Epson says UK is lagging behind Europe on sustainable IT practices as it hits 15m printer sales

Research released by Epson has found the UK is falling behind the rest of Europe on sustainability in office IT and printing, with only 28 per cent of UK businesses feeling sustainability is a necessary expenditure in IT procurement. 

The survey of 500 senior IT managers and procurement leaders in Britain, France, Spain, Italy and Germany, conducted by Quocirca, found that environmental sustainability does not feature highly in purchasing decisions in the UK, despite rising costs and sustainability pressures.

The news comes as Epson announces its high-capacity ink tank printers have achieved cumulative global sales of 15 million units.

Epson first launched the high-capacity ink tank printers in October 2010 in Indonesia. Since then, the high-capacity ink tank printers have been introduced into 150 new countries and regions.

Going back to the new data around sustainability, 46 per cent of UK respondents feel environmental issues are highly important, compared with a European average of 53 per cent.

The research also found that the UK is behind on environmentally-friendly office practices compared with other European countries. 68 per cent said they regularly recycle paper, (compared with 72 per cent for the rest of Europe).

Just over half of UK respondents (51 per cent) said they were increasing energy efficiency and only 23 per cent are actively implementing energy efficient IT.

Germany is leading the way in terms of sustainable IT procurement and office practices, with 70 per cent suggesting they want to increase energy efficiency. 

Rob Clark, MD for Epson UK and Ireland, said: “UK businesses are really missing an opportunity to capitalise on more energy efficient IT.

"It’s a common misconception that investing in more sustainable technology means an additional cost, but that’s not always the case. Inkjet printers can be more cost effective for businesses, providing savings of up to 50 percent per page printed, as well as reduced downtime and IT support, and increased productivity through reduce waiting time for prints.

“The environmental case for making the switch from laser to inkjet printers, is very strong. It can help companies achieve energy savings of up to 96 per cent, CO2 emission reductions of 92 per cent and waste reductions of 95 percent. In fact, if every business in the UK made the switch to business inkjet printers, it would save enough power to run over 60,000 houses.”