Greens the Signmakers leads the way on sustainability
Established in Hull 60 years ago, Oh Yes! Net Zero member Greens the Signmakers is one of the UK’s leading signage companies. Its sustainability journey began nearly three years ago – and today it is at the forefront of the signage industry’s efforts to reduce its environmental impact. We spoke to managing director Lawrence Green about what the firm has achieved and asked what advice he’d give other organisations.
Lawrence’s drive to make Greens a more sustainable business began one weekend in 2021 – and was prompted by a poem his daughter, now aged 10, had written about the environment.
“It came completely out of the blue,” he said.
“She came downstairs one day and showed me her poem, which called out the damage businesses are doing to the natural world and asked what would be left for children like her.
“At work the following Monday I watched our vans leaving our car park filled with plastic and knew we had to change.”
An obvious starting point was to reduce the amount of signage produced that would eventually be sent to landfill and within months Greens had made a significant investment in new printers that use water-based (rather than UV) ink.
“Being able to produce signage that’s very easily recyclable was a major step for us. Once the printers were in place we did a broader assessment of our environmental impact to identify the next things to prioritise.”
They included installing 208 solar panels on the roof of its 26,000 square foot factory – a move that happened to coincide with increasing energy prices, leading to a much-reduced payback period, as 30 per cent of the power they produce is sold back to the national electricity grid.
“While there may be costs involved in making your business more sustainable, there are also opportunities for cost savings, and this was a great example,” Lawrence said.
“Ultimately, the more carbon you emit, the more it costs you, so bringing your energy usage down brings clear business advantages in addition to the environmental benefits.”
Other measures Greens has taken to reduce its carbon footprint include introducing electric vehicles for use by its project managers. They have travelled 100,000 miles so far, with 45 per cent of this distance fuelled by Greens’ own solar panels. Local journeys and small deliveries are now handled by a cute little Citroen Ami, which allowed a large Mercedes Sprinter to be taken off the road.
Lawrence believes part of the firm’s success on the sustainability front is down to involving employees from across the business.
Two members of the team have completed a Training Qualifications UK (TQUK) Level 2 certificate in Understanding Environmental Sustainability. The business has also established a ‘#challengegreen’ team, made up of employees with a passion for finding more measures, whether large or small, to take the company further along the path to net zero.
The firm’s focus on sustainability led to it recently winning the ‘Sustainability in Signage’ category of the 2023 Sign Awards. It also won the ‘Environmental and Sustainability’ category of the 2022 Hull Live Business Awards and is the only signmaker invited to be part of an industry action group aimed at driving more sustainable use of self-adhesive vinyl.
Lawrence said: “We hope that by promoting what we’re doing to improve our own carbon footprint we can help the wider industry move forward and reduce its environmental impact.
“We’re also raising awareness of more sustainable options with customers, for example, by providing quotes for more easily recyclable products alongside quotes for traditional signage. This has been welcomed by customers who are keen to reduce their own environmental impact, including some global and national brands.
“Cutting carbon emissions is a challenge and an opportunity facing every business. We’re looking forward to continuing to do all we can to make our business more sustainable in the widest possible sense over the years to come.”
We asked Lawrence what advice he would give to organisations keen to make a start on their carbon reduction journey. Here are his tips.
1. Start by measuring your impact
“We calculated our Scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions for the first time in 2022, and over the past year reduced them from 204 to 170 tonnes. If we’d measured them at the start of our journey we’d have a better idea of how far we’ve come – and it would also have helped us identify priorities for action.”
2. Take time to learn
“We’ve benefited from having employees complete formal qualifications in sustainability but there are also lots of opportunities to learn from other organisations on the same journey. We’re happy to share our experiences and learnings, as are many other Oh Yes! Net Zero members.”
3. Make sustainability part of your day-to-day operations
“Once you start to look for ways to cut your carbon footprint, and encourage your team to do the same, you’ll see opportunities everywhere. Over time, whenever you need to buy something new, or put a new process in place, sustainability will become part of the decision-making process.”