Circular economy principles are the key to meeting growing demand for sustainable print solutions
Quocirca’s Executive Briefing explores circular economy progress in the print market
28 January 2020: A leap in demand for sustainable print solutions is prompting manufacturers and MPS providers to build circular economy principles into their core business model to position themselves for success in a changing market.
Quocirca’s latest Executive Briefing, published today, examines how leading print manufacturers are applying circular economy principles to their supply chain and how Managed Print Services can help customers lower the environmental burden of their print network and introduce circularity into their own operations.
Demand for environmental solutions is clear. Quocirca’s Print 2025 market insight study found that 76% of IT decision makers say sustainability issues are important to their organisation today. Specifically, reducing the environmental impact was the biggest challenge associated with managing the print network, rated higher than reducing costs or improving security. The study also found that a fifth of businesses expect to invest in additional measures to improve sustainability in the next twelve months. Looking further ahead, 57% of IT decision makers expect that having a leading position on sustainability will be a key print supplier selection criterion by 2025.
This demand for sustainable print options has created strong business drivers for implementing circular economy principles in the industry, as Louella Fernandes, Research Director at Quocirca, explains: “The print industry has a long history of working to address sustainability challenges, predominantly driven by CSR initiatives and recycling obligations, however, what we see now is a level of consumer demand that means there are also powerful commercial opportunities to be seized by adopting circular economy principles. Several leading manufacturers now attribute significant new revenue directly to sustainability programmes.
“Manufacturers are looking at every step of the product lifecycle,” continues Louella, “from substituting raw materials with post-consumer recycled plastics, through design improvements for longevity and resilience, to using AI-powered big data analysis to monitor product performance and maintenance and innovative takeback and recycling programmes.”
Quocirca’s Executive Briefing “Sustainability: How the print industry is applying circular economy principles” explores how the industry is working to reject the linear “take, make, waste” economy in favour of retaining value in products and raw materials as efficiently as possible. It contains recommendations for buyers who want to achieve environmental improvements in their print network. Access the report details here.
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About Quocirca:
Quocirca is a global market insight and research firm providing strategic market analysis and intelligence to print industry business and technology leaders. Quocirca specialises in analysing the convergence of print and digital technologies in the future workplace.
Since 2006, Quocirca has played an influential role in advising clients on major shifts in the market. Our consulting and research is at the forefront of the rapidly evolving print services and solutions market, trusted by clients who are seeking new strategies to address disruptive technologies.
Trusted by global industry organisations, Quocirca offers a wealth of specialist knowledge across the connected print ecosystem. Our extensive research activities are backed up with rigorous analysis and a robust primary research programme. For more information visit www.quocirca.com.