Xerox still setting the sustainability benchmark

Posted on 27 January 2010 In modern-day business things are rarely black and white but Xerox’s corporate social responsibility message is clear – buying into sustainability doesn’t just benefit the planet, it can also profit your entire supply chain.



Xerox has long been a leader in this field, from its pioneering of double-sided printing in 1969 to its ground-breaking recycling programme in the early 1970s. In 2007 the company was also awarded ‘chain of custody’ certification from both the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) in recognition of its commitment to forest management.



Now it’s hoping that its latest innovation – the block ink cartridge – can revolutionise the printing industry in the same way.



The US giant claims that these blocks – which melt when heated – could help cut printing costs by as much as 60% and eliminate 90% of all waste.



And it’s this kind of technological advance that Ginny Tucker, the company’s head of procurement solutions, believes will be critical as companies, and procurement operations, are increasingly asked to do more with less.



“Sustainability is very much part of who we are,” Tucker tells Sustainable Sourcing. “It’s something that runs as a theme through everything that we in procurement do.



“It goes without saying that, from a demand management perspective, alongside cost, it’s certainly one of the most influential factors.



“Policy and practice-wise we’re pretty far down the road, but in business things are consistently changing – we need to be flexible, adaptable and observant.”



Despite its proud past it’s the future to which Tucker and her colleagues are now looking and with a greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of 25% to hit by 2012 – the original target of a 10% reduction by the same year was hit at the end of 2006 – there is still work to do.