PRINTITRESELLER.UK 39 REMANUFACTURING The Circular Planet vision Brother is extending its influence beyond its own products. Partnering with reverse logistics companies and multi-brand recycling programs, it supports initiatives like Circular Planet, designed to make returning used cartridges as easy as picking up groceries. Collection points, postal schemes, and dealer returns ensure a seamless user experience. “We include return leaflets in the box,” Lawrence explained. “When users swap in the new one, the process to return the old one is clear and easy. Global leadership, local action Brother has made BISK a centre of remanufacturing excellence for the entire global group, and Japan now sends engineers to Krupina to learn best practices. “We want to be the leader in remanufacturing, not just in Europe, but globally,” Lawrence said, adding: “Our work here influences future product design, informs our strategy, and proves that a circular economy is not just possible – it’s profitable, scalable, and essential.” As regulatory pressure mounts and customer awareness grows, Brother’s commitment to quality, transparency, and sustainability could be the model others will be forced to follow. Brother isn’t just talking about sustainability – it is building it, one cartridge at a time. Its work at BISK shows how remanufacturing, when done right, offers not only environmental wins but also supply chain resilience, customer value, and competitive differentiation. So, the next time you hear a vendor talk about recycling, ask a simple question – is it as good as new? Or is it better? from dishwashing, is fully treated onsite before being returned to local streams. Award-winning innovation Brother was the first company to receive Germany’s prestigious Blue Angel ecolabel for remanufactured toner cartridges. And that’s not just window dressing. “Some customers now say they won’t buy unless 20% of the product supply is remanufactured,” Jones said. “That kind of requirement is only going to grow.” Every remanufactured cartridge comes with what Brother calls a birth certificate – full traceability of its lifecycle. And every step is measured for CO2 savings. “It saves about 31% of carbon compared to making a new cartridge,” said Carl Bruce, Business Excellence & Environmental manager at BISK. “Across our European network, that’s equivalent to saving over 130,000 trees annually.” CSR is woven in Brother’s commitment doesn’t stop at the environment. CSR is woven into daily operations. During the Ukraine crisis, BISK immediately employed 34 refugees and was able to house 16 of them in company-provided apartments. 12 still work at the factory. It also supports reforestation efforts in the nearby High Tatra mountains – planting thousands of trees over the past 12 years in partnership with local NGOs under the Brother Earth banner. Other community efforts include supporting hospitals, schools, and cancer charities. “We have a responsibility to the communities we operate in,” Bruce said. “Sustainability isn’t just environmental – it’s social.” “We here in BISK have all the knowledge,” Lawrence explained. “What parts fail, what’s hard to remanufacture – that insight is going straight to product designers. We’re designing products that are easier to remanufacture and last longer.” This approach is essential in Europe’s transition to a circular economy. With policies such as the French 20% recycled procurement mandate, manufacturers must rethink product lifecycle management. And Brother is responding – fast. “For a customer wanting a full closed loop for their printer fleets, including environmental reporting on their cartridge returns and CO2 savings, Brother is a natural choice. For channel partners with large customers, using large fleets, this can be a major factor in their choice of vendor” Jones added. Environmental excellence Brother has aligned its efforts with its global Environmental Action Plan, most recently launching a 2027 version that focuses on reducing CO2 emissions (using Science-based targets) and conserving biodiversity. By 2030, Brother globally aims to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 65% (versus 2015) and Scope 3 emissions by 28.5% (vs 2022), as well as decreasing the use of virgin materials in its products. BISK has taken bold steps to support that, including: Eliminating gas from its operations by 2025. Switching to ground-source heating and cooling. Installing 688 solar panels (providing 22% of its electricity). Achieving zero waste to landfill. Sourcing all water for domestic and business use from an onsite well. Verifiably reducing Scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions from 387 tonnes in 2016 to just 47 tonnes in 2024. The BISK Factory is zero avoidable waste to landfill, with a minute 0.02% being landfilled resulting from waste water treatment, certified by Valpak. Even residual waste, like greasy water https://brother-slovakia.sk n Factory opened: 2007 n Employees: ~240 n Cartridges remanufactured since launch: ~41 million globally n Remanufactured models: ~80 n Carbon savings per cartridge: ~31% n Scope 1 & 2 CO2 emissions reduction since 2016: 87% n Remanufactured sales (Europe): 23% Key stats at-a-glance
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