As our new financial year begins it’s a great time to reflect and share our achievements over the course of the last 12 months.
Inhouse improvements
We have continued to invest in new machinery to both improve our production processes and reduce energy usage where possible. For many years we searched for a horizontal bandsaw to speed up plastic finishing; This is a highly specialised piece of equipment and despite our long search we had not even been able to acquire one second hand. Instead, we took the decision to use our own knowledge to design and build a bespoke machine for ourselves which was completed in October.
The number of processes and time required to finish large scale vacuum formings has been significantly reduced, to see this in action click the photo below:
In the video, Richard trim finishes a Giant Cup Vacuum Formed inner in less than 20 seconds. Previous finishing method would have taken in excess of 10 minutes. 50 inners would have taken over 8 hours, they now take less than 30 mins.
Earlier last year we updated our meeting rooms so that they were digitally connected to our project server. This allows meeting attendees to easily share necessary information on screen for all to see. This along with other changes has reduced our number of print outs by 10% with the biggest impact coming from colour print outs which has been reduced by 54%.
We have continued our investigations into correct recycling ensuring our knowledge of films and backing materials are encompassed into our waste management process. 98% of the following materials are now separated for recycling by our partner Veolia:
- Brown paper tape, including card core
- Scrap boxes
- Paper backing from stickers/graphics
- Plastic bags
- Metal
- Wood
- Plastics/metal cans/bottles etc from the kitchen/canteen
- Acrylic/Hips/PETG/ABS
Projects
This year we have helped even more brands and B Corp businesses in narrowing down the best display options for their Point of Sale projects. Always factoring in the likely route to recycling, one of the biggest influences on the display cycle, for example, is the ability to collate bioplastics for regrinding or composting.
The number of POS material options continues to rise with many common materials also available with recycled content and bioplastics emerging to market.
Whilst improvements are being made to the end chain to capture more units for recycling it is heartening to see that this year again the percentage of units using recycled or reduced volume material has increased.
Increasingly clients are taking advantage of our end-of-life service to collect and refurbish units.
Protecting the planet
With inhouse manufacture we are responsible for a certain carbon footprint and in the Summer we renewed our commitment to be climate positive through Carbon Footprint. In the future carbon offset plans, such as mangrove reforestation and peatland restoration, will become more commercialised and are extremely important to the environment preventing erosion and sequestering carbon. As a POS manufacturer we frequently use cardboard for graphics production as well as using it to protect our displays in transit, therefore it is appropriate for us to continue our support of trees. We are proud to have planted 60 trees as well as supporting protection of rainforest in crucial areas in danger of deforestation around the world. To learn more about the varied methods Carbon Footprint uses to educate, empower communities and protect rainforest you can read more here.
Learning
In the Summer we attended POPAI’s 2nd annual Sustainability summit Impact 23. It was wonderful to share the passion for sustainability with likeminded peers and hear the progress being made across the industry as well as openly discuss the challenges, such as commonality of route to recycling.
We have also created our own Three Point summit to share how important working sustainably is to the planet and working towards UN Sustainability goals. This has enabled us to share how crucial it is it to be aiding our clients on their sustainability targets and bring our new team members up to speed with the reasons our own goals are so important to keep at the forefront of their minds.
Eco Brochure
To demonstrate examples of the many ways of working more sustainability we recently published our Eco Brochure. This varied collection of case studies has proved to be extremely popular and has inspired discussion points on all aspects from intelligent design, to selecting the most efficient materials and planning for end of life.
EPR
The Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Scheme has come into place meaning manufacturers of consumer products need to collate data for all packaging content and quantity utilised on its journey through to UK market.
EPR will continue to expand and in the future is expected to include items such as coffee cups. It is likely future expansions will also include marketing materials. We anticipate the demand for product packaging with recycled content will push an even bigger drive-in innovation for recycled materials which can be used for multiple applications. Materials available in sheet form, as well as granules, with increased availability.
Looking ahead
This Spring we are investing in solar panels to generate our own electricity to power the machinery in the factory and office. MD Adam admitted “This is a huge step for us as it involves a capital investment into a building that we do not own. However, it is so important to us to be even greener that we have put that consideration aside to get the solar panels installed”. We are extremely excited about this latest investment of carbon footprint improvements to our premises.
Three Point’s new CRM system launched this month smoothing out processes for greater efficiency. This system will give bring us a step closer to Scope 3 analysis as we direct towards a Sustainable Accreditation for our supply chain to help our partners to also reduce their own carbon footprint.
We are committed to continually adapt and improve and expect the coming year will bring more fabulously engaging POS and even more opportunities to test new eco-materials. Of course, we will continue to publish our learnings so please follow us on social media or visit us at https://threepd.co.uk/eco/ for information on a variety of eco topics.
Want to learn more
Through our Insight Centre we have shared information and advice on the processes already in place such as:
- Material options and information
- Designing and planning for the end of a display’s lifespan
- Planning tips
- Recycling hacks
Interested in making POS more sustainable?
Take a look at our Eco Brochure to see for case study examples of different ways of working for smarter sustainability.
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