Sustainability

SATO's CSR Declaration

SATO's CSR aims to contribute to society by engaging in our main business. We do not think of the general thrust of our CSR activities as reflecting and fulfilling the commitment of SATO's top management.

Our CSR is itself simply the way our business has developed over the years. It embraces both the corporate culture and climate. So while top management is important it is only one factor in CSR. This is why SATO's CSR will not change with changes in top management policy expansions in sales business diversification nor the pursuit of profits. Nor will it change with changes in top management itself.

The ideals that SATO pursue and indeed SATO's business itself brings together societal and environmental concerns creating value and sharing the benefits equitably among shareholders society the company itself and its staff (a four-way return to stakeholders). Our shareholders society (including the environment) the company and its staff form a virtuous circle of contribution made through SATO's business with all four enjoying remarkable success.

This is the SATO circle.

Environmental Policy

Aware that the preservation of the Earth's natural environment is a serious common problem for humanity and an essential part of SATO's ongoing corporate activities we adopt the following action policy for those activities so that we may not only provide products and services that are
friendly to the Earth's environment but also that the entire enterprise may be in harmony with the environment.

Action Policy
1. We will strictly comply with all legal requirements and requests concerning preservation of the environment.
2. We will save energy and resources to reduce the impact on the environment.
3. We will give due consideration to environmental impact in developing designing and manufacturing printers applicators hand labelers and other products and commit ourselves actively to R&D and production of label products that will contribute directly to saving energy and
resources.
4. We will work to control the discharge of pollutants and reduce the volume of waste and to prevent environmental pollution.
5. We will configure our environmental management system to continue improvements in terms of objectives and the setting of targets so as to maintain its effectiveness.
6. We will apply this environmental policy strictly to all members of staff and require their full participation to ensure better awareness of environmental preservation.
7. We will give proper consideration to communicating with society concerning our approach to the environment.

4 June 2004

Community Activities

SATO New Zealand support a range of community initiatives including sponsorship of the Westpac Helicopter Trust and various donations to community projects and charities.

Ecolabel

Ecolabel is SATO’s answer to the call for sustainability solutions by many of New Zealand’s leading organisations.

One of the key waste reduction problems with pressure sensitive labels is the glassine backing paper or ‘liner’. Glassine is a glazed paper and is widely used due to its high strength and resistance to damage despite its thinness.  The glassine liner is treated with Silicone to allow the label to be removed from the liner fully intact. The adhesive cannot absorb into the silicone to fully bond so the label can be easily removed from the liner for application.

The glassine liner cannot presently be easily or cost effectively recycled and it is therefore a generator of considerable waste for New Zealand manufacturers.

Replacement with Clear Polyester Lining (PET) backing is often used in high speed application environments but this imposes a cost burden that is not practical for most label applications.

Having developed the recyclable label for Fonterra in 2006 SATO New Zealand has now developed a fully recyclable liner substrate for most label face stocks. The liner made out of Poly Propylene (PP) with a special coating of a unique release agent is very desirable for recyclers and has been tested by a large New Zealand recycling company to ensure its recyclability.

The SATO ecolabel material uses a very thin but high strength backing film. This means SATO New Zealand can offer most labels at a similar price to glassine liner products (glassine liners were previously favoured due to their durable nature and relative low cost in the marketplace).

The ecolabel outperforms glassine products in high speed application and full recyclability.

Ecolabel is considered suitable for any speed application.

Currently ecolabel is available to customers who are engaged in SATO’s Sustainability Partnership Program.
SATO's linerless label

Number of trees saved by linerless label sales

Linerless Labels

Linerless labels are pressure sensitive labels that do not have a liner. The labels are wound on a roll that has had a release coating applied to the front of the facestock to prevent the adhesive from sticking on the label below. The available facestocks include standard paper film and direct thermal. Linerless labels are available with permanent removable and repositionable adhesives.

Using linerless labels eliminates the waste of the liner material and allows about 40% more labels per roll. This increases efficiencies by reducing the number of roll changes eliminating the time used to separate the label from the liner and eliminates the time and cost of disposing of the liner waste. Some advantages and disadvantages of the linerless label are listed below.

Advantages:

  • Lower cost due to reduction in material, packaging, shipping, waste removal and inventory space.
  • Increased efficiency due to less roll changes and elimination of waste removal.
  • Release coating also acts as a protective coating for UV resistance, moisture resistance and resistance to some chemicals. Adds some longevity to direct thermal labels.
  • Labels can be printed on both sides since release coating and adhesive layers are applied after the ink is applied.
  • Promotes safety by eliminating liners all over the floor where someone could slip and fall, causing injuries
  • Elimination of liner reduces silicone waste in landfills.

By actively proposing the use of linerless labels, which do not leave behind waste-paper backing (liner) after use, SATO has reduced the amount of paper used. The amount of forestry resources saved, stated as the equivalent volume of Eucalyptus, was 731 trees in FY 2007.

Carbon Neutrality

SATO New Zealand was proud to be certified carboNZero as an organisation by Landcare Research in December 2008.  This certification in is part of a wider program that SATO has adopted to ensure we execute our corporate social responsibility locally and we will maintain an ongoing commitment to do what is right for our staff customers and the community in which we live.