AGFA: Behind the Menagerie
A company with an inkjet portfolio suitable for various applications across the print and signage industries, we learn more about Agfa and its 150-year history
Having been committed to reducing its impact on the environment for over two decades, we speak to director of Anglia Print, John Popely to find out more about the initiatives and accreditations the company has achieved
It’s no secret that the environment and sustainability have been hot topics within the print industry for many years. In recent years the subject has somewhat gone up a notch with more companies than ever incorporating sustainability into their marketing collateral, in their exhibition stand designs, on social media, and in the branding of products.
As a result, there have been more cases reported of greenwashing (making unsubstantiated or misleading claims about the environmental benefits of a product or initiative) and in turn greenhushing (the term for companies unwilling to publicise their net zero targets or other sustainable activities for fear of being called out for unsubstantiated claims).
This is not the case however for Anglia Print, a company that puts its money where its mouth is when it comes to sustainability more than most. For Anglia Print, sustainability is very much a part of the company’s identity. In fact, its focus on minimising impact on the environment dates all the way back to 2004.
Coincidentally, 2004 is the year the company’s current director, John Popely joined having served as an apprentice in print finishing at Clays starting in 1980, working later at William Clowes, and then in customer accounts with Polestar. The business’ history dates back to 1978 when it was founded by John’s father Fred Popely as Anglia Printing Services, becoming Anglia Print 30 years later in 2008.
Today, Anglia Print has six members of staff and operates from a 140sq m unit on an industrial estate on the Norfolk/Suffolk border as well as from an administration office in Norwich. The company provides design, commercial printing, advertising-funded magazines, litho, and digital printing services with in-house finishing.
Clients include organisations like Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, National Geographic, The Green Party, arts organisations, and Pride, as well as business enterprises across the UK and small batch jobs for individuals.
Rather than being a marketing ploy, for Anglia Print, everything the company does is geared towards minimising impact on the environment, regardless of the inconvenience to the business. This includes its printing technology with all its products printed on presses that are powered by 100% renewable energy and no chemistry used in production is harmful to the environment.
The past two decades have brought significant challenges from the 2008 financial crash to Brexit and most recently the global Covid-19 Pandemic.
Much like many businesses that have been around for some time, Anglia Print had to navigate these challenges as John Popely explains: “I know I’m not alone here, but business has been pretty tough since the financial crash in 2008. Things were picking up, then the country went through the process of a vote on our EU membership.
“When the vote was announced (right or wrong) in 2016, just about all of our consumable prices went up by 20%, then utter chaos with trying to price things up until and after we actually left the EU. Just to top things off we were hit with a worldwide pandemic. We’re still here though, still making a profit, and still putting the environment first.”
Popely explains that when he first joined the business, it had a local customer base and was making an annual turnover of £32,000. He took out a second mortgage and didn’t pay himself for two years and having persevered through economic challenges, Anglia Print has grown into a multi-award-winning B Corp business that now attracts customers from across the UK, Europe, the US, and Africa.
Describing the culture at Anglia Print, Popely says: “Family comes first for me and all my staff. We work a 35-hour week with everyone pitching in when extra demand needs it. If family commitments mean that a member of staff needs to get home, or to school, or to the doctor, then again, we all pitch in and cover each other so that person can do home commitment.
“We also have our birthdays off. I never liked working on my birthday when I was employed, so I’m not making anyone else work theirs while I’m their employer.”
Not liking to sit still, Popely goes on to explain how there’s no such thing as a ‘typical day’ at Anglia Print. “I think I can honestly say that every day brings something different,” he says. “Every job we do is bespoke and if things get a little dull then all of us get our heads together and start thinking up new things to do and new environmental angles to look at.
“Just recently we adopted a beehive. No real need for us to do it, but it’s a nice thing to do. We can use our sponsorship to highlight the environmental benefits of pollinators and how at risk they are. At the end of the season, we’ll all get a day out doing some bee keeping and get some free honey.”
So, we’ve mentioned throughout this feature so far that Anglia Print is a company that puts its money where its mouth is when it comes to sustainability. But what exactly has that looked like over the
years?
