SMEs are becoming more switched on by the idea of greener printing, according to research released by HP.

The vendor questioned 1,200 decision makers across Europe, revealing that around 52 per cent of UK SMEs had no environmental sustainability policy in place. But 54 per cent said they would buy more environmentally considerate printing products, such as paper, ink and toner, in the next two years.

In response, HP has launched a free Guide to Greener Printing, offering SMEs practical advice on being more efficient printers and cutting their environmental impact without compromising quality.

Andrew Forsyth, director of HP's supplies imaging and printing group. "SMEs in the UK are really looking for straightforward practical advice. So we launched this guide
to help those companies already thinking about the environment and encourage
those who have not considered this element of their business to do so. The
focus is on increasing printing efficiency, reducing waste and using less energy."

However, research conducted last year by rival Lexmark in partnership with IPSOS found that although SMEs worry about the environment, other concerns score equally as high on their lists.

Raj Meghani, head of marketing at Lexmark, said: “ Lexmark is finding that SMEs are increasingly worried about the environment. The challenge is juggling this with other business priorities, such as reducing costs and improving productivity. Nevertheless, both these imperatives can be achieved while limiting the impact of their business on the environment.

Meghani said that the two firms' research basically backed each other up.

"Like HP’s findings, Lexmark found that 51 per cent of SMEs have an environmental strategy in place, with most focused on initiatives such as switching off electronic equipment (96 per cent) and recycling cartridges (93 per cent)," she said. "However, most companies are not aware of the fact that paper usage (88 per cent) has the most significant impact on their carbon footprint. This supports Lexmark’s Print Less approach such as printing on both sides of the paper and using multi-up printing. SMEs, and the channel, are starting to wake up to the financial benefit that a robust environmental strategy can yield in the long-term.”