4 Ways a Localized Print Portal Contributes to Your Brand’s Sustainability Goals
The paper industry ranks third after the petroleum and chemical industries for fossil fuel emissions. While great strides have been made in recent years to reduce the impact of print production on the environment, there’s still a lot to be done across all industries to arrive at net zero emissions by 2050.
The 2021 Global Sustainability Study shows that consumers care about sustainability. 85% of respondents became ‘greener’ in their purchasing. Consumers know that they are the primary catalyst for change and it is reflected in their purchases. Sustainability is no longer an option for brands – it’s become a must for all who want to remain relevant.
But how can brands turn traditionally wasteful and carbon heavy print production into a more sustainable process? Turns out it’s not that complicated. In this article, we’ll show you how a print portal for your brand can help you achieve your sustainability goals, cut costs, reduce waste and actually increase productivity!
First off – how does a print portal work?
A print portal offers a secure space for all your printable brand assets – flyers, business cards, table tents, roll ups, posters, notebooks – if you can name it, then it can be in it. It’s similar to having an online shop – but one that is accessible only to the people and teams you want to give access to. The print portal is integrated with vendor systems, procurement and accounting tools and software, logistics systems and digital asset management tools, providing a streamlined process from start to finish. It’s also easy to view stats and monitor expenses, look at past orders and forecast print needs.
What makes Ciloo’s print portals unique is that we work with environmentally-conscious providers that allow you to print-on-demand, with production close to the delivery address. We’ll go into more detail on this later on.
Marketing supply vs Sustainability Goals
Fast fact: the two don’t have to be mutually exclusive. With your own, personalized print portal you can achieve your brand’s sustainability goals and still have an effective print marketing strategy. Here’s how:
#1 Minimize waste
We all know that long-lost room: boxes upon boxes of ancient print material that ends up unused – and outdated. You can easily avoid this with an efficient print portal. A print portal allows you to order the quantity you need at that point in time. There are no minimum print orders or extremely long turn around times (because print production is close to where you’re at – more on this below)
#2 Localized print
Centralized production, shipping to headquarters and additional shipping to where the product is needed is costly, time-consuming and carbon-heavy. Ciloo’s smart print portal identifies the nearest production site, saving on transportation costs, customs fees, all while reducing carbon emissions. As an example, if your company is headquartered in Amsterdam, with offices in Beijing, Melbourne and New York, each office can order print materials through the same portal, but production takes place closest to them.
#3 Avoid mistakes (and more waste)
We’ve all been there. There’s the slightest of tweaks in your brand’s color scheme and print material sporting the old colors keep popping up everywhere – or you have set brand guidelines, but you can still spot mistakes in a flier that an office miles away from HQ printed for an industry fair. With a print portal, global teams only have access to approved brand material. When they hit ‘order’, it’s the right print, every time. This also makes rebrands much easier.
#4 Environmentally conscious vendors
At Ciloo, we only work with print companies that prioritize sustainability and have a positive impact, both on people and the environment. With Ciloo’s print portal you’ll be working with ethical vendors and gain access to sustainable forestry. In short, your brand will be contributing to a happier planet – and happier people!
We hope you find this useful as you rethink your print marketing processes. Even the smallest of changes can have a big impact if we all work together towards a healthier planet!
Ready to overhaul an inefficient print process? Get in touch with us for an environmentally friendly and cost-effective alternative!