01732 759725 42 VOX POP continued... Sustainability is naturally becoming more important in business’ procurement habits, with it granted as much as 40 per cent of the weighting in some tender processes Ian McIntyre, Director, PCL Direct: While we acknowledge the insights presented in the Quocirca Channel Sustainability Study, our experience differs somewhat from the survey findings. In our case, we have found that cost considerations continue to be of greater significance than sustainability for our dealers' customers. Fortunately, our products do tend to be affordable, as remanufacturing costs are between 20 to 30 per cent less than the production of OEM products, and we always strive to strike a balance between sustainability and costeffectiveness, aiming to provide the best value for our customers. Our priority is to ensure that the solutions we offer are both environmentally conscious and economically viable. We have not received indications from any of our dealers that sustainability is more important than price. We would say that the current cost of living crisis has led our dealers and their customers to prioritise affordability above everything else. From a financial perspective choosing the remanufactured option benefits dealers. Since the pandemic, dealers have seen revenues reduce by around 30 to 40 per cent. As a result, they’re looking for innovative ways to build up their business again. Louise Marshall, Director of ESG and Organisational Development, Brother UK: Sustainability is naturally becoming more important in business’ procurement habits, with it granted as much as 40 per cent of the weighting in some tender processes. However, customers don’t need to pay more to benefit from sustainable offerings. In fact, greener options often create cost-efficiencies for companies to take advantage of. For example, managed print services enable businesses to tap into circular economies with their print infrastructure. Our MPS Essential plans start from as little as £5.78 per month and covers repair of devices, maximising their lifespan and reducing wastage. Customers can also return their toners to us free of charge to be remanufactured. Gillian Anderson, Environment, Social & Governance Partner, Konica Minolta: We are certainly seeing an increasing demand for more energyefficient printers which address both environmental and economic considerations. Price is always going to be a major factor, but as a manufacturer it is our responsibility to ensure that every partner who sells and customer who uses our products are safe in the knowledge that every part of the supply chain, from manufacture, to packaging, storage and shipping has been optimised in line with our environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitments. PrintIT Reseller: How are you helping partners to differentiate with sustainable products, solutions and services? Does your offering include remanufactured and/ or refurbished devices, recycling and take-back schemes or services that include sustainability impact reports? Chris Bates: TD SYNNEX has a very effective trade-in programme and any devices that we take back are either refurbished or recycled through accredited providers. Being able to offer customers some kind of a value on their old equipment means partners can offer better value and more importantly, the customer can be sure that their old device won’t end up in landfill and will instead contribute to the circular economy. Last year, we worked with specialist consultancy, Arete Zero Carbon to assess our own emissions and develop a plan to move towards net zero. We moved our Basingstoke offices to a more energy efficient location and 90 per cent of the electricity we consume in the UK is now from renewable sources. We have achieved ISO 9001 (Quality) and ISO 14001 (Environmental Management System) across all four major UK sites, and we recently attained the Silver Medal from EcoVadis, putting us in the top 25 per cent of companies globally for ESG. We have formed a consulting partnership with Arete to offer carbon impact assessment services out to partners and that’s sparked a lot of interest. We’ve also signed-up to the Ian McIntyre Louise Marshall
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