The Slough store was rewarded at the Slough Business Awards for being the “greenest organisation in the Slough postcode area”.
Comedian Lee Hurst, Cartridge World Slough’s Ian Chai and Segro’s Paul Lewis
The store, run by Ian Chai, was given the award due to being chosen as a business “that demonstrates clear evidence of green business practice and commitment to environmental sustainability”. Chai was presented with the award at the Slough Business Awards for his store being the “greenest organisation” in the area, with the award sponsored by property development and management company Segro.
Judges at the awards also stated that Cartridge World Slough “follow scrupulous waste management procedures, separately recycling metal, paper, cardboard, plastics and electronic equipment”, and were said to have given Chai “the thumbs up for his approach to staff development and motivation”. Chai employs three staff, and in the past three years has “developed a loyal customer base”, as well as increasing turnover by 26 percent and profitability by six percent.
Chai stated: “The judges commented that our service has a positive impact on local businesses. For a start, recycled cartridges don’t end up in landfill and that helps our customers meet ISO 14001 requirements for environmental management. Whereas most of our competitors are keen to supply brand new cartridges and printers, our service is all about recycling and providing high quality printer cartridges, plus repairing printers which saves customers’ money. Over the past 10 years we’ve recycled in the region of 60,000 cartridges.
“We’re very much a business in transition. We’re moving from being one that was known simply as a provider of printer cartridges to one which provides print solutions to local businesses and domestic consumers. For instance, we’ve recently introduced a new business service, Cartridge World Print Services. It includes a free print audit and, for a single monthly fee, it covers the cost of replacement cartridges, paper and maintenance.”
He added: “It’s great to receive this award. I’m hoping that it will encourage even more businesses and local people to find out how we can help them operate in an even more sustainable way.”