27 Issue 245 - February / March 2023 email: news@signlink.co.uk FOCUS ON / BEING SUSTAINABLE create tangible change within the business and the industry.” According to Crotch, the positive impact of this pledge has fundamentally changed the mindset within Applelec to the point that sustainability, its ECO product range, and its ECO pledge is now an integral part of its strategy for growth. Crotch says that the results of the ECO pledge initiative have exceeded the company’s expectations, and this was recently recognised by the Made in Britain community, where Applelec won an Impact Award for ‘Employee Engagement Campaign of the Year’ for its ECO pledge. supply chains to see what more they can be doing, as the choices they make directly affect the choices of consumers. Crotch explains: “This year more than any, we have noticed more affordable, environmentally friendly materials being developed by our suppliers, which is due to increased demand, as well as improved technology and manufacturing techniques. “Prior to this, as much as people wanted to choose the ‘eco’ option, the cost of doing this was a little out of reach. With more competitive options, it allows manufacturers to create more affordable products, which in turn makes sustainability a more realistic option for many, and if we can continue to balance cost with sustainability, it naturally makes the sustainable choice the best choice.” On Applelec’s journey to sustainability it has reached many milestones, with one coming very recently when it was announced a winner of the Made in Britain Sustainability Award. Crotch says: “Although we have been mindful of our business sustainability for a number of years, we always knew we could be doing more. Inspired by the structure of the Earthshot prize, we developed and implemented our ECO pledge initiative in January 2022. This takes our core four focuses: nature, climate, waste, and manufacturing, and challenges the Applelec team to pool their collective talents, to A lightbulb moment The Applelec journey to sustainability has been aided by plenty of creativity along the way, where the company has had to start thinking outside of the box to produce the results it wants. The result was Applelec’s ECO Lightbox range, which uses recycled wood pulp backing instead of Foamex, making it a sustainable option to choose. The device is also considerably lighter, halving the weight of a standard lightbox, which brings with it many benefits, including the cost of shipping to application possibilities. “This is just the start for Applelec and our ECO range. Sustainability is not a passing phase, it is integral to the world’s future, and we know that everyone must play their part, especially those at the top of the supply chain,” Crotch says, adding: “The choices we make as manufacturers directly impact the sustainability of our customers, and we are acutely aware of this. “This is why our goal is to design environmentally friendly alternatives for as many of our products as we can, whilst using this opportunity to innovate and push the boundaries of what is possible within sustainable signage and lighting products.” As part of this, Applelec is offering customers the opportunity to eco-engineer their designs, with sustainable swaps, whether fully recycled and recyclable acrylic, to recycled plastic bottle skins and recycled wood pulp backings. Customers can pick and choose sustainable materials ◄The Applelec ECO Lightbox exceeds the dc 005 testing by more than 18% ▼ Many businesses are opting for electric vehicles for their fleet I think as manufacturers we have a responsibility to look both inwards and to our supply chains to see what more we can be doing
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