Why Managed Print

Managed Print services can be a surprisingly effective way to meet a variety of business objectives. When you print less, you really can do more – in terms of carbon savings, cost reduction, security levels, collaboration, productivity and also visibility of business processes (through metrics that provide insights into efficiency and effectiveness).

 

Managed Print is a particularly underrated force for good when it comes to meeting ESG objectives – which is why it’s becoming increasingly important to organisations across all sectors.

In recent years, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors have evolved from being the sole interest of a minority of investors, to a mainstream concern for all sorts of stakeholders, including investors, customers and employees. Nowhere is ESG quite such a topic of importance as in the boardroom: a recent Willis Towers Watson survey of board members and senior executives showed 78% agree that strong ESG performance is a key contributor to creating organisational value and stronger financial performance.

 

Savvy business leaders are also beginning to realise that print has the potential to support both good governance and environmental and social responsibility.

 

Investing in Managed Print services can have a greater impact on various aspects of ESG than many people realise. We’ve broken it down above into seven elements, each of which feeds into ESG-related objectives.

How does Managed Print dovetail with ESG?

Make it easy for people to do the right thing, to deliver savings while maintaining a positive user experience. Print management software enables you to harness the power of defaults – if black-and-white, double-sided print is set as standard, then you’ll cut paper use roughly in half, and save on coloured ink. It’s also possible to assign rules that prohibit certain actions and cap print volumes, to help ensure specific sustainability and cost objectives are met.

Our data shows that as much as 15% of companies’ print volume is actually unwanted – people sometimes mindlessly press ‘print’ and don’t even collect. Tackling this is an easy way to boost sustainability credentials. We recommend using a follow-me print system, where users have to enter a code at the printer itself in order for the document to be printed. You can also set this type of system to require authorisation from another member of staff, for example the user’s supervisor.

Follow-me print also has the benefit of removing the security risks associated with uncollected documents sitting on the printer – with the authorised user there to collect immediately, the printed data remains secure. Double authentication can be mandated for sensitive information, which helps ensure compliance with GDPR, as well as supporting the elevated security needs of companies in regulated industries.

Print hardware and software is in continuous development, and a lot of that innovation is focused around improved efficiency and increasingly rigorous eco-friendly credentials. New print devices, increasingly manufactured with sustainability in mind, allow you to increase performance and reliability while reducing costs and volumes, even after the costs of new equipment are factored in.

Does your business have a printer for every office space, every cluster, or even every desk? With digital-first practices gaining ground, the demand on printers is reduced, and they can be shared between more people, so shrinking your fleet of print devices can be achieved without impacting productivity. We regularly help clients achieve reductions of 30% or more by treating devices as strategic assets; fewer assets means a smaller carbon footprint as well as reduced costs.

Automating manual processes not only saves time and resource, but also reduces scope for error and increases employee satisfaction through the eradication of repetitive tasks. A good example is invoice sign-off – it’s not uncommon for PDF invoices to be printed out, to have them authorised by a wet ink signature, only to have that signed document scanned back into the system. E-signing technology takes time and complexity out of invoice processing, as well as boasting better sustainability credentials.

While all company communications – internal and external – used to be print-based or in-person, there’s now a raft of dynamic digital options available. New technology can help you deliver information in real-time and tailor the messaging for different groups, with instant updates easy to make. Digital signage, mobile apps and virtual meetings can all help to engage stakeholders effectively, and enable businesses to operate in a more agile and sustainable manner.

Case Study

Case Study

How adopting a Managed Print solution helped a leading car parts manufacturer achieve lower ESG by reducing output and assets by 25%, enabled via process digitisation.

 

 

Energy

Reducing energy usage from 2,211,777 kwh to 1,632,678 kwh. An equivalent of 156 fewer households.

CO2

Reducing CO2 emissions from 292,383 kg to 205,552 kg. The equivalent of 673,000 fewer km driven, or 17 less laps of the earth.

Water

Reducing water usage from 10,055,527 lts to 7,541,063 lts. The equivalent of 12,573 baths.

Wood

Reducing wood usage from 481,586 kg to 361,162 kg. The equivalent of saving 82 trees.

PrintReleaf

Having implemented the future estate, we will offset paper consumption by reforesting standard trees on the PrintReleaf Exchange.

 

8,333 sheets of (standard letter/A4) paper = 1 tree (40ft x 7 in DBH)

The benefits of a Managed Print Solution

Rationalise your print estate with secure print, with no need for individual printers

New, sustainable hardware with improved reliability & service response times

Bespoke dashboards displaying real-time usage & service data

Secure enterprise mobile print solution to enable use of any device

Future-proof solution with ability to drive digitisation through enhanced scanning capability

Print authentication rules, workflow automation & cloud backups

ESG reporting via data management & analytics platform

Recyclable consumables, carbon offsetting, rules to lower print volumes, fewer assets, less maintenance & energy savings

Improved productivity through workflow automation, document scanning & storage, remote worker solutions, hybrid mail & print, advanced data capture, & cloud storage

Increased end user engagement via a unified strategy, with digital documents, intelligent display, virtual meetings, push notifications & interactive screens

Managing Print Sustainably

Sense and Sustainability

With so many benefits, and no drawbacks, engaging a Managed Print specialist to formulate a bespoke print strategy that supports ESG is a choice that many organisations are making currently.