By A program introduced by BL Analytical’ s Recording & Control product line in 2020, to reduce the environmental impact of producing and dispatching documentation for its products, has resulted in over two tons (>4000lbs) of paper being saved and hundreds of new trees being planted. From 1st January 2020, printed instruction manuals have only been included with Recording & Control products if requested by the customer (a short, printed start-up guide is always included). For every 25 paper manuals dispatched, a tree is planted in a local re-greening project.
The scheme is part of a drive by the ABB Measurement & Analytics Division globally to find ways to reduce the environmental impact of its operations.
Martin Binney, Global Product Manager for the Recording & Control portfolio explains: “We often ship multiple units to the same customer, which meant that the paper manual provided automatically with every unit was surplus to requirement. While some customers do appreciate a large paper manual with their new product, not all had a use for it, especially as all our product documentation is available online on our http://www.abb.com/measurement web pages.”
The tree-planting aspect of the scheme is being run in conjunction with the Forest of Marston Vale in Bedfordshire, UK, which aims to plant five million trees in addition to the two million it has already planted in recent years. Its goal is to achieve 30 percent tree cover across the 61 square mile forest to help transform the landscape and remove the scars of the area’s industrial past as a major center for brick manufacturing in the UK.
Sustainable options for customers
The success of the Recording & Control program is in giving customers different options on what they would like to receive. A short printed start-up guide is shipped with the product, with the option of a full-paper manual being available when ordering. For customers opting out of the printed manual, a QR code displayed on the rear casing of the product directs them to the latest PDF version. If additional paper versions are required, they can still be requested.
The current program, in addition to saving tons of paper per year, also delivers further environmental improvements through a reduction in the carbon emissions associated with printing and distribution, especially as many recording and control products are shipped overseas by air.
“Through this scheme, we are contributing to reducing the impact of our operations while also helping to restore our local environment. We expect to support the planting of 1,000s of trees in the next few years” – Martin Binney, Global Product Manager for the Recording & Control product line.
| — For more information please contact: | ||
| Product Specialist – R&C and CWA Pawal Bajwa, Pawal.bajwa@gb.abb.com | ||
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