Sustainability is a serious business at Toshiba TEC UK

Jeremy Spencer, Marketing Director at Toshiba TEC UK:

In this blog I’m celebrating the fact that our pioneering Carbon Zero scheme recently smashed through the 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) offsetting barrier and, as a result, has helped improve the lives of those in some of the world’s poorest regions.

When Toshiba TEC UK launched its Carbon Zero initiative in 2009, it's fair to say that sustainable business practices were not always high on the agendas of too many organisations. Those that did talk about the subject often just paid lip service to it, which rarely gave way to anything more practical.

That’s what makes Carbon Zero different and over the last seven years we have offset the CO2 generated through our manufacturing process and we recently reached a significant landmark with the 100,000th tonne of CO2 being offset. To put this astounding figure into context, it is the equivalent of 46,874 return flights from London to New York, the electricity used in 73,542 houses over the course of a year or the CO2 generated from making 2.5 billion cups of coffee.

So why do we do it? The answer is straightforward – we consider environmental protection to be one of our primary responsibilities and is incumbent upon us to lead by example. This ethos permeates throughout every stage of our product design, manufacturing and sales processes – from the procurement of raw materials and components, through to how the product is used and maintained. It translates into innovative devices that prevent pollution, save energy and have minimal CO2 emissions. Ultimately, it’s about taking corporate social responsibilities (CSR) seriously and we do all we can to encourage similar best practice amongst our partners and customers.

We are also very proud that the Carbon Zero Scheme originated in the UK and has since been rolled out throughout the company and across Europe. Each country has the freedom to develop its own scheme variants, which accommodate the specific requirements of its market. In the UK, each Toshiba TEC printer, multifunction product (MFP) and barcode and label printer is delivered carbon neutral, with the optional ability to offset against the machine’s ongoing use.

The Carbon Zero Scheme offsets CO2 through a range of projects coordinated by CO2balance, the leading global carbon management company. These activities make a genuine difference to those they are designed to help in some of the most deprived regions of the planet.

Projects include helping villagers in Kenya reduce their use of wood for fuel by building highly efficient stoves, which, as well as preventing CO2 emissions, have made a hugely positive impact to thousands of families by providing a cleaner, easier and less damaging way of cooking. It has improved the health of people by reducing the amount of harmful fumes generated through the culinary process.

As well as the stove project, other initiatives currently underway include the rehabilitation of broken boreholes in rural Uganda that supply clean, safe water, as well as work on reducing deforestation in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. Sustainable management and the protection of the rainforest allow trees to absorb CO2 emissions as they grow. Just as importantly, the scheme has also constructed a school building to support education services for the local communities and created training courses in sustainable seed and fruit production.

I firmly believe that every organisation – no matter how large or small – has a part to play in looking after the planet. Our offsetting achievement is even more pertinent as it coincides with the 22nd Session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22), which will be held in Marrakech in November. It will focus on The Paris Agreement, which comes into force at the same time, and will achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on measures to address climate change, and aims to keep global warming below 2°C. Initiatives like Carbon Zero scheme will contribute towards meeting these objectives.

The Carbon Zero Scheme is just one part of our unwavering commitment to CSR. As well as having ISO 9001:2008 quality management certification, we are also certified to ISO 14001, the international standard for environmental management systems. This helps it identify and systematically reduce any harmful effects it has on the environment by developing processes to lower energy and raw materials use, reducing waste and pollution, and mitigating the possibility of emergency situations. By communicating information about our strategies and initiatives to our employees, they can be fully engaged in CO2 reduction activities and have the opportunity to make suggestions about how to improve energy efficiency across all areas of the business.

Having always led the way in sustainable practices within the printing solutions sector, the fact that we have reached this significant milestone is testament to our vision and ability to look at the bigger picture. Carbon Zero was pioneering at the time it was launched and it continues to act as an exemplar of what can be achieved through a sustainable approach to business. We are pleased to be one of the ‘heavy hitters’ when it comes to offsetting a significant amount of CO2 and will continue to do as much as we can to protect the planet.