Environmental campaigners and opposition parties say its estimate of achieving 92% of the target is generous and that more is needed if it’s to meet both the 2030 target and its legally binding requirement of hitting net zero by 2050.

Industry, of course, is a key part of that journey and while many UK business have pointed at financial restraints and sheer overwhelm in regard to navigating the emission reductions pathway (SME Climate Impact Report, Sage, November 2022), some businesses are driving change. One of those is Dartford-headquartered print firm Arc-UK Technologies.

The challenge

“As a management team here at Arc-UK, we have been looking at ourselves in the mirror for some years asking what we can do to reduce our carbon footprint and make a meaningful change,” says Darren Moorhouse, head of sales and marketing, UK and Europe. 

With the corporate responsibility of driving down emissions and the urgency of meeting national targets now critical, a growing number of customers are turning away from businesses that are lacking robust environmental strategies. 

“Being environmentally aware is a passion for us; it’s part of our thought process as a business and not just about box-ticking,” he states.

Moorhouse explains that while they had already been working hard to improve the company’s eco credentials and drive down its carbon footprint, they were unsure of how to take it further and begin the comprehensive process of decarbonising the business. That all changed in 2019 when the firm connected with then newly launched CarbonQuota, a carbon measuring, reduction and certification organisation for the print and packaging sector. Its focus is to help clients achieve their 2030 decarbonisation goals. 

Ex-packaging and print figure and CarbonQuota co-founder Dominic Harris was instrumental in educating the Arc team early on, according to Moorhouse, having a significant effect on the firm’s approach. 

CarbonQuota customer manager Steve Cumley says Arc-UK Technologies, part of NYSE-listed global business Arc Document Solutions, is “ahead of the curve” in its pro- active approach of seeking decarbonisation measures. 

He explains that activity in the market is happening on two levels: one where companies such as Arc-UK are taking ownership and asking for carbon measuring across their business or on a job-by-job basis and secondly those that need their data and metrics because clients are requesting it.

“As an industry it’s becoming more and more important and people have this realisation that as part of the 2030 agreement they have to look at their emissions and carbon reduction initiatives. It is gathering pace and momentum very quickly,” Cumley says. 

“Our main focus with our clients is finding a way to become a zero-carbon factory – simply, this means there are no fossil fuels in use in the buildings. As more and more factories in the supply chain achieve this, the closer the print industry gets to net zero.”

The method
Alongside Moorhouse, Arc-UK head of operations Ricky Snell, vice-president Ross Snell and head of finance Razak Malik have worked with CarbonQuota to devise an ambitious seven-year decarbonisation programme and they are the team responsible for its delivery. 

An integral part of the plan, launched last year, was moving the firm’s main manufacturing site, which specialises in large-format graphics, from Lambeth in London to a state-of-the-art facility in Dartford. 

Opened at the end of April 2022, the 2,800sqm facility will run on 100% renewable energy from June 2024 – it is currently tied in to the original energy provider at the site – and thanks to a huge roof, the team has plans to grow its existing raft of solar panels, which already power the on-site hot water and feed the electric fleet’s charging points. While some of Arc-UK’s fleet – those servicing the company’s in-house site at Hinkley Point nuclear power station in Bridgwater, Somerset – remains petrol powered, Moorhouse says the plan is for the entire fleet to become electric. 

“The Dartford building is best-in-class, so its credentials really support our decarbonisation journey,” explains Moorhouse. “It has the most effective insulation, and every light is on a sensor so nothing can be left on needlessly, for example. It all comes under our own ESG [environment, social, governance], which includes staff wellbeing. The move pretty much cut in half most of our staff journeys to work, so it allows a better work-life balance. In the past year we’ve also hired 12 new people locally, all within an 8-mile radius, so there are less emissions. It all plays a part. It’s an educational programme that’s ongoing, and I guess that’s a challenge for any business,” Moorhouse adds. 

Key to maintaining standards among employees is to educate and empower them, says Moorhouse, with incentives such as the staff-voted employee of the month prize being awarded for environmental awareness and best practice such as power-saving and recycling.

