Sustainably Sourced Packaging
Here at instantprint, we pride ourselves on our environmental stance. As well as sourcing all of our paper stock from FSC-accredited sources and 100% of our energy usage coming from renewable sources. That includes the timber-derived products we use for our packaging!
Recent Packaging Improvements
Reduced Packaging
We’ve reduced our packaging by reducing the size and number of variants of packaging we use, meaning we don’t need to add as much padding to the boxes. We also don’t use polystyrene as filler in our boxes – instead, we’ll use scrunched up paper that’s easier to recycle.
Reduced Size
We’ve reduced the size of our outer and inner boxes, meaning we can pack your print more precisely and easily – which will massively reduce the need for filling and cushioning on smaller orders. Your print will be just as safe and secure – it’ll just fit in the box a lot better!
Reduced Plastic
We’ve completely removed the plastic tape on our packaging and replaced it with paper tape and reduced the shrink wrapping on our business cards by 67%. Any plastic that we do use is derived from plants and all of the paper and cardboard in our packaging is recycled.
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How to Recycle Your Packaging
Separate Recyclable Contents
100% of our packaging is recyclable, but you’ll need to separate the paper and cardboard from the plastic.
Break up the Boxes
To fit more in your recycling bin, we recommend breaking down any big boxes into smaller pieces.
Pop it in the Right Bin
Follow guidance from your local council to choose the right recycling bin for cardboard and plastic waste.
War on Waste Campaign
Our internal War on Waste campaign has been running since 2018, and has seen us change processes to reduce our waste output, including a 100% reduction in consumption of harmful waste in our lithographic stream as well as many other water reduction achievements. This is just one of the ways we’re getting our team involved in our sustainability efforts!
Find Out MoreFree Artwork Check as Standard
The secret to getting your print design right first time and reducing the number of reprints in our factory? Our in-house Studio team’s famous artwork check. Every single time you place an order with instantprint, your artwork will be personally checked by a member of the team using our rigorous (and 100% free) 10 point quality check!
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Greener Print Delivery
We’ve partnered with DPD who:
Delivered over 44,000 of our parcels using electric vehicles between January and July 2022, saving 12131kg of Carbon, which is the equivalent of planting 48 trees.
Here are just some of the ways we’re working with DPD to offer our gold-standard of quick high-quality print, delivered on time and in pristine condition, that’s not at the expense of the environment:
Electric Vehicles
Electric Vehicles
As part of their green agenda, DPD is adopting a fleet of electric vehicles (EVs) at an ‘electrifying’ rate. As of today, their UK electric delivery fleet consists of over 1,700 vehicles, with a further 1,500 ordered for this year. And by 2023, they’re set to have 5,000 EVs – working out at 40% of their entire fleet.
In 2021, DPD delivered 24,162 parcels to instantprint customers on all-electric vehicles.
Electric Urban Depots
Electric Urban Depots
As of today, there are 10 UK cities benefitting from all-electric depots, with DPD aiming for 30 electric hubs by the end of 2023. These micro-depots are smaller warehouses based in busy cities and urban areas, ensuring that delivery vans travel less and therefore use less CO2.
Net Zero Target
Net Zero Target
DPD are working towards being Carbon Net Zero by 2030, and have already taken a number of actions towards reaching this goal. They’ve worked out that they’ll need 95%+ of their fleet to consist of all-electric delivery vans, and make a switch to hydrogen cell linehaul vehicles. On top of that, they’re aiming for 100% renewable energy usage.
Sustainability in the Community
Sustainability in the Community
As well as mitigating their environmental impact, DPD are also working to build sustainable communities where everyone’s needs are met. As part of their Project ReLove, DPD App users who are expecting a delivery can select the option of donating old clothing, which DPD then collect at the point of delivery.
Custom-Built Extraction System
Ever wondered what happens to the paper trimmings after our guillotine cuts your print down to size? Sustainability in printing is always at the forefront of our minds - so we make sure that any excess paper is managed responsibly.
Our custom-built extraction system sucks up any paper trimmings and feeds it along tubes than run the whole length of our factory ceiling. The paper trimmings are sent to a giant shredder just outside of the building where they're compacted into bales before being collected and recycled.
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We’re ISO 14001:2015 Certified
We work towards a set of environmental management standards called ISO 14001:2015, meaning we’re inspected by external auditors once a year and given a plan to improve our environmental impact. This means we’re always working towards reducing our impact on the environment.
Journey to 100% Plastic-Free Packaging
We have already reduced shrink wrapping on business card packaging by 67% and transitioned away from plastic tape on all packages to ensure that the packaging used can be recycled.
The only plastic we now use for our packaging is recyclable, derived from plants and only used to secure specific products, like banding around business cards, for quality purposes.
We know that we’ve still got lots to achieve in terms of the packaging we use for your printed products.
Our next big project aims to eliminate 100% of plastic in our packaging. We’ve set up a packaging taskforce to help drive this project to fruition – watch this space for our next big update!
