29 with zero external investment. This organic growth has led the company to work with a customer base that includes big names such as Krispy Kreme, Wembley Park, Danone, WaFd Bank, The Very Group, Selfridges, and many more. Drew Harding, sales and marketing lead of Embed Signage, says: “We believe that sustainability is vitally important for any business. Ultimately, we all share the same planet, and we all have an impact on the world no matter what we do. “So, we have a choice about the impact we have. Do we want it to be positive or negative? Do we want to put our heads in the sand and focus solely on the narrow-minded view of profit only, no matter the fallout? Of course we don’t! At Embed Signage, we are consciously aware of the impact our business has on the world and we ensure sustainability plays a critical role in all our business decisions.” The process of evolving is key for businesses becoming aware of their impact on the environment. Whether that’s on a local or global scale, everything must be taken into consideration. Quite frankly, these conversations wouldn’t have been had 20 years ago. As the sector becomes more aware of the importance of looking after the planet, it’s important for companies to continue to evolve and work towards methods of sustainability that will help the planet and not hinder it. Speaking on Embed Signage’s progress, Harding says: “A few years back, we started doing ad hoc carbon offsetting, but in recent years we’ve really focused on our business impact in terms of sustainability and understanding the wider impact of the entire digital signage ecosystem that we’re intrinsically connected to. “Fundamental changes to the way our workforce operates as well as the infrastructure our software is developed upon have all been undertaken. We’ve looked at our underlying technology and have put in place changes to not only improve the security and efficiency of our software but also to optimise and align these elements with our sustainability objectives.” One example given by Harding is that Embed’s technology operates on infrastructure that diverts 78% of waste from landfills; uses 100% renewable energy to operate; utilises hardware that operates at 2x more efficiency than a typical enterprise data centre; and is operating at 1.1 Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE). “There is a direct and indirect impact that we have as a digital signage software business, and we made a conscious decision that we wanted to operate positively in terms of our impact on the world around us,” Harding says. “As well as sustainability being a core part of our decision-making process, we’ve also implemented initiatives that not only contribute towards the planting of trees to cleanse the environment and regenerate local communities but funding projects that meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.” In the past 12 months, Embed Signage has funded the planting of over 90,000 trees and contributed to 20 projects across the world, such as methane gas capturing, forest preservation and cultivation, a variety of renewable energy sources, and transportation efficiency improvements. “The overall sustainability impact of these projects is very important to us, so they have a wider positive impact such as climate action, jobs, and economic growth; provide quality education, gender equality; are good for health, and more,” Harding concludes. From its Yorkshire home, Applelec has been manufacturing products for the signage industry for over 20 years Factoid ▲ Some businesses offer cycle to work schemes to reduce the emissions of their employees Issue 245 - February / March 2023 FOCUS ON / BEING SUSTAINABLE www.signlink.co.uk
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