01732 759725 40 VOX POP continued... Almost three quarters of print channel companies surveyed by Quocirca for its Channel Sustainability Study 2023, reported that they have some form of company sustainability strategy in place, with more than half stating that the dominant driver for channel sustainability initiatives is to meet customer expectations Meeting customers’ green aspirations Chris Bates, Business Unit Manager – Print and Supplies, UK, TD SYNNEX: The Quocirca findings are consistent with the feedback we’ve been getting from partners. End-user customers are asking more about sustainable options. Often, purchasing a more sustainable device can also help to reduce costs through a reduction in the need to replace ink cartridges and lower power consumption. We’ve certainly seen more interest in print devices with refillable ink tanks and improved energy efficiency. Richard Wells, Head of Office Print Sales, Epson UK: It’ll be difficult to put ‘cost’ in the backseat, and since the recession it seems that everyone wants benefits around cost in addition to environmental, quality, and productivity to boot. The growing expectation from customers is that sustainability shouldn’t compromise anything else, and nor should it. At first glance, this doesn’t always seem like a plausible option. If you’ve managed to cut waste or energy or pack more spec into a smaller device, surely something’s got to give way? To persevere the climate crisis, we can’t afford to offer sustainable benefits that compromise a customer’s profitability, otherwise we’re compromising their investment into their own sustainable development. Epson is extremely aware of this, which is why for decades now it has made significant R&D and manufacturing investments into its inkjet offering. This has enabled today’s heat-free inkjet proposition – a smaller, more robust printing solution that consumes significantly less energy than laser technology, emits far fewer emissions, goes through fewer consumables, and requires less intervention. It doesn’t cost customers more and based on the increased staff efficiency and reduced energy consumption it’s bringing businesses; it’s actually saving them money. Ryan Mitchell, Print & AV Director, Westcoast: Yes and no. For many years on government tenders there has been an element of the scoring aligned to sustainability, but this was not a primary weighting, but recently it’s become a lot more important. If we look at the French government, they have stated that 20 per cent+ of all their IT must be second life. A lot of the larger corporate tenders are very much looking for a ‘greener’ offering. Smaller SMB and SoHo customers still need their products to be cost-effective and sustainability takes a back seat. Many vendors offer a carbon offset token at a cost which gives some peace of mind. Lexmark addresses this by making machines that are built to last. Recently, we reviewed our own MIF and have a Lexmark printer that is over 12 years old and still works fantastically! PrintIT Reseller: More than two-thirds (69%) of respondents to the Quocirca study said customers are showing strong or moderate interest in sustainable offerings, and 92% say that customers are prepared to pay more for solutions with stronger sustainability, at least some of the time. Has this been your experience, or with the cost of living crisis, is cost still king? We’ve certainly seen more interest in print devices with refillable ink tanks and improved energy efficiency Chris Bates
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