businessinfomag.uk magazine 30 MFPs Steve Pearce, Head of Marketing at Kyocera Document Solutions UK, argues that to reduce their environmental impact businesses need to invest in the right technology, adopt effective initiatives and ensure employees are invested in the process particularly the impact of their most energy-intensive activities. This should cover not just the energy you consume in the office, but emissions related to things like staff commuting. It’s very much a case of every little helps. Engaging only with green vendors for office equipment such as printers is a good way to go, particularly if these vendors are fully carbon-neutral businesses themselves. This can be combined with other popular initiatives such as cycle-to-work schemes and carbon offsetting projects. The end goal should always be to reach carbon-neutral status, and to get there you have to make sure you’re sustainable in every part of the business. w Educate your employees Sustainability initiatives can only achieve lasting success if your employees are fully invested and on board. Consistent and transparent communication is key to this. Programmes to educate employees on responsible energy usage, recycling and carbon neutrality should be carried out frequently. These can be linked to awareness days or weeks that promote sustainability, such as COP28, Recycle Week or World Sustainability Day. When staff understand the part they play in the push towards net zero, they’re much more likely to engage fully. e Enhance your print estate There are countless ways organisations can build a net-zero workplace through technology, but perhaps a lesser known way to achieve this is by having the appropriate print devices and print management policies in place. Moreover, organisations can look to invest in printers that have sustainability at heart. The most environmentally friendly printers function with low energy, are made predominantly from recycled materials (and can themselves be recycled at the end of their lifetime) and are built with durable materials so that parts don't need to be replaced so frequently. Combining all of this into a carbonneutral managed print service – covering after-sales care, device maintenance, engineer mileage and device disposal – will make a major difference. The correct print management software not only increases document security, but enables employees to significantly reduce how much they print. For example, quotas can be set for specific staff or departments based on needs, meaning energy isn’t wasted on unnecessary print jobs. Achieving a net-zero workplace won’t happen overnight, but it is vital business leaders integrate a sustainable approach into company culture. Purchasing the right technology and committing to new initiatives are crucial steps in reducing energy consumption, but the greatest success will come when employees are fully included in the process. https://kyocerads-group.co.uk Sustainability has become a major focus for organisations in recent years, with business leaders being held more accountable than ever before and consumers demanding higher standards of ESG from the companies they interact with, whether as employees or customers. Companies are no longer judged purely on basic initiatives such as recycling, but on areas such as resource consumption and carbon neutrality, with greenwashing a common accusation for businesses that only half-heartedly commit to sustainable causes. According to PWC’s June 2022 Global Consumer Insights Pulse Survey, 77% of consumers are influenced by a company’s environmental record when deciding to buy from them. Many companies have responded to these pressures by setting out to achieve net zero emissions status. There are a number of ways they can reach this goal, some more obvious than others. Key to all efforts, however, is a steadfast focus on the most energy-intensive activities – such as printing – and figuring out how to reduce their environmental impact. Here are three steps any business can take to get their ecocredentials in order. q Monitor energy consumption It’s important organisations thoroughly understand their overall energy consumption, How business leaders can support sustainability and achieve a net-zero workplace Steve Pearce Kyocera Document Solutions Group UK is offsetting to carbon neutral while continually striving to reduce its carbon emissions in pursuit of its net zero target. As a Managed Service Provider (MSP), it provides Digital Transformation, Document Management and Information Communication Technology (ICT) services, helping customers to streamline the flow of information through their organisation and turn information into knowledge.
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