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Our Commitment to Sustainability

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Sustainability and a healthy planet mean everything to us at Kao Print. And we have been doing this for a long time–since 1970, when we began producing and selling a de-inking agent for recycling waste paper.

Initiatives like these take centre stage and sustain our growth. We adhere to robust Environmental, Social, and Governance strategies that contribute to sustaining our planet, workplace, and communities. We adapt our business processes and products to reduce their environmental impact. 

We remain committed to pursuing eco-friendly practices across all our business segments.

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How Kao is Driving Change

Kao engages with customers to listen and learn about the evolving industry expectations and requirements of consumers, environmental groups, and regulatory organisations. These insights help us to formulate eco-friendly inks and printing solutions that prioritise sustainability and environmentally-responsible corporate partnerships.

With an increasing focus on packaging, paper, and textile waste, our manufacturing operations have become engaged on several fronts. We evaluate new substrates, eco-conscious packaging, and advances in recycling technologies and recycling services.

Better Packaging for the Environment

The Kao Corporation, for example, redesigned packaging in order to reduce the plastic required without compromising the integrity or safety of the product.

Recycling and Printing on Eco-Friendly Substrates

Kao promotes printing on recyclable substrates and utilises a rigorous chemical recycling process as part of sustainability best practises, while also encouraging industrial printers to print on organic and compostable products rather than plastic.

 

The Why and How of Sustainable Inkjet Printing

In a circular economy, the goal is to eliminate waste and maximise the continual use of resources. For the printing industry, Kao focuses on creating a more sustainable, greener printing process that considers inks, materials, production efficiency, waste, and recycling:

  • Reducing VOC emissions through printing technology and printheads
  • Using more water-based inks and mineral-oil-free inks
  • Using sustainable printing equipment for curing, drying, and process efficiencies
  • Eliminate carbon footprint of transportation and materials
  • Energy usage management by reducing energy consumption
  • Reducing greenhouse gas emissions
  • Sourcing lighter paper
  • Using less ink when printing
  • Reducing overall waste

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Turning Words Into Actions

We say it, and we do it. As global leaders in smart, healthy, and sustainable industrial inks, we have implemented challenging measures to achieve our sustainability objectives. Environmental responsibility remains an integral part of our business and focuses on three areas.

 

Conservation, Community, and Corporate Culture

  • Conservation – We endeavour to create quality products with minimal environmental impact. We have committed to using renewable and natural-based raw materials to achieve this. We source raw materials from sustainably-managed operations. We also aim to quantify the environmental impact of our raw materials and end products. We formulate our inks for easy use by our customers to increase efficiency, which results in using the least amount of ink necessary.
  • Community – We aim to support communities where everyone can live life to the fullest. For maximum benefit to society, we conduct our business with awareness of its impact on our communities. We take the interests of employees, their families, and the communities where we work with great concern. We believe in fostering strong relationships with our customers and the surrounding communities while supporting efforts to create a circular economy.
  • Corporate culture Our corporate culture reflects the commitment to manufacturing  and delivering products using the least resources. Our state-of-art production equipment promotes a manufacturing culture that produces the least carbon emissions.

 

An Eco-Friendly Approach to Sustaining Our Planet

One of our critical eco-friendly strategies to achieving a circular economy involves a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).

The system evaluates the environmental impact of our products and raw materials throughout their life to determine the optimum ink products for reducing the  environmental impact, such as carbon emissions. 

 Other Sustainable Practices

  • Materials selection – We source our raw materials from sustainably managed resourcesGreen Loop
  • Manufacturing – We aim to use production methods with efficient energy usage and zero waste production
  • Transportation – We identify higher-efficiency transportation and downsize packages to minimize carbon emissions
  • Using products – All product development goals include reducing harmful environmental  impact
  • Waste disposal – We have introduced refillable and replaceable packaging to minimize waste
  • Promoting sustainability – We work with consumers and surrounding communities to promote eco-friendly lifestyles

 

Sustainable and Eco-Friendly Inks

Our chemists and engineers focus on creating the highest performing inks with the least environmental impact. 

Inks for a Healthier Planet

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