Balancing Sustainability and Cost-Effectiveness for Retail Display Fixtures

In an exclusive interview with industry expert and Head of Procurement, Mark Adams, we delve into the world of sustainable retail display and merchandising fixtures. As global retail experts, Harrison is at the forefront of the sustainable revolution in the industry.  

This article explores our commitment to sustainability, the growing need for recycled, recyclable, and compostable materials, and the balance between cost-effectiveness and innovation. Mark Adams provides insights into the products currently available and those in the pipeline, highlighting the challenges and opportunities in creating eco-friendly customer solutions. 

Pioneering Sustainable Display Solutions 

“We are working tirelessly to provide innovative sustainable solutions. However, differences in supplier capability, materials availability, and price points exist from supplier to supplier, and country to country; therein lies the challenge.” – Mark Adams. 

Here at Harrison, we are spearheading the movement towards fully sustainable options. In this exclusive conversation with Mark, we unravel the challenges of achieving sustainability and explore whether compromise can be avoided between sustainability, innovation, and cost-effectiveness.  

Since his appointment in January 2023, Mark has helped champion sustainable solutions within the company, spearheading a progressive and robust quality programme that’s growing with the business.

With the implementation of a Quality Planning system and a Quality and Compliance Division which incorporates Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) oversight, the entire Harrison team are behind the changes and continue working towards the larger company vision together. 

Recycled, Recyclable, and Compostable 

Harrison understands that sustainability requires a multi-faceted approach which begins with the materials used. This is why our innovation teams are focused on researching and developing a wider range of recycled, recyclable, and compostable materials to enhance our sustainable offering for clients.  

Recycled display products and solutions are made using a material that is recovered from a used product and reprocessed into new fixtures. 

Recyclable ranges are crafted using materials that can be recovered at the end of the product life and reprocessed for further use elsewhere. 

Compostable products will rapidly bio-degrade into harmless natural elements if accidentally placed in landfill. 

By reducing conventional plastic use Harrison is making significant strides in minimising the environmental impact of their products for their customers.   

Challenges  

Mark Adams shares that our Product Development department is actively exploring new proposals using a variety of recycled materials. However, he acknowledges the challenge of balancing sustainability with aesthetics because “there’s currently a compromise to be had with aesthetics. Recycled plastic materials tend to lack a little of the shine or lustre associated with virgin plastics.”

This highlights the inherent tension between creating eye-catching displays and eco-friendly solutions which is why our teams are working to resolve this issue through innovation. 

It is vital when developing high-quality sustainable solutions to eliminate the trade-off between sustainability and cost-effectiveness. As Mark notes, the current order of technical capability is often inversely related to cost-effectiveness.

He notes: “Achieving high sustainability cannot be at the expense of cost effectiveness. This presents a significant challenge for businesses like Harrison, who aim to balance both aspects effectively for each customer.” 

Future Plans for Sustainable Service Offerings 

The ultimate aim in the retail industry is to provide display solutions capable of continuous recycling and reprocessing within a closed loop system. Used products will be collected from clients at the time of delivering new stock ready to be recycled and reprocessed into new products.   

Whilst this ultimate goal may be a little out of reach at present, requiring advances in technology and logistics, here at Harrison we are actively exploring closed-loop offerings by working with innovators in the field, reinforcing our commitment to remain at the forefront of sustainability and innovation.  

Committed to Continued Improvement 

Prioritising sustainable offerings alone is not enough. As a business, we have always been aware of the impact we have on the environment and continue to take appropriate steps to mitigate that impact, including setting environmental objectives and targets, implementing procedures and providing training so that our team members understand their environmental responsibilities and can seek to improve environmental performance. 

To fully demonstrate our commitment to reducing our environmental impact, we hold the following accreditations: 

• ISO 14001: This environmental management certification demonstrates our commitment to reducing our environmental impact as a business. 
• EcoVadis: As part of our commitment to continually improve our business practices and corporate social responsibility management, we undertook a series of assessments from EcoVadis and have since been awarded the Gold EcoVadis Sustainability Rating. 
• CarbonQuota: We are now a certified carbon reduced operation, and are continuing to work with CarbonQuota to measure, reduce and certify the carbon footprint of our direct operations. 
• Sedex: As a Sedex member we are committed to being a responsible business, sourcing responsibly and improving ethical standards and working conditions within the supply chain. 

Find out more about our accreditations here. 

The Balancing Act of Sustainability 

In the pursuit of sustainable retail display fixtures, we recognise the need for balancing this with cost-effectiveness and aesthetics whilst also ensuring that we develop solutions that solve our clients’ needs and remain a responsible business.  

As Mark states: “We need to develop products that deliver a solution to a problem that exists for a customer. This can be achieved through close collaboration with supply chain partners, together with teamwork among Harrison’s Product Development team, Purchasing, Quality Control, Sales and clients.” 

As industry leaders and experts in innovation, we are not only addressing the sustainability challenge but embracing it as an opportunity for growth. By continually pushing the boundaries of what is possible, Harrison will remain a driving force in the sustainable revolution for retail display. 

Get in touch with us today to discuss your sustainable display requirements and explore how we can develop a tailored solution to suit you and your project. Email sales@harrisonretail.com and one of our team will get back to you.