Sustainability
LOOKING AT LABELLING
David Spratt, head of business systems at Epson UK explains why organisations should consider making the switch to eco-friendly label printing.
O
rganisations are increasingly concerned about how their working practices and supply chain impact the environment.
With goods and materials oſten travelling hundreds of miles, this includes trying to reduce the detrimental effects of packaging, its production, use, and disposal. But damage inflicted by the labelling aspect is oſten overlooked, perceived as insignificant. Even though the statistics are damning. Estimates indicate that as much as 120,000
tonnes of label waste is sent to UK landfill sites every year. Tat’s not just redundant and overstocks of labels, it’s also consumables. Many of the materials including adhesives, ribbons, and inks, are non-biodegradable, making them resistant to recycling. It all totals up to a staggeringly large heap of scrap and waste of money. What’s more, it has burnt a significant amount of energy to produce, polluting the atmosphere with tonnes of unnecessary greenhouse gases.
Reducing landfill waste Modern day, on-demand, colour label printing technology enables businesses with small to mid-range label volume requirements to make significant reductions in waste as well as, provided their willing to take control of their label production by switching to on- demand inkjet. Essentially, this is reducing not only the logistical CO2 footprint of shipping labels to your business from offsite label production sites, but it is reducing the waste accrued from
16 | January/February 2025
changing requirements of label volumes and designs. Cutting out needless printing would prevent
around 180 million square metres of labels annually ending up in landfill. If that’s difficult to visualise, think of an area large enough to cover 25,264 football pitches! Such a saving could reduce CO2 emissions by 6.7 million tonnes per year according to independent researcher Smithers, equivalent to lighting 95,960 homes. Effectively, reducing energy requirements for European businesses by up to 28.7million kWh annually. It’s not always easy to establish the
environmental impact your organisation has, especially for smaller businesses. But, with new
changes to the Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) legislation expected next year, businesses will be under more pressure to measure and meet carbon footprint goals
Contributing to environmental goals and regulations Making a commitment to sustainability in labelling can also contribute towards broader environmental strategies, particularly those relating to the UN’s Supporting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Although voluntary, these globally-agreed objectives are being integrated into regulations by governments worldwide, and informing industry best practices. Tey encourage companies to align with SDG by using sustainable materials in label
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