Brother International (New Zealand) Ltd. identified the reduction of environmental impact as a key issue and has been recycling printer ink cartridges, toner cartridges, and various products through their free, comprehensive recycling program since 2008. 97% of products and parts collected through the program are recycled, which are later repurposed into new materials. In 2013, they were the first printer brand in the country to receive Toitū carbonzero certification^*1. In 2018, they ranked 5th^*2 in the country among organizations with the same certification in terms of the reduction of CO₂ emissions. In addition, they are building values of ‘caring for the environment’ throughout the company through a monthly SDG Challenge, where employees are set sustainability challenges that align with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, targeting 80% staff participation.

*1 The world’s first greenhouse gas certification program under ISO 14065 that supports efforts to measure, manage, reduce, and offset CO₂ and other greenhouse gases emitted by organizations, products, and services
*2 Toitū carbonzero and Toitū carbonreduce (formerly CEMARS) Top 20 Reducers program

Coastal cleanup activities with employee participation

In 2018, Brother International (New Zealand) Ltd. participated in coastal cleanup activities with the cooperation of Sustainable Coastlines. Employees participated in a workshop beforehand to learn about the types of problems that are occurring in the ocean, such as marine waste and microplastics caused by the dumping of single-use plastics. Later, employees gathered on the coast near the office and collected a total of 1,600 liters of waste, including household waste and construction debris that had been dumped illegally in mangrove bushes. Sustainable Coastlines performed a detailed statistical analysis on the collected waste to use in efforts to eliminate this kind of dumping. This cleanup activity was also conducted in the same place in 2019. Although the activity has not been conducted after 2020 due to coronavirus restrictions, donations to Sustainable Coastlines continued through Brother’s recycling program.

Striving for future waste reduction

In 2021, Brother International (New Zealand) Ltd. conducted an SDG Materiality Assessment and set priority issues in relation to its own business and in consideration of employee interest. While the past two coastal cleanup activities resulted in the collection of a significant amount of waste, in order to resolve even more fundamental problems to reduce waste they decided to participate in coastal waste monitoring through Sustainable Coastlines’ Litter Intelligence program. Starting in 2022, they became an official Litter Intelligence Monitoring Supporter of one of the 300 survey sites across New Zealand coastlines. This monitoring is conducted two times a year with employee volunteers and involves the collection and analysis of waste at local survey site, followed by the submission of a report to the Ministry for the Environment. This makes it possible to contribute to waste reduction measures by the government at a national level, rather than being confined to the boundaries of local communities. This challenge to realize a sustainable society will continue.