.uk Gemmer Crozier, Sustainability Development Co-Ordinator, Brother UK “At Your Side represents much more than our approach to working with our channel partners. It’s a philosophy that runs deep through our business and guides how we act responsibly to our employees, the communities we work in and the planet. “In this way, we’ve developed and embedded a robust strategy for sustainability and benchmark ourselves against the peak of responsible practices. Simply paying lip service to it by saying the right things and running a few token initiatives will only serve to turn customers and employees off at a time when purchasing and career choices are increasingly influenced by how a company or brand performs on sustainability. “Our sustainability strategy forms a vital part of our At Your Side promise and is aligned with the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Commitment to these targets runs right through our corporate culture and underpins every action and decision we make as a company. Several, including fostering good health and wellbeing, providing quality education, gender equality and responsible production and consumption are very close to the heart of our business and the local communities we operate in. “This approach has seen us twice awarded with the Queens Award for Enterprise for sustainable development – the most prestigious accreditation for responsible business in the UK – which recognises that we live and breathe sustainability in everything we do and places the company in an elite group of multiple winners. “Supporting our reseller partners and their customers in boosting their environmental credentials, and commercial benefits thereafter, has played a vital role in this success. Our zero waste to landfill certification is helping many of our customers who stipulate these environmental conditions in their own purchasing policies, and our free recycling programme ensures that end-users can return any Brother toner to be re-conditioned and re-used. “We’re also supporting the adoption of ‘paper-lite’ strategies by encouraging businesses to use scanning as the default process for storing documents which, alongside reducing paper use, helps companies make savings in how they store and share information. We are already seeing these benefits first-hand across a range of sectors, from retail to accountancy, particularly when combined with a managed print service. This is providing our customers with the ability to more effectively monitor power and paper consumption, cutting costs and wastage and without the need for any upfront investment. “Sustainability sits at the heart of our business, running through the veins of our corporate culture. Together with the commercial advantages, companies can also have a positive impact on their employees and local communities. But setting a clear strategy and commitment to responsible business from the outset is essential.” www.brother.co.uk Stuart Bleese, Category Director – EOS and Technology, VOWWholesale “VOW has embedded its overall environment and sustainability strategy within a program called EVOlution. The five-point plan forms a comprehensive framework that connects the company’s social responsibility to its people, stakeholders, supply chain and the natural environment. “The first area of focus is a reduction of packaging waste. Measures include a ban on plastic void fill, the introduction of additional waste reducing box sizes, a policy of suppliers delivering on VOW totes and the introduction of pallet collars to reduce shrink wrap. “The second area is the environment, with an array of targets to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas production, while increasing biodiversity at VOW sites. Top-line targets for 2022 include reducing electricity and gas use by 30 per cent and water use by 10 per cent. “The third subject in the spotlight is the setting of high standards in the supply chain, with a zero-tolerance of illegal, unethical, counterfeit or substandard products. The fourth area involves a commitment to improved wellbeing and workplace standards for its people, allied to a proactive approach to inclusive and socially positive engagement with local communities. The fifth focus area is active participation in supporting good causes through the VOW 1,000 Hours Challenge. This initiative is an invitation to all VOW employees to give the valuable gift of time to support the national and local projects that touch them the most. “With regard to print, VOW has two focuses. Firstly, as a product manufacturer and supplier, and secondly ...continued... This approach has seen us twice awarded with the Queens Award for Enterprise for sustainable development Gemmer Crozier