David Nicholas, managing director of Birmingham-based large-format print specialist Fosco Hayes and Hurdley asks the question after going through the accreditation process. It has significantly improved his business. So what about yours?
When you’re in the print industry one of the biggest problems you can face as a company is wastage. Wastage feels (and looks!) like money down the drain and not only does it take up a lot of room, have a huge impact on the environment if it goes to landfill but it also costs a lot of money to dispose of it properly. Dealing with issues of waste, health and safety and environmental responsibility are issues that most companies have to deal with but when you’re a large-format print company these issues are amplified.
We’ve got to deal with large printing and finishing kit, sharp knives, hot surfaces and materials and no end of chemicals and hazardous VOC’s and inks. It’s a bit of a health and safety minefield! Of course, we all use our common sense – gone are the days when staff had to put up with the smell of solvents, ink or chemicals just because it was a by-product of their jobs.
But is everyone concerned about tackling environmental issues? I’m not so sure.
The ISO 14001 standard helps companies achieve quality processes around environmental issues and health and safety, but it is also a voluntary standard and I have to question that. Why isn’t this a compulsory standard for all printing companies? Don’t we have a responsibility to ourselves, our clients and to the environment to reduce our carbon footprint and improve conditions for our work colleagues?
Maybe it’s just not that important to some people or perhaps just don’t have the time/staff/energy to put into making these essential changes. But one thing is for sure - it seems to be increasingly important to print buyers and retail customers and that can mean the difference between survive or thrive.
Founded in 1936, Fosco’s is very much a family run business and, like many other legacy businesses, we became used to doing things a certain way. We became good at it and were very successful. When things are going so well you’re unlikely as a business to look at processes and procedures or even creative techniques and change them too much in case you suddenly find your apple cart up-ended. However, we found that our customers were increasingly asking us for our environmental policy and some were indicating they would like us to start working towards an environmental management system. We were also well aware of the need to better manage environmental risks such as compliance with environmental legislation, ensuring chemicals are stored and used properly and having emergency plans in case of spills, fire or floods. And then we were hit, like everyone else, with soaring costs of energy – electricity, gas and disposal of waste. These represented significant outgoings for us and we knew we could save money by managing these more carefully. That was when we undertook to go for ISO14001 and this changed the shape of our company and turned it into a greener, more efficient and profitable business.
Going for ISO14001 helps you assess your business and better manage environmental risks both now and in the future. It helps you become more environmentally friendly and shows you how to measure your consumption and reduce waste, cost and risk. Organisations are responsible for setting their own targets and performance measures. We found that by implementing ISO14001 we are now saving over £10k a year