Sustainability accelerating in the print market

Sustainability continues to be a key customer concern, with many accelerating their efforts to reduce carbon emissions to bolster their reputations.

The latest Quocirca sustainability trends report shines a light on current attitudes towards reducing carbon, with it being clear that the vast majority of firms (80%) are heavily investing in improving their green position.

There are consequences for the print channel, with customers looking for suppliers that can improve their green credentials and that hold a strong sustainability viewpoint.

“Despite political changes affecting broader focus on government sustainability programmes and regulation, the drive to improve corporate sustainability continues to accelerate,” said Louella Fernandes, CEO of Quocirca.

She warned that print suppliers would face some scepticism around green claims and needed to be clear about their position, and that of the brands they were representing, on the issue.

“Decision-makers are growing more sceptical about unproven green claims, citing greenwashing and a lack of data as major challenges to improving print sustainability. This is a clear call to action for manufacturers – many of whom have strong device and print infrastructure environmental data solutions – to better communicate with decision-makers and build trust about the performance of their products and services,” she added.

The study revealed that the number of customers that had a company-wide sustainability practice in place had hit 77%, which was up from 68% in 2024.

Customers were also looking to avoid greenwashing and work with those that had solid data around their green position, with the report revealing that corporate reputation was the main driver in most user sustainable strategies.

Where the channel had been able to make an impact was around reducing energy consumption, which was both green and a benefit on costs, as well as addressing the need for the reduction of paper printing and more sustainable use of hardware.

“There has been a marked increase in adoption of print sustainability measures across the board this year, aligning with the acceleration of sustainability plans. Notably, print management tool adoption has risen from 32% to 45%, and rules-based printing has increased from 26% to 40%, indicating that organisations are seeking software solutions to drive improvements alongside using more efficient devices and paper sources,” said the report.

There were also signs that more customers were willing to use second-life products to reduce the volume of printers heading to be recycled or to be discarded. The report found that 26% were using refurbished hardware and 31% were using remanufactured, which was an increase on last year, from 27% and 26% respectively.

Those levels could possibly have been higher, but customers are concerned about device guarantees and fears that older machines will lead to higher costs with more frequent breakdowns and an increased need for servicing. The channel needs to be aware of those issues and demonstrate that second life does not equate to undermining a quest for value for money.

“Many vendors have robust remanufacturing and refurbishing programmes in place, with products being elevated to as-new and in some cases better-than-new status, backed by firm performance and servicing guarantees. Educating the market is key to increasing adoption rates of second-life devices and this should be a focus area for vendors and the channel in the coming year,” the report said.