HelloPrint accelerates sustainability in a polluting industry

“There’s no two ways about it: the printing industry is a polluter,” says Hans Scheffer, entrepreneur and founder of HelloPrint. Not one to mince his words, Hans says there’s still a lot of work to be done to clean up the sector. And he should know. HelloPrint is one of the largest printing platforms in the world, matching supply and demand and connecting customers with hundreds of printing companies throughout Europe using smart technology.

The printing industry is a major consumer of raw materials, and a great many printed products are disposable or for single use. But that doesn’t scare Hans. On the contrary, he says HelloPrint’s new sustainable approach has been a real shot in the arm for everyone at the company. “Because of our market position, we can really help make the industry more sustainable,” he says. And that’s exactly why he accepted his ABN AMRO relationship manager’s invitation to participate in the sustainability and innovation programme Impact Nation in 2022.

Picking up the pace

Impact Nation fired the company’s sustainability aims. Pioneered by ABN AMRO and its partners Impact Hub Amsterdam and The Next Web, Impact Nation brings businesses together to work towards a tangible sustainable result over a period of 100 days, explains ABN AMRO relationship manager Folkert Heijstek: “Participating businesses sit down with experts and list their key sustainability challenges. They then choose one and get down to work.

“One of the best things about Impact Nation is that the participants get access to the international innovation network of the bank and its partners. That helps the teams pick up the pace and saves time and money.” HelloPrint chose to collaborate with the US scale-up EcoCart, which developed a tool to calculate and offset carbon emissions. Hans says, “We came up with a simple, straightforward way for individuals and companies to take advantage of carbon-neutral printing services. Whenever a customer places an order, they can opt to pay a small fee to offset the carbon emissions generated by the items in their order.”

Product choice is key to sustainability

Since Impact Nation, HelloPrint has pursued its mission to achieve greater sustainability, Hans says, by setting a new, ambitious goal for itself: “The idea is to determine the carbon footprint of all the products we supply, so that clients can make an informed, sustainable choice.” Choice of product has the biggest impact on sustainability in the chain, he explains, citing the example of the well-known roller banner companies often display at events: “The most commonly sold banner consists of a plastic canvas housed in aluminium casing. These banners are designed for heavy use, but most are actually used only once or twice and then end up in the bin. A better alternative is a banner made of biodegradable material in a cardboard case.”

Starting a discussion

HelloPrint now lists carbon footprint data on 80% of the products it offers. EcoCart calculates the footprint based on the materials used and transport. Thanks to smart data technology, customers can instantly see which products are both sustainable and attractively priced. After all, HelloPrint knows that price can make all the difference, especially since many customers still associate sustainability with higher cost. “Often unjustifiably so,” Hans points out. “Plus if more customers go with sustainable printed products, prices will fall.” HelloPrint aims to make products with a larger carbon footprint a less attractive option for its customers, and eventually retire them altogether from its range. Hans says he’s happy to discuss these plans with his commercial department: “If a customer wants a poor-quality printed T-shirt that falls to pieces after you wear it once, they’ll just have to go elsewhere.”

B Corp

Hans hopes to get other entrepreneurs excited about sustainability, but says he’s also keenly aware of how much effort sustainability takes: “Being sustainable isn’t some vanity project we do on the side. It requires a lot of time and energy from all of us in the organisation, especially since our impact has to be measurable and verifiable. Thankfully, all the advantages sustainable business practices offer outweigh the effort.” One example he mentions is ABN AMRO’s Transition Loan, which links successfully met sustainability targets with an interest rate reduction. “It’s really propelled us in our transition to sustainability. Without the bank’s help, we probably wouldn’t have had the confidence to take this step so quickly,” he says.

Meanwhile, HelloPrint has entered the next phase and can even call itself a benefit corporation, or B Corp for short – an internationally certified for-profit company that makes a major positive impact on people and the planet. B Corp certification is the beginning of the next stage of the transition, Hans says: “Each time, we raise the bar a little higher, and now is no exception.”