With sustainability continuing to ascend the list of priorities, customers are looking at all aspects of a business’ operations to find ways to reduce their environmental impact. One way to do this is through using sustainable consumables in printers – but what options are available, and what difference can they make?
Sustainability is a key concern for businesses in many sectors, and processes across the entire operation are continually scrutinised for ways to save on emissions and carbon. For those that use printers, the consumables within them is a key area to target for savings.
Ben Mills, environment manager at Konica Minolta Business Solutions (UK) Ltd, says that sustainable consumables are now a core consideration for many clients. “Particularly those with formal ESG targets, public sector obligations or net-zero commitments,” he adds.
“We are seeing demand for sustainable consumables continuing to grow steadily as organisations look for simple and effective ways to reduce their environmental impact without compromising print quality or reliability.”
James Knox, ESG manager at Ricoh UK, agrees, adding that sustainability is now a standard part of many buyers’ procurement checklists. “Large organisations often require suppliers to report on the weight and quantity of consumables that are re-used, re-purposed or recycled,” he says.
“Public sector customers tend to have the strongest focus on product and supplier sustainability. As government legislation tightens, sustainability increasingly sits at the centre of their buying decisions.”
Cinzia Gandini, general manager, EMEA at Katun, says that rising demand is driven by circular economy goals and evolving EU regulations. “Customers are actively seeking reliable partners who can provide sustainable solutions without sacrificing performance, quality or value,” she says. “Across Europe, we’ve seen growing interest in remanufactured and eco-designed products, including remanufactured and refilled OEM equivalent toner cartridges, drum units, rebuild kits and consumables made with high levels of recycled plastic content.”
What difference does it make
Sustainable consumables can make an appreciable difference to a business’ environmental impact. James notes that sustainable consumables are the only component of a multifunctional device that is essential to its operation, and they are used in high volumes. “As a core component, adopting a circular economy approach to consumables significantly reduces raw material use through remanufactured cartridges, as well as manufacturing and distribution emissions,” he says.
“Ricoh toner is a good example: the bottles are made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic, and we have removed the plastic bag from inside the box, reducing over 79 tonnes of single-use plastic each year. In addition, our toner is re-used up to three times. Each product has a unique QR code and is scanned upon arrival at our Green Centre in the UK; if it shows no sign of damage and has not yet been used three times, it is cleaned, refilled and sent out again as new, all within the UK.”
Cinzia agrees that options like remanufactured or refillable toner cartridges help cut waste, lower raw material use and minimise carbon impact. “For example, innovative products like Katun’s industry-first ecoKAP™ refillable toner cartridges can be reused up to three times, delivering 84% less environmental impact than purchasing a new cartridge (per Independent Lifecycle Assessment conducted in April 2022),” she says. “Remanufactured products such as toner, drums, and printers also offer major sustainability benefits, while maintaining performance and reliability.”
Sustainable options
There are an increasing range of sustainable options are available to customers. James adds that in 2025, Ricoh launched its Circular Economy (CE) Range of A3 IMC/Metis devices. “These build on our first remanufactured device from 2011,” he adds. “Each CE device is created from three end-of-life devices returned to our mega green centre in France, where they are disassembled, inspected and cleaned. The finished product offers the same quality and longevity as a new Ricoh device, with over 87% post-consumer content.
“Customers can also pay a small monthly fee, sometimes as little as 50p per device, to offset cradle-to-grave emissions via our Carbon Balanced Offering.”
Konica Minolta also has a wide range of sustainable options. “This includes toner bottles that contain up to 61% recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE) made from empty milk bottles, products designed for long life, and a consumable recycling scheme with zero waste to landfill,” Ben says. “We have set a goal to make our products from more than 90% circulated resources (recycled materials and biomaterials) by 2050. While cost remains important, clients increasingly assess value through a total cost and sustainability lens.”
Cinzia agrees that while cost remains an important factor in purchasing decisions, sustainable products increasingly offer comparable value, quality and reliability to conventional alternatives. “In many cases, they also provide longer product lifecycles and help customers advance their circular economy objectives,” she notes.
“At Katun, around one third of our EMEA product range is classified as eco-friendly, including remanufactured and refilled OEM-equivalent toner cartridges and products made with recycled plastics.”
Disposal
But it isn’t just about the sustainability of the consumable in use but also how it is disposed of afterwards. “Sustainability goes beyond the use of the product itself – responsible end-of-life management is critical to ensuring materials are recovered, reused or recycled rather than disposed of as waste,” says Ben. “That’s why we offer our clients a free of charge consumable recycling scheme called ‘A World on Loan’ for all genuine Konica Minolta consumables.
“Cartridge recycling schemes are essential to Konica Minolta’s circular economy approach, enabling high recovery rates of materials and significantly reducing the environmental footprint of print consumables. Our consumable recycling scheme offers our clients the opportunity to return genuine Konica Minolta consumables free of charge with zero waste to landfill.”
Cinzia adds that supporting a true circular economy requires looking at the entire product lifecycle from design and manufacturing to responsible disposal and reuse. “This makes recycling programs a critical component of any sustainability strategy,” she says.
“Recycling initiatives such as Katun Collects make it simple for customers to return used consumables for responsible recycling. These programs help reduce landfill waste while enabling the recovery of valuable materials for use in high-quality remanufactured products.”
James notes that customers want to know exactly what happens to their used products. “Any sign that environmental impact has not been properly considered triggers concern,” he says. “Many simply ask for reassurance and a clear explanation of processes and partners, sometimes supported by waste transfer notes. We have also hosted customers on site to show them, first-hand, what happens to their toner when it is returned to us.”
Future
It is expected that this market will continue to grow in the future. “Sustainability is now a core driver of customer decision making,” says Cinzia. “The industry is moving beyond ESG commitments toward measurable impact, rewarding companies that embed circular thinking across their operations. As demand for waste reduction, energy efficiency, and responsible end-of-life solutions rises, remanufactured and recycled-content products will play an expanding role in long-term business strategies.”
Ben adds that he expects this market to continue to grow as regulation tightens, sustainability reporting becomes more robust.
James notes that the UK Government continues to introduce legislation on emissions, waste, water and packaging. “Suppliers are being pushed to develop technology that supports these requirements, and ESG performance is becoming a core element of buying decisions.
“This trend is accelerating across EMEA and beyond. ESG requirements are cascading down supply chains, creating pressure on suppliers, while reputational risk from inaction is increasing. ESG credentials are now as important as a company’s profit and loss account and can determine whether a business thrives or fails. Over the last four years, Ricoh has seen more than double the number of requests for global ESG data, over 60% from EMEA. ESG is not a phase; it is becoming the foundation of how businesses operate and grow.”