Aside from the day-to-day fundamentals, CarbonQuota’s continual involvement is critical to the success of Arc-UK’s journey towards decarbonisation. Cumley explains: “It’s a programme of continual improvement. We do a yearly audit of the operational carbon footprint, establish a baseline, set aims and objectives that they can work on to move forwards and decarbonise as a business and reduce their carbon emissions as a company.”

Rather than offsetting emissions by buying carbon credits, CarbonQuota recommends ‘insetting’ or investing in carbon reduction methods and technologies. One such investment is Arc’s new MIS system, Print IQ, which integrates CarbonQuota’s carbon emissions calculator and breaks down the exact carbon output for each job on invoices and estimates, including all materials requested, while also showing more environmentally friendly options. The system covers both the Dartford site and Arc-UK’s satellite document print and scanning office at the ‘Metal Box Factory’ in Southwark, London. 

“It’s an instantaneous link, so when you get the price, you also get the breakdown of substrate, production, logistics, how environmentally friendly is it, end-of-life, life cycle assessment – all those factors are taken into account. So, basically, you can show the client a way of reducing their emissions with substrate A or B, and that is a really important factor,” Cumley adds. 

The system automatically checks all data and facts and flags any queries, while updates for new products or machinery are added to the calculator fortnightly. Moorhouse says part of the picture is educating customers, suppliers and buyers alike. “We want them to automatically lead with environmentally friendly materials that are 100% PVC-free, and if they cost a bit more, then it’s built into the estimate. It’s part of the journey,” he states. 

The market and pricing for PVC-free vinyl is improving all the time, he says, and explains that suppliers such as Antalis are moving with the times: last year Arc-UK agreed a deal with the supplier for 100% PVC-free vinyl at PVC prices in exchange for exclusivity. 

The result
In just a year the business, which turned over £8m last year, is almost unrecognisable and continues to evolve, Moorhouse says. “Just looking at the day-to-day production, materials we’re using, awareness of our team and everyone around us, it’s incredible compared with a year ago.” 

A big part of the picture is Arc-UK’s multimillion-pound contract win with property giant Landsec, which began on 1 April. The four-year deal sees Arc produce PVC-free vinyl and fabric displays for Landsec’s 1,729 sites including shopping centres, retail outlets and office buildings across the UK. 

Arc’s sustainability agenda and clear plan for decarbonisation were crucial to the contract win, with Landsec committing to reduce operational emissions by 70% by 2030 from its 2013/4 baseline.

Moorhouse says the firm’s consistent approach to using better environmental products and influencing Landsec to always lead with PVC-free and environmentally friendly material was also key. 

“The world is sitting up more and recognising there is a serious problem. Clients want to be educated and they want to hear from the supply chain that we can produce work from a factory that’s on a decarbonisation journey,” he says.

“There are still those that aren’t as aware or responsible, or quite frankly don’t care as much, so that is always a challenge, but we are slowly getting there. We see our role as taking best-in-class practice and measures out to our client base. It’s a fine line and we don’t want to be a complete pain, but we are trying to lead by example, and clients are welcoming it. 

ARC-UK Technologies 

Location UK headquarters in Dartford, offices in London and Bridgwater

Inspection host Darren Moorhouse, head of sales Europe, Arc; Steve Cumley, customer manager, CarbonQuota 

Size Staff 55 (43 Dartford, 10 Bridgwater, two London, globally 2,400); UK turnover £8m

Established 2008

Products and services Small- and large-format printing, outdoor graphics and signage, vehicle and building wrapping, digital and creative services, managed print solutions, scanning and archival services 

Kit Small-format kit includes a range of Xerox, Canon and Ricoh digital printers with finishing kit from Horizon, GBC, Foliant, Gestetner, Surebind, Duplo and Morgana. Large-format firepower includes two Canon Colorado 1650s, an Arizona 2280XT, various Oce printers such as the ColorWave 700 and 650, and an Epson SureColor SC-P10000. Large-format finishing comes from Zünd, Summa, Fotoba, GBC, Graphtec and Duplo. Arc-UK also works with trusted print partners to provide other printing services outside the scope of its own in-house setup 

Inspection focus The journey towards a carbon-neutral business