The green initiative

It is evident that Mohammad Hoda, Director of Emerging Markets at Cisco Consumer Business Group, is passionate about what he says: "Going green is a worldwide concern and is a corporate responsibility."

When shopping for office products and appliances, this fact is unavoidable. The buzzwords in the industry are 'green' and 'space-saving', and the primary reason for this market refocus is the pressure from consumers for brands to make this a priority.

Dan Smith, General Manager for Integrated Marketing, MEA, Xerox, DMO, says, “Nowadays, consumers are becoming more environmentally aware and eco-friendly. In the UAE and ME region as a whole, being environmentally friendly is considered a new ‘lifestyle issue', which is gradually gaining ground as a greater awareness on the benefits and ease of realising a more sustainable environment become more commonplace."

Staying informed
But while the consumers are urging the industry on, the industry in turn is informing the consumer, says Smith. "Progress in this field is really a question of education — keeping information in the hands of users and consumers so they can make informed choices. There has been a huge recognition by vendors that green is a necessity, not a luxury — but more important is adoption and implementation," he says.
"Xerox has made it a point to inform and educate users in the belief that working with them to address environmental issues
is the way forward. We tell our customers how we save water, reduce emissions, look after paper stocks and foster cleaner air — then we show them how they can achieve the same."

Green technology
The eco-friendly approach is one that many companies are proud of and keen to demonstrate to consumers. "Canon is recognised by industry bodies for its product innovation and green technology," says Bittu Mattam, Laser Product Manager for Canon Middle East.
"Our printers have been manufactured to use the lowest energy consumption. This relates to less of a carbon footprint, hence the measure we use to guide our end users is to look at the Energy Star TEC (Typical Energy Consumption) rating of the products. This helps them not only to be more environmentally responsible, but also succeeds in reducing energy bills."

Reducing packaging costs
As well as combating energy consumption, many companies are making efforts to downsize their products and reduce packaging. "Canon has paid particular attention to downsizing the Pixma printer. This in turn has an effect upon the amount of packaging used," says Mattam. "All-in-one devices have been down-sized while still retaining all their features, meaning that less cardboard has to be produced and fewer containers have to be used to transport them."
Space-saving devices are also a big trend in the industry. "Bigger is not always better," says Hoda. "The mistake some people make is thinking that smaller products mean that the companies are overlooking developing technologies that will facilitate people's lives. Research and development is always advancing in making products appealing in size, design and functionality."
Mattam agrees on the factors that are important to consumers. "Today's consumers are more technically aware than ever before. We are increasingly finding that factors such as improved compactness in terms of size, design and ease of use play an important part in their purchasing decision."
Functionality is a consumer demand, the aesthetic issue should not be overlooked.
"In this market, you either have a large villa or a small apartment. In either case, space-saving and style is a must," says Hoda. "In line with this, our Linksys by Cisco products have undergone an aesthetic transformation resulting in slim, curved profiles that would fit any household's design and ambience."
The trend is leaning towards making the most advanced easy-to-use technology in a compact, design focused machine. With big brands within the industry making efforts to make space-saving devices not only more aesthetically pleasing but greener too, this trend looks set to become standard practice.