BIG and our employees are dedicated to the culture of sustainability. We are committed to the practise of sound principle to govern safety, business conduct, social, environmental and economic activities.
Our principles are simple:
The management team at Big Ideas is dedicated to reducing the environmental impact of our industry – because our clients demand it, and because we believe it’s the right way to do business! Here’s what we do.
From the top down our management team instills a culture of sustainability throughout the company, building environmental awareness and encouraging staff to reduce waste and recycle wherever possible. We regularly update all staff on any relevant developments within the company and environmental issues at large.
In 2010 we decided to put our money where our mouth was, and enlisted ourselves in the Instep Carbon & Sustainability Programme. Instep is an independent organisation who assessed our situation with regard to environmental impact – as a result we have put in place key measurements, targets and procedures for minimising harmful impact.
We operate a stringent recycling system on our production floor, with clearly marked bins to separate paper, glass and plastics. We also have paper recycling stations around the office.
New Digital printing technology such as Latex based inks also helps reduce our ecological footprint.
Our sales and production teams talk with suppliers on a regular basis, putting the pressure on to provide more enviro-friendly options, primarily in the areas of digital printing and vinyl-cutting.
A prime example of this is the 3M range of Fasara green films. The NZI project in Fanshawe Street was gunning for 5 Green Stars, and to assist with this we sourced 3M Fasara from the USA, prior to its release in NZ.
One of the easiest ways to reduce our impact on the environment is to ensure we are operating as efficiently as possible and that we order only what we need, and where possible use material off-cuts rather than ordering new sheets.
To support this we have systems and checklists in place across all areas of production, essentially enforcing a “right first time” policy eliminating costly re-prints and re-builds.