According to Petar Johnson, AELA president, “Australian business is realising there are real market benefits for innovation that generates environmentally preferable products.
“The green market in Australia is growing with Australians actively calling on business and government to give them green choices.
“The shift towards buying green has the potential to deliver good results to the bottom line, rewarding innovative manufacturers and benefiting the environment.”
Ian Kiernan, Clean Up Australia chairman, says, “We are calling on manufacturers to work with AELA by meeting ISO 14 020 standards – measuring cradle to grave environmental impacts.
“Corporate planners need to think about how they will develop and implement sustainable practices for material flows and product innovation.”
This call to action has already been heard by Fuji Xerox Printers (FXP), which has eight printers accredited as “Good Environmental Choices” under the AELA Ecolabel programme. FXP is the first printer manufacturer to have its printer range approved by AELA.
Committed to being a leading eco corporate citizen, FXP has a comprehensive environment programme that not only ensures that its products are green, but that its work practices are too.
Its eco-management activities include:
– ISO14001 Certified as at November 2003
– Tree Planting – 6000 trees during the current FY (214.27t CO2 absorbed)
– Significant reduction in paper consumption (nine per cent approx 100,000 pages)
– Recycled media usage increased (from <10 per cent to 60 per cent) – Conversion of service fleet to LPG or four cylinder vehicles (43 per cent) – Recycling and reuse of packaging materials (93 per cent) – Intends to achieve full JEA Eco-Mark and AELA Good Environmental Choice certification for all future products – Recently contributed to Federal Govt. ICT whitepaper – Product Stewardship – Implementing end-of-life product recycling (awaiting export licenses) – Re-manufacturing of selected toner cartridges (in partnership with FXA Eco Manufacturing Centre) FXP’s newly launched Phaser 8400 is leading the company’s eco-friendly product as it: Reduces landfill – One of the major environmental benefits of the 8400’s solid ink technology is the reduction in landfill waste as a by-product of printing. For every 100,000 pages printed the 8400 will generate approximately two kilograms of landfill waste, compared with approx 90kg for a typical colour laser printer. Recyclable Packaging – ColorStix are the main consumable required in a solid ink printer. Supplied in recyclable cardboard boxes, each of the ColorStix are packaged in recyclable plastic cups with recyclable paper lids. No Human Hazards – The solid ink ColorStix formulation contains no irritants or contact sensitisers, they are non-toxic and there are no inhalation hazards. They are completely safe and clean to handle. Ozone Friendly – Solid ink technology is Ozone friendly. There are no ozone damaging omissions generated during the printing process.
Comment below to have your say on this story.
If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.
Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter