and at end of life when materials are sent to landfill or incinerated for wasteto-energy. Kavalan materials also retain the flexibility, durability, print quality, and flame retardancy required for demanding large-format applications while remaining REACH and RoHS compliant.” The materials manufacturer is also aware that as sustainability becomes an increasingly important consideration for brands, agencies, and print buyers, being able to demonstrate environmental performance with independently verified data is now a competitive advantage. For this reason, the company launched the Kavalan Eco Calculator, which can quantify reductions in carbon emissions, freshwater consumption, and other environmental impacts, providing evidence to support customer conversations, strengthen tender applications, or meet growing sustainability reporting requirements. Abbott believes that achieving true environmental sustainability will require the print and signage industries to look beyond incremental improvements and start addressing impact at the source. She concludes: “If we want to make meaningful progress, the industry needs to place far before a banner is ever printed, shipped, or installed.” By contrast, independently conducted LCAs demonstrate that Kavalan’s PVCfree materials are 100% sustainable, weigh up to 45% less than their PVC and textilebased counterparts, and are designed for responsible end-of-life disposal. As Abbott says: “They are engineered with sustainability in mind, right from the start. Using sustainable materials like this can protect the bottom line of UK print and signage businesses, by avoiding both direct and indirect regulatory costs.” Abbott believes that the biggest challenge when switching to PVC-free banner materials is often mindset. She explains: “Many of the misconceptions around making the transition relate to durability and performance. Having relied on PVC banner materials for decades, much of the industry is reluctant to make the move into the unknown. “However, advances in PVC-free banner materials mean that they now offer the same durability and image quality as PVC and traditional textile materials without leaching toxic chemicals into the environment – both at the point of creation ▼ Kavalan materials are designed to meet stringent sustainability standards BEING A SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS | JONATHAN PERT Nearly half (48%) of UK businesses say that energy makes up 25% or more of their total business costs, according to a 2026 report from Energy UK Factoid greater emphasis on material selection and understanding the full lifecycle impact of the products being used.” Sustainable from the Start To best understand how sustainability can impact a business, it is worth looking at businesses that were shaped by these practices from the beginning as a core part of their identity. One company that fits the bill is Teemill, a UK-based, tech-driven printon-demand (POD) platform that operates a fully circular open-access supply chain. Teemill was never conceived as a traditional commercial print business that decided to ‘go green’ later on. Instead, it was born entirely out of frustration with global manufacturing waste, and that focus has shaped its future successes. As Sára Debreceni, content marketing manager for Teemill, outlines: “Building the supply chain behind our products ourselves gave us the power to make decisions on small details that make a big difference. In a lot of cases, sustainability and commercial performance now go hand in hand, which makes investment decisions much easier to justify 58 email: editor@signlink.co.uk Issue 267 - October | November “Using organic cotton rather than conventionally farmed cotton can reduce water usage by up to 91%. Using renewable energy enables you to employ processes that might be more energy-intensive. Introducing automation into your fulfilment system means more efficiency and big savings. But the biggest thing is waste – if you hunt waste within your operations, you will become more sustainable and save money.” ► Samantha Overton [pictured] has overseen a transformation of Zebra Print Group’s sustainable practices
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjM0NDIxOA==