OWNING OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT

The days are long gone when companies were judged purely on their financial performance. As we learn more about human impacts on our climate, it’s becoming clear that there are more important metrics than short-term profitability.

At Service Graphics, we are determined to bring the same level of transparency and openness to our environmental performance as we do to every stakeholder engagement. We’re committed to helping our customers achieve their own sustainability targets and meet their disclosure obligations.

There are two ways we can do this: firstly, by using our skills to help them communicate their results. Secondly, we can inspire our customers through our own actions. In other words, we need to ensure that our own house is in order first.

Welcome to our sustainability blog

Sustainability is not just a buzzword. Instead, it’s a key pillar of all our business activities. That’s why we felt it deserved its own regular blog. We’re beginning 2023 by looking at one of the most important environmental issues – namely, carbon emissions and how to reduce them.

Companies like Service Graphics have two options when it comes to managing their carbon emissions. Priority is to intervene and reduce their actual emissions, and then once all that is done to take steps that mitigate (or offset) the impact of any carbon emissions that still occur.

Carbon disclosure is here, but why does it matter?

Carbon disclosure involves measuring, reporting, and publicly revealing greenhouse gas emissions and the progress businesses are making towards their stated net zero goals. There is an increasing focus on ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) reporting, and it is critical that supply chains play their part - we believe that by doing so customers will make positive decisions in deciding whether to do business with us.

Why should we disclose our carbon emissions?

Many public companies and large organisations are now required to disclose their carbon emissions and climate risks as part of their financial reporting. This level of disclosure is being driven and enabled by initiatives such as the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and other NGOs which encourage companies to devise climate change strategies.

Carbon disclosure is now pushing us to adapt our operations to reduce our carbon footprint. In this way, we can play our part in the transition to a more sustainable economic model.

We’ve made a good start

In 2022, we published our Sustainable Choices report to set a clear pathway and also to highlight some of the interventions that we are already making.

Many challenges lie ahead, but we’ve taken this first first step and by partnering with Carbon Quota we hope to achieve the verification we need to establish our 2021-2022 carbon baseline across our entire nationwide network of print branches and production hubs. This will ultimately identify where our operational impacts are greatest and where we need to act!

From this starting point, we can reach out to our suppliers and customers to learn more about how they are addressing climate risks. Understanding what they are already doing will help us reduce our own environmental impact, increase our resilience, and enhance the level of trust we inspire among our customers and stakeholders

Good for the planet, good for business

Ultimately, our goal is to position Service Graphics as a business that can properly align and support the disclosure requirements of our client base, at the same time as creating new, sustainable business opportunities.

Watch this space

Throughout 2023, will continue to focus on delivering against our sustainability agenda. We’re excited about what lies ahead, and how we can encourage others to join us on this vital journey.

We’ll publish regular sustainability blogs to update you on our progress. To learn more about our sustainability pathway and how far we’ve come, please reach out as we'd love to talk - contact us.