Sustainability
Where the grass is greener Epson is working together with the channel to commercialise sustainability, offering tangible business growth opportunities that are driven by sustainable technology solutions without compromising their customers on cost or productivity. Epson UK’s Sustainability Manager, Daniel Quelch explains more.
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pson products and services are developed by Epson, in Epson owned award winning manufacturing sites using Epson technology, therefore is addressing sustainability at every stage of the product lifecycle, from design and manufacturing to transport, usage and recycling. As all of Epson’s business sales are conducted through the channel, our partners are at the forefront of bringing sustainable solutions to end-users. And as a key part of Epson’s business model, it is actively securing end-user sales opportunities before they are then secured and cultivated by the channel, which is helping Epson to further advocate sustainability through the channel to a wider audience. And thanks to the eco-consciousness of Epson technology solutions, the sales message our channel partners are delivering to their end customers is increasing sustainability awareness and discussions. Through its sustainability team, Epson also takes great responsibility in educating its channel partners on how they can reduce their environmental impact, from ISO compliance and circularity to general best practice in environmental and social governance (ESG). It is for this reason that Epson has been accredited with platinum awards both from EcoVadis and the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA). Every company is responsible for addressing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and ESG in a similar fashion that every person is responsible for their own individual impacts to the environment. There’s no tiptoeing around ESG and if companies are truly willing to make a demonstrable interest then it needs to be addressed from the very heart of the business. Recent research has shown that 3/4 employees want more focus on environmental and social issues, post-Covid, while 4/5 employers believe sustainability’s role in business is increasing. That said, only 25% of employees and 29% of employers believe it will be 100% embedded in their return-to-workplace and recovery 30
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July/August 2021
plans, post-pandemic. The same research revealed that 78% of people believe strong sustainability credentials impact brand perception and performance, while 70% of employees choose to work at a company with a strong environmental agenda. That said, if channel partners aren’t considering ESG in their business, why should they expect their customers to invest their trust and money in them? Sustainability has been core to Epson’s management philosophy for decades now and it is a firm part of the company’s DNA. While there are many ways in which a business can start to seriously consider ESG, a good start would be to integrate all relevant UN Sustainable Development Goals into their business framework, setting smart targets that can be communicated and adhered to across the business. To better contribute towards a more sustainable society, Epson participates in numerous external initiatives. In April 2019, Epson joined the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA), a global coalition dedicated to CSR in global supply chains, and in December 2020 Epson achieved platinum status for socially responsible manufacturing, the RBA’s highest CSR accreditation. In 2019 Epson took a permanent seat on the board of directors for CSR Europe, a network supporting businesses with their sustainability journey, to help lead in their creation of sustainability guidelines and policies. In April 2021, Epson joined RE100, a global initiative bringing together the world’s most influential businesses driving the transition to 100% renewable electricity, as a means of further encouraging its customers and partners to make the switch to renewable energy. And in March 2021, Epson reaffirmed its commitment to its Key CSR Themes materiality matrix, which identifies key initiatives from Epson in addressing the 169 targets of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. In the UK, Epson has trained an internal team of 30 ‘green gurus’ in new waste management to monitor and educate employees www.pcr-online.biz
