Environment & Sustainability | Sustainability at Brother

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Our vision

Our vision is to be a sustainable partner, positively contribute to society and protect the earth.

With continuous enhancements to our business processes and by circulating resources, we are on the path to reducing our CO₂ emissions with the ambition of achieving carbon neutrality in all business operations.

We will achieve this by:

Creating sustainable products - through sustainable design and production, reducing virgin material use, improving packaging and operating sustainable facilities
Developing sustainable services and solutions - through our managed print and subscriptions services and our supplies and hardware remanufacturing programmes
Reusing and recirculating materials - through refurbishing, repairing, remanufacturing and recycling

Our values and philosophy guide our commitment to operating as a responsible, ethical, and sustainable business - a commitment that we uphold through our policies, codes of practice, and the Brother Group Global Charter.

Our vision in detail

What we've achieved so far...

A "Leader" in sustainability

IDC MarketScape named Brother as a "Leader" in their global printer sustainability assessment.

Read excerpt

IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Sustainability Programs and Services Hardcopy 2023 Vendor Assessment #US49892223e, December 2023

Two dedicated remanufacturing facilities

We own 2 dedicated ink and toner remanufacturing facilities where we have remanufactured over 40 million toner cartridges that our customers have returned to us.

Anything that cannot be remanufactured is recycled and used to make other products.

Zero waste to landfill

Our remanufacturing processes at our UK and Slovakia facilities are officially accredited as Zero Waste to Landfill and Zero Avoidable Waste to Landfill (since 2013 and 2024 respectively), saving 1,500 tonnes of material from ending up in landfill every year.

Circular processes

Our products and supplies are designed and built to be remanufactured and reused, following a circular economy model which minimises waste.

So when they come to their end of life, we are able to collect them and remanufacture them to be used again and again.

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100% carbon-neutral remanufacturing

Our remanufacturing and recycling facilities in the UK and Slovakia run on green energy produced by solar panels and ground source heating systems, and have both received carbon-neutral status (scope 1 and 2).

Find out more

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Reducing carbon emissions

Between 2015 - 2022 we made huge advancements in reducing our scope 1 (buildings, vehicles etc) and 2 (electricity, light etc) emissions by 43.8%.

Our ratio of renewable energy to total energy consumption also increased significantly from 2.3% in FY2021 to 17.5% in FY2022, as we continue on our journey towards carbon-neutral business operations by 2050.

White and grey Brother factory building with a blue sky

Ethical supply chains

Our four global printing manufacturing facilities have received Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) certification for our commitment to fulfilling our social responsibilities through the establishment of sustainable supply chains.

We have also been awarded a Silver Medal from EcoVadis, who have implemented a sustainability assessment of our organisation since 2020.

A Leader in sustainability
Remanufacturing & recycling
Zero waste
Circular processes
Carbon-neutral facilities
Reducing carbon emissions
Ethical supply chains

Reducing waste through our circular economy operations

What is a circular economy?

A circular economy system is based on the reuse and regeneration of materials or products in a sustainable or environmentally friendly way.

Our aim is to produce durable, long-lasting products, where we reuse, repair, refurbish and recycle existing materials for as long as possible, so that the life cycle of our products and supplies can be extended for longer periods of time, whilst minimising waste.

Below are some of the initiatives we have put in place to achieve the circular economy at Brother.

The Brother Product Life Cycle

Developing sustainable products is a fundamental part of what we do at Brother.

From the initial design, to collection and remanufacturing, we consider the environmental impact at every stage of our products' life cycle.

We comply with all legal requirements, adhere to industry-standard environmental certifications and ensure all of our products are durable and print to a high quality, whilst minimising their environmental impact.

Discover the Brother Product Life Cycle

Market-leading remanufacturing

We've been remanufacturing and recycling supplies at Brother since 2004, and in that time have remanufactured over 40 million toner cartridges.

Renew By Brother, our market-leading remanufacturing programme, is free to all of our customers and is delivered via our carbon-neutral facilities in the UK and Slovakia.

We collect ink and toner cartridges via the scheme, remanufacture and recycle them to a "good as new" standard so that they can be used again and again by our customers.

Discover our remanufacturing programme

Our Certifications:

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Global and local initiatives

As an international company, we partner with organisations like the rainforest conservation charity, Cool Earth to broaden our impact across communities worldwide.

Our colleagues across Europe also participate in a range of environmental activities to benefit their local communities.

Explore our activities

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Committed
to everyone

We're committed to being a responsible, ethical and sustainable business, implemented through our policies, codes of practice and Brother Group Global Charter.

Values and Philosophy

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Sustainable Development Goals

Contributing to a more prosperous, inclusive and sustainable society through our commitment to the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Discover more about SDGs