SUSTAINABLE CONSUMABLES
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Bringing costs down It can also help to bring costs down for a business. “Businesses are starting to look to sustainable consumables to make a difference economically, environmentally and socially for their employees,” says Steve. “Businesses will look to long-life consumables that don’t cost the earth, and work to protect device and workplace health. “Long life components such as Kyocera’s image drums and high-capacity toners are eco-conscious by design. Reducing the frequency of replacement consumables over the lifetime of the product drives down total cost of ownership (TCO) and cuts the need for raw materials, associated emissions and shipping miles. “Buying cheap can be a false economy. Squeezed margins and procurement budgets must give way to common sense when selecting toner or businesses run the risk of being sold short as quality issues such as light prints, banding or vertical lines surface, compounded by toner dumping and lower stated yields. And then TCO goes up. “Kyocera’s cartridges are 100% recyclable. They are made from two plastics, contain as few as 10 components and ship in eco-friendly packaging. They are independently tested to output a specific number of pages – the volume expected to maintain low TCO.” Reseller conversations When talking to customers about sustainable consumables, there are various facets that should be highlighted. “Making the switch to sustainable consumables is a change that can have a significant impact on a business,” says Stuart. “Starting, for example, by switching to water- based pigment inks, businesses can reduce their carbon emissions and mitigate the use of harmful chemical substances. Leaders in the market are now offering inks with excellent de-inking properties and zero ozone emissions, so businesses can move towards meeting their sustainability goals. “Resellers should be discussing these
smaller changes that can be made to the workflow, as well as larger initiatives offered by manufactures, such as recycling schemes. Taking this one step further, Canon is working with its partners and customers to develop an all-encompassing low carbon printing strategy that will help them move closer to achieving wider sustainability goals. “Resellers should discuss the benefits of sustainable consumables, not only from an environmental perspective, but also from a commercial perspective – as more customer tenders are now being upheld by ESG commitments. By working closely with a manufacturer that offers expert advice on sustainability, at every stage of the workflow, resellers can be confident in providing their customers with valuable consultation.” Peter says that dealers should lead with sustainability as often as possible. “Their customer will soon guide them as to how relevant it is to their business – they may be surprised at the positive feedback they get!” Debbie adds that resellers should encourage customers to return empty consumable cartridges for recycling and reuse. “Returning spent items diverts materials from landfills and provides a supply of parts and materials for remanufacturing, reducing the demand for new raw materials,” she says. “Customers should also be encouraged to seek options for purchasing remanufactured consumables.” Provenance Steve adds that the provenance and performance of consumables should be emphasised by resellers. “You wouldn’t put cheap oil in a sports car as you wouldn’t get the best out of it!” he says. “Buying cheap alternatives is false economy. Kyocera’s genuine toners for instance provide the quality, low running costs and reliability customers expect from our devices. Resellers could build these arguments into sustainability led sales and marketing initiatives highlighting the energy savings and ecological benefits of sticking to genuine.
Peter Cowan group chief operations officer
data-direct.co.uk
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However, many solutions bring a higher cost, and none of the manufacturers are willing to be first to increase costs on the basis of sustainability, so a lot of greenwashing continues.
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