Digital ID’s “Drive to Eco” 2023: The UK’s Most Eco-Friendly Workplaces Revealed

Digital ID’s “Drive to Eco” 2023: The UK’s Most Eco-Friendly Workplaces Revealed

Here at Digital ID, we’re committed to reducing our impact on the environment and continue to actively source environmentally sympathetic alternatives to all of our plastic products.

However, we wanted to ask just how committed are UK businesses to going green?

To find out, the team set out to analyse thousands of orders dating back from 2021, looking specifically at products purchased from our eco-friendly ID card product range to get a better insight into buying habits and locate which cities and counties in the UK have the most eco-friendly workplaces.

Let’s get started.

Introduction

To gauge the size of the task, the team started by summarising the total number of eco-products purchased in 2021, 2022 and overall, see below.

lanyards showing order statistics on eco products from 2021 and 2022

In total, there have been 32,916 orders for eco-products in both 2021 and 2022.

That total of 4,781,113 items have contributed to keeping our planet cleaner and greener.

Looking at year-on-year data, this is an impressive 14.8% increase in the purchasing of eco-products, so well done to those that have made the switch.

Top Eco-Cities and Counties Revealed:

The team started the task by digging deeper into our data and categorising every eco-order via the delivery postcode.

From this, we can now see the results of our top eco-cities and counties via total orders placed:

table showing top eco cities
table showing top performing eco products

The City of London and the county of Greater London have purchased the most out of our eco-product range than any other city or county in the UK.

Fast Facts:

From the table above, the team we’re able to dig out some interesting points, which can be seen below:

Cheshire has the second lowest population on our top 10 counties list.
However, 1 in 5 people in Cheshire work in an eco-friendly workplace based on our data.
The city of London received 188% more eco-orders than Birmingham across 2021 and 2022 combined.

On the other hand, the city of Glasgow gets a special mention due to its exceptional year-on-year growth of sustainable orders.

The city saw an increase of 75.9% in eco-product orders from 2021 to 2022.

Suppose businesses of Glasgow continue to opt for more sustainable choices at this rapidly increasing rate. Could we see historical landmarks such as the City Chambers with a completely new look?

glasgow centre with more eco-trees

The ‘Not-So’ Eco-Cities and Counties:

Now we look at our cities and counties with not-so-eco orders.

lowest performing cities
table showing eco counties

The city of Huddersfield and the county of Monmouthshire have the lowest numbers of eco-orders placed on record.

1 in 45 people in the city of Durham work in an eco-workplace, which is considerably lower than our data for Cheshire.

However, from 2021 to 2022, they had a 34% increase in sustainable product orders which shows that they are increasing their eco-products.

Let’s Settle the Big Debate: North VS South

north of england divided on a map

Combining orders from cities and counties, workplaces in the south ordered 41% more products in 2021 and 2022 than their counterparts in the north.

Despite this, the north had a higher year-on-year increase for expanding their eco-products with a 28.13% increase.

To summarise this, the south has placed more orders for eco-products overall. However, the north is escalating the number of orders placed much quicker.

Could we see a change in next year’s results?

Added Extras

Aside from the above, the team also analysed the data to identify the standout eco product that tops the table.

sustainability staff ID card into a clear ID card holder

Our clear open-faced ID card holders take the crown, and it’s easy to see why this product took the top spot. The holder’s durable design reduces card bending, cracking and snapping.

Although our clear card holders took the top spot overall, our Dyestar blank white 50% recycled PVC cards weren’t far behind and have seen the most significant increase in sales from 2021 to 2022, with a whopping 388% increase in sales.

Our eco-category shows our extensive range of sustainable products on offer.

Products featured in this category are environmentally conscious and come at no compromise to quality, such as our EcoPass cards which are Carbon Neutral Britain certified.

Our Lanyards Make a Difference:

image of recycled bottles with a black lanyard

Back in 2019, we decided to switch all of our Lanyard offerings from Polyester to rPET, a fabric made from recycled plastic bottles.

For every 100 rPET lanyards we manufacture, 20 recycled plastic bottles are used to make the lanyard fabric.

This method reduces single-use plastics and prevents them from entering our oceans and landfills.

In 2021, we recycled 135,100 plastic bottles.
In 2022, we recycled 149,120 plastic bottles.

Overall, 284,180 plastic bottles have been recycled and transformed into lanyards.

Our recycled plain black lanyards are our most popular lanyards, and they have stopped 32,380 plastic bottles from entering our oceans and landfills alone.

Go Green with EasyBadge

EasyBadge bundle printer, cards and ribbon with eco-forest background

The EasyBadge 3.0 bundle is the most eco-friendly ID card printer bundle on the market. Why?

Manufactured in the UK
Reduced delivery millage equals fewer emissions
Made from 75% recycled materials
For every bundle sold, a new tree is planted

From 2021 to 2022, we’ve seen a 58.1% increase in sales of this printer bundle.

Interestingly, businesses in the West Midlands have placed more EasyBadge orders than any other county in the UK.

Summary

We hope you found this data as interesting as we did!

Choosing sustainable product alternatives can make a huge difference when caring for our planet.

If you’d like to find out more about the full extent of work undertaken by Digital ID to reduce our CO2 footprint then check out our environmental policy here.

*Disclaimer: All information and data correct as of 21/03/2023