One of the advantages of being a major retailer is how you can reduce the impact on the environment. Whether using renewable energy or increasing the use of recyclable materials, decisions made to improve sustainability can be implement at greater scale, multiplying the benefits to the business and the customer.
When Sainsbury’s reviewed the signage deployed across their estate, they realised the potential to reduce the impact they had on the environment through more sustainable signage.
To achieve this, they would need to work with a retail signage solutions provider with the knowledge, experience and capabilities to bring innovation to Sainsbury’s signage.
Blaze had worked closely with Sainsbury’s for over 10 years to provide signage to the retailer’s estate, and in that time we had amassed a huge amount of data on the type of signage in use along with the materials used. We had also been working hard exploring new materials and reducing energy consumption. So, when the retailer looked for a suitable partner to improve the sustainability of their interior and outdoor signage, Blaze was a leading candidate and duly tasked with the project.
All internal signage was redesigned, removing as much plastic as was physically and practically possible. The new materials specifications would significantly improve the ability for internal signage to be recycled at the end of their lifecycle, reducing waste.
We introduced the world’s first and only 100% recycled and 100% recyclable acrylic into signage usage.
Green Cast, made by Madreperla in Italy, is a cast acrylic sheet which provides the same durable, colour intense quality found in virgin acrylics. It is VOC and HFC free, while the manufacturing process uses less water and generates less CO2 than acrylics using MMA, reducing the carbon footprint of signage production. And when the signage reaches its end of life, the green Cast components can be recycled – endlessly.
The project saw Blaze work closely with Twelve, design consultants to Sainsbury’s, to ensure the signage continued to deliver a high visual impact. We created a series of prototypes for review to gauge colour and quality in use, with the end result being the stunning signage now seen at Sainsbury’s locations across the UK.
