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offer that long warranty,’” she adds. “It’s really helped customers because if we’re sure that products can last a long time, customers can rest assured that they don’t need to worry about their printer.” Sustainability journey Epson is continuing its efforts as a company to become more sustainable. For instance, in its logistics operation, rather than flying products from its factories in Asia to Europe, they are now being shipped, explains Taran. In addition, when products are being moved by truck, they are working with transport operators to optimise the number of pallets that can be fit into one trailer. “That has made an impact on our carbon emissions, but obviously it’s not eliminating them,” she says. “It’s all about those little wins that you can get in from having these initiatives in place. They may seem like small changes in the first place, but they contribute to something bigger over time.” Of course, this is an ongoing process. Taran emphasises that while Epson has made changes the company is constantly looking for other ways to be more sustainable – and it is a similar case with ensuring its products are too. Building for the future Building for the future is also important for Epson. “With the net zero targets for 2050 seeming so far in the distance, it’s
so easy to just think about the here and now,” says Taran. “But a lot of businesses think about futureproofing too, so it begs the question, where in that conversation does sustainability come? Because fundamentally, the idea and definition of sustainability is to try to get a process working for as long as possible by itself without having to be supported or revamped. “When it comes to sustainability, there is this preconception that it’s just about the environment, but it’s more about the business and how that’s going to survive and how you can get to that point. And that affects the whole business. Even if a manager says sustainability isn’t a priority, there’s probably a lot of things they are doing day-to-day that are sustainable priorities.” Looking to the future, Taran says that Epson will continue to make its products more sustainable. Epson owns its print side from design to sales, which means if there is customer demand for a certain feature, or a gap in the market is spotted, they can react quickly. There is also a lot of research and development at Epson going into new technologies, not just with printers but also with products such as paper and making that more recyclable. “But for the time being, inkjet is where our main strength lies, so that we can use that to try and help our customers achieve greater sustainability,” she says. n
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When it comes to sustainability, there is this preconception that it's just about the environment, but it's more about the business and how that's going to survive and how you can get to that point. ”
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