Printing for a better planet

A tender for a greener future

With their impeccable green credentials, responding to a tender for University College Cork meant that sustainability and best practice had to be top of the agenda in Cantec’s approach. The university needed greater control over their devices and how much they were outputting in order to be more efficient in their print workflow. But this had to be achieved to maximum sustainability in every possible aspect – from energy consumption and lifespan of the machines, to cost of print and streamlining of the fleet – all while maintaining the high standards users expected.

Cantec’s Managing Director and UCC alumni, Greg Tuohy could see that this wasn’t simply about efficient print and an approach was required that sits right at the heart of UCC’s values. In understanding “what makes the college tick”, he was able to take his tender response beyond the standard expectations of high efficiency and propose a fleet of remanufactured Canon EQ80 machines, reducing their environmental impact from point of procurement.

EQ80 machines are best-selling models from Canon’s imageRUNNER ADVANCE range, already designed with optimum energy efficiency in mind but rebuilt to exacting standards at our manufacturing facility in Giessen, Germany.

Each machine undergoes a thorough reconstruction using up to 80% of already existing parts and components, which in turn reduces the CO₂ emissions associated with the manufacture of each machine by up to 80%. In the case of UCC, Greg selected a mix of mono EQ80 imageRUNNER ADVANCE 6065i and 4045i, and an imageRUNNER ADVANCE Gen 3 III C3500 for colour printing.

He combined this with a three phase plan to audit and remove the existing machines, install the new streamlined, secure and networked fleet and implement a Managed Print Solution with a student pay-for-print facility – all with the minimum disruption to UCCs daily operations. Over the two-month summer recess, phase one installed over 40 machines for student use and the implementation and testing of uniFLOW. This is followed by an ongoing rollout and withdrawal of existing machines.

In the months since Cantec were awarded the UCC tender, the university has not only been nominated for a National Procurement Award for their approach to sustainability, but Greg now has a seat on UCC’s sustainable print policy steering group.

Saying farewell, but not goodbye

There were hundreds of desktop devices all over campus with no oversight of how much this was costing the university – or the planet. Greg estimated up to several hundred that required assessing and decommissioning – a process that could take up to three years, as contracts reach their expiration dates. As they are replaced by the EQ80 models, newer desktop devices and any cartridges will be donated to charities.

Older models will be given to staff members for home use and unusable devices will enter a recycling programme.

The Irish government have committed to a 7% reduction in carbon footprint over the next five years and Cantec is well ahead of the game. Since working with UCC, they are now committed to a full transformation of operations to more sustainable practices.

They are in the process of changing all their vehicles to electric, with a target of 2023 to be 100% battery driven. They have also created an environmental team to continually assess their policies.

Arrival, assessment, disassembly and cleaning

Each machine is checked thoroughly on arrival to ensure that it meets all standards required for remanufacturing. It is then disassembled to the bare frame of the machine and its parts are assessed for suitability. Any that don’t meet standards are recycled, what remains undergoes careful cleaning, using wet and dry methods.

Reassembly, disk cleansing and updates, electrical standards and quality inspection

The machine is then reassembled, and any new parts required are brought into the build. Every part is recorded and tracked in the same way as a new machine build. It then undergoes full hard disk erasure, using methodology approved by US Ministry of Defence (DoD 5220-22.M). The software of the machine is also updated to the latest firmware releases. Electrical cabling is also tested, and user manuals and utility CDs added. Finally, the completed EQ80 undergoes the same strict and extensive quality control assessment that all Canon machines are subject to.

The longevity, reliability and quality that this remanufacturing process gives each machine is key to their sustainability credentials. Each EQ80 machine comes with the same warranty as a new machine, so to all intents and purposes, the machine not only breathes new life into an imageRUNNER ADVANCE, it extends its usable time.

The EQ80 initiative is just one of the many ways that Canon are contributing to a better, more sustainable world. Our business operates according to the philosophy of Kyosei – a Japanese word that means ‘living and working together for the common good’ and this shapes everything we do as a business.

In our endeavours to ensure that Canon, its people, products and services bring benefits to our customers and wider society, our sustainability programme in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) has been recognised by the Global Good Awards for our work in the circular economy and has received five Ecovadis Gold CSR ratings, placing us in top 5% for our sustainability practices.