As a market leader in the signage and graphics industry, Signs Express are committed to adopting and continually improving sustainable business practices that focus on minimising the environmental impacts of our work, to create a better environment for a better tomorrow.
We have five key commitments we are working towards to reduce our environmental footprint:
Zero Waste to Landfill
At Signs Express we regularly review and assess our waste and waste disposal practices to ensure that we are focused on preventing waste in the first instance, reducing waste, reusing or recycling waste, but as a minimum, seeking to recover energy from waste via incineration.
How are we going to achieve this?
We’re currently working in partnership with Reconomy, a Waste Management Service provider, specialising in sustainability with the aim of achieving zero waste to landfill. We currently have a live trial in place with a number of our centres which we’re hoping to roll out to the wider network by the end of 2023.
Greener product alternatives
Part of our role in the protection of the environment is to educate our customers about the greener product alternatives that are available and that are more sustainable, in either the way they are made or sourced (reducing the carbon footprint of the supply chain) or the recyclability of the signs and graphics at the end of their life.
How do we put this into practice?
With an experienced operations team and established supplier relationships in place, our team are working hard to access, understand and communicate with our network about these products to increase awareness to provide our customers the opportunity to choose a more environmentally friendly product. At our recent convention many of these suppliers provided samples, held face to face discussions and provided hands on experience with our network, bringing more greener product alternatives to life.
Environmental awareness and training
We recognise that the empowerment of our employees is our strongest weapon in the battle for environmental protection and will therefore arrange for suitable training and awareness building sessions to be made available where possible on environmental implications of our work activities and the factors that are within our control.
How are we going to roll this out?
As a franchisor, creating networking and information sharing opportunities is key in bringing our network of 60+ centres together, therefore we have an extensive events calendar each year. These opportunities present great platforms to discuss our promise to sustainability as a business, both collectively and as individual centres. Kicking off 2023 at our recent Convention, we held a fantastic Q&A session on sustainability within the industry which sparked great debate and was clearly a subject filled with lots of passion. Creating actions and thoughtful debate, we’ll be continuing these sessions throughout the year.
February also saw the launch of our online eco-range, raising awareness externally to our wider customer base to try and encourage a different approach when selecting signage requirements. More information can be found on our website: https:/www.signsexpress.co.uk/news/sustainable-signs-graphics.
Continual improvement and focus on sustainability
Our intention is to ensure that we continually improve the environmental impact of our activities. We seek excellence in every area of our work and are committed to continuing to improve our environmental performance by minimising our environmental impact.
How will we ensure we keep up momentum?
With a Sustainability Champion in place and a commitment from the Signs Express team, sustainability is at the forefront of our minds. We commit to regularly reviewing our activities, policies and targets to ensure we are reducing emissions, reducing waste and promoting best practice. We are also very proud to see our network already investing their efforts in sustainability, with Signs Express (Bristol) being nominated as a finalist at The Sign Awards for the Sustainability in Signage award 2023.
Carbon neutral
We commit to having a carbon neutral operation by annually measuring our carbon footprint across our national network of production centres, following globally recognised standards and working with Carbon Neutral Britain.
How will this be managed?
Working in partnership with Carbon Neutral Britain, we are committed to offsetting our carbon footprint across the network. Working with each of our centres, we are measuring our carbon footprint (measured in tonnes of CO2) and identifying opportunities to address this by assessing our direct emissions, energy consumption and other activities such as travel, events and waste. Anything that cannot be measured at this time will be offset by supporting both local and global projects that restore the environment.
Bringing it to life…
Creating a greener way to print and bringing our commitment to life, our Sustainability Champion Simon Ford is working hard alongside our Franchise Support Centre team and wider network to implement key changes.
We hear from Simon, “We’re extremely passionate about making changes today to preserve our environment for tomorrow. When reviewing our five-year strategy, our promise to sustainability and creating an eco-range was imperative. We’re working hard with our suppliers and network to create cleaner, safer and sustainable working practices; it’s not something we can do alone and we all have a role to play in bringing this to life.”
How to get involved?
If you’re looking for a new career opportunity with a company committed to a more sustainable future, why not get in touch? We have opportunities to join our award-winning network via established resale opportunities and prime location startups throughout the UK.
This article comes courtesy of Signs Express. Click here to visit our website for more information and you can schedule an introductory call.