Perhaps a pioneer for sustainability, the company converted all its presses to vegetable oil-based inks back in 2004 and in the same year switched to a non-toxic font solution as well as sourcing biodegradable blanket wash.
The next year, Anglia Print moved into a new building which was super insulated at the building stage as well as having water-saving devices fitted to all toilets and taps. 2005 also saw the company start its zero waste to landfill policy which it has continued to achieve ever since. Anglia Print also switched to 100% renewable energy tariff electricity in the same year.
In 2006, the company started a CD recycling scheme in the form of a free collection service within a 20-mile radius of its factory. This meant that all parts of the CD and case were separated and stored until enough volume was produced for recycling. According to Popely, over the two and a half years the scheme was run, over ten tonnes of CDs and related materials were recycled.
Two years later and the company converted its presses from Genetically Modified soya oil-based inks to non-GM linseed oil-based inks and in 2015 installed low energy computers and servers. “We did an audit of the power generation needed for just the small part of what we would need if we placed all our needs into cloud-based products,” Popely explains.
“Cloud-based products are so damaging to the environment we decided to keep as much as we can in-house driven by our own server.”
In 2017, the company changed all its plastic packaging tape to printed paper tape as well as had low energy lighting fitted. In 2020, Anglia Print built its on-site wildlife garden and two years later had 18.5Kwh solar array and storage batteries fitted.
Being dedicated to the environment for two decades and always looking for new ways to be sustainable has meant that Anglia Print has picked up a number of accreditations, recognitions, and awards along the way.
Just one year after joining Anglia Print, Popely recalls a proud moment taking his father to the Houses of Parliament for the Green Apple Awards in 2005.
In 2008, the company achieved carbon neutrality and has held onto this ever since. A year later, Anglia Print became a Climate Positive company through Climate Care accreditation. In 2012, Anglia Print achieved Gold Standard in the Suffolk Carbon Charter and in 2013, achieved ISO 14001 accreditation.
One year later and the company joined EMAS (the European Union’s Eco-Management and Audit Scheme). Unfortunately, as a result of Brexit, EMAS has become impractical for Anglia Print, however, the company continues to informally use EMAS regulations as a framework for performance analysis and stakeholder engagement.
To be judged the best in the world as the most sustainable organisation by experts who set the standard for what worldwide environmental standards are was something special
In 2015, the company achieved Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification. In 2016, Anglia Print was awarded the Queens Award for Enterprise – Sustainable Development. Popely recalls proudly taking his partner to Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen to receive this award, and says: “I’m not much of a royalist and wasn’t too fussed in going, but it was the same day as my partner’s birthday and she was chuffed to bits!”
Another proud moment for Popely came in 2019 when the company was awarded the IEMA Sustainability Award. “To be judged the best in the world as the most sustainable organisation by experts who set the standard for what worldwide environmental standards are was something special,” he says.
Fast forward to 2020 and Anglia Print became the first printing company in the UK to become B Corp accredited and in 2023, recertified its B Corp accreditation with 139 points. According to Popely, this is believed to be the highest scoring B Corp score for any printing company in the world.
With so much already achieved in the goal to reduce environmental impact, what is in store for Anglia Print in the years to come?
“The print and business side is going pretty well and we have a great bunch of people working here,” Popely explains. “We invest in new technology on a regular basis and in the last year we replaced older machines by purchasing a 20-station Duplo 600 system, Morgana PUR binder, and Autocreaser.
“We are currently in negotiations to replace our two Konica Minolta digital presses which are coming to the end of their contracts.”
In terms of its ongoing environmental efforts, Popely adds: “There is a lot of greenwash out there, so our ongoing plan is to prove that we are doing what we say we are doing environmentally by being audited for FSC, ISO14001, Climate Positive, B Corp, and Suffolk Carbon Charter. We are also looking to see if we can have micro wind turbines fitted to our building.
“It is not enough to just use recycled paper and say, ‘There, I’ve done my bit’, while all around is still being polluted. It is time to take a stand and prove that you are doing your bit for the environment.”
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