Last year, The Editor's Pick's first ever Yorkshire episode saw guest editor Jo Young (MD of Additive-X) speak with 3 industry leaders from the Made in Group regarding their latest news stories. Here we are going back to focus on some of the insights provided by GSM Graphic Arts and their CEO Paul Wright, and how companies could use this content to inspire greener operations within their own businesses.
This conversation stemmed from GSM Graphic Arts article from that year titled “Going Greener Installing Solar Panels”.
Jo had selected this article not only because Additive X is also looking to install solar panels but also due to the fact that it is an important subject we should all be focusing on. The article mentioned that GSM has been zero landfills for the past 10 years.
As part of this discussion, Paul said “We have to accept that it will be more difficult to get to zero landfills, ensuring you are separating cardboards and metals, etc. It did take us a while to find a company who could help us become zero-landfill, as it is expensive, however, the expense is short-term - so therefore definitely worth it.”
As a follow up to this discussion and article, we have highlighted three examples of going greender provided by GSM Graphic Arts, which other companies could take inspiration from within their own operations.
1. GOING ZERO LANDFILL
Going zero landfill is a set of principles and an objective which companies follow oriented around waste prevention. This goal encourages companies to recycle and design resorce life cycles so that all products and waste is reused in some capacity. Back during this time, GSM Graphic Arts has proudly celebrated that they had been zero landfills for the past 10 years.
2. INSTALLING NEW, GREENER MACHINES
Back when this interview took place, GSM Graphic Arts spoke about their brand-new photovoltaic systems which replaced old on-site diesel generators and substations. This was a 55kW roof mounted system delivering 43,000 kWh of electricity and saved 13 tonnes of CO2 every year.
3. SETTING REALISTIC GOALS
Setting attainable goals which can be strived towarda and monitored is a vital part of a company attempting to go greener in their operations. During this time GSM Graphic Arts had, for example, hoped to save 20% on energy bills and once their battery system was operational and optimised, and were of course hopeful that this may even increase.