While 30 years ago, sustainability was a choice and an add-on to attract new consumers, sustainability now represents an important consumer need. Companies all over the globe are now focusing on reducing their environmental impact and carbon footprint. Green is no longer a market position; it represents a corporate ticket for long-term success. Products and companies must be environmentally and socially responsible if they want to flourish in the future.

At Modulex we were thinking green before it became imperative. We have a great deal of experience in lowering our environmental impact as a signage and graphics world leader. Therefore, we would like to share some strategies and actions on how to reduce the carbon footprint in signage.

1. 1. Buy Local: Whenever you select new suppliers, buy new materials, or look for new partners, try to think locally. The closer your business happens, the lower the carbon footprint of each product will be. While our network of customers at Modulex is of global reach, over 80% of our suppliers are based in Denmark, close to our factory in Billund.

1. 1. Use optimized wayfinding and thus fewer products: By engaging with wayfinding software we can advise our customers of the most efficient ways to install and place our products. This reduces the need for unnecessary signage and cuts down the impact of every project.

1. 1. Use low-impact materials: Material selection is a key aspect when cutting down the environmental impact of a product. Materials like Etronit, GreenBond, or aluminium have a global warming potential up to 50% lower than acrylics and ACMs. Use those!

1. 1. Take advantage of online work: Now that Covid has shaken the foundations of ‘business as usual, let’s use this to our advantage. Move meetings and business to online working whenever possible. Avoid flying.

1. 1. Conduct Energy audits in your company, try to improve, and become more efficient: Our Billund factory works close with external energy consultants to find out where we can continue cutting down our energy consumption. Every small detail counts, from paint booth to ovens, to efficiently printing systems. Try to be innovative in reducing your company’s energy use and work with 3^rd parties to set a roadmap for improvement.

1. 1. Implement LEAN philosophy: more with less. Use your space, resources, equipment, energy, and people more efficiently. At Modulex Billund we have reduced our space by 33% during our transition to LEAN manufacturing. This has helped us keep up with business while doing so with fewer resources, less waste and water, less energy use, and less m2 in our factory.

1. 1. Increase efficiency of office lighting: make sure all lights are LED or CFLs as these will help cut down the energy needs of your company.

1. 1. Track and report your progress to inform and educate customers and employees: Transparency is vital if you want to safeguard your customer’s trust and educate your employees about environmental responsibility. Reporting on corporate environmental impact will keep track of improvements and will make your customers aware of this. Reporting is a crucial part of sustainability – without transparency, companies can easily fall into ‘greenwashing’, and accountability is lost.

1. 1. Get certified with environmental certifications – namely, ISO 14001. At Modulex Billund we have been a part of the Danish Green Network for over 2 decades. This network connects us with other businesses in Denmark aiming to improve our CSR. As a part of our efforts to improve, we aim to get certified with ISO 14001 in 2022.

1. 1. Switch to Renewable Energy Sources (RES): To shift demand from fossil fuels to renewable energy it is vital that businesses are the first to shift. This will generate demand for RES and destabilize the current reliance on fossil fuels. At Modulex we offset our energy consumption by generating renewable energy through windmill farms in west Denmark. Yet, we have still not fully transitioned to renewables.

This is in our environmental strategy for the coming years!

Erik Sørensen Ruiz

Environmental and Partnership Manager