'Green' impacts on design

More and more businesses are aware of their corporate social responsibility and are making increasing efforts to reduce their environmental impact, create energy efficiencies and to source more responsibly; a strategy which is working to help differentiate them within the marketplace. People want to buy from businesses they respect and so more companies today are spending time researching their suppliers and the impact they have on the environment. Businesses are even going as far as choosing suppliers who demonstrate responsible policies so that this minimises the risk of damage throughout the supply chain to their own reputations. In addition to this, many small to medium sized companies still face the usual difficulties trading with the Far East and Eastern Europe including exchange rates, language barriers, culture differences, the high cost of communication and quality issues; but now they have an additional concern of the rising cost of transporting from one continent to another which is bringing additional financial burden. Even with technology advancements and the prevalent availability of electronic data transfer, GSPK Design’s customers are finding it is much more straightforward to communicate direct with a supplier based in the UK; especially when the market demands rapid design modifications and delivery scheduling. Paul Marsh, Managing Director of GSPK Design said: “We are currently witnessing a very positive effect on our order book; whether this is due to the current economic climate or a conscious effort by companies considering the impact they are having on the carbon footprint I am not sure. I think as things slow down within the economy, we will see further benefits ripple through GSPK Design as we are set up to offer bespoke design support and low volume production. This, coupled with our flexibility and local positioning will become all the more vital to our customer’s success.”