The St Neots-based firm has started the process as part of Macro Eco, the new sustainability drive it has initiated to identify opportunities and drive improvements to help reduce the environmental impact across all areas of its business.
The business has granted environmental consultancy Green Circle Solutions with full access to its operations, from sourcing to production and installation, to establish an accurate picture of the environmental impact of the business, from which the new initiative could drive improvements. This includes the setting of quantifiable targets.
MacroArt said it was determined to instil true, measurable and transparent sustainability at the core of its commitment, rather than relying on “piecemeal, difficult to substantiate claims of green credentials”.
“It’s only by using third-party objectivity that you can be clear on your real starting point and therefore your destination,” said MacroArt managing director Michael Green.
“So many businesses have misconceptions of just how green they are, but we wanted to know the truth so we could plan for effective change and know the impact each implementation would have.”
Taking 2019 as its baseline, the business impact assessment report showed that 2kg of CO2e footprint per sqm of printed media was generated across all media streams.
The business has used data such as this as a springboard for developing a strong programme of sustainability initiatives, ranging from responsible and environmentally friendly material sourcing and closed-loop recycling to greener production and installation methods.
As a result, MacroArt has defined a roadmap that commits the business to reach peak emissions by the end of 2022, and then to reduce its overall CO2e footprint year-on-year from this point onwards by targeted percentage.
This targeted approach has also allowed MacroArt to commit to reducing its kgCO2/sqm year-on-year with immediate effect compared to this 2019 baseline.
Additionally, the business will also invest in certified carbon offset schemes to neutralise its own footprint from 2020 onwards.
Green Circle Solutions director David Humphreys said: “I am extremely impressed by the commitment of the team to embrace the report’s findings and act so decisively upon them.
“It is rare to find a business so open to understanding their true environmental impact and using this insight to establish a basis for continued change and improvement.”
Initiatives already underway at MacroArt include the ability for its clients to create a closed-loop with their graphics and wide-format print, with the business taking back and recycling all materials as an integral part of a project.
The company recently became the first company in Europe to implement Lift ERP, a new platform from Lift Software.
Last year it secured £3.3m in additional working capital after proving its continued growth following an MBO in 2014.
It had been sold to a team comprising then-managing director James Jennings, then-commercial director Green and sales director Matthew Guise with backing from YFM Equity Partners following the death of founder John Walker in 2013.
In 2018 it added two Durst machines to its portfolio and increased its factory size to 4,088sqm.
The company is aiming for growth during 2021 after securing nearly £1m of new business in 2020, and it took on three new apprentices in February.
