Article

The point-of-sale display industry is worth €9 billion across Europe and rests largely on a linear economic model (extract, produce, consume, discard) in which waste is still commonplace:

• 100,000 tonnes of waste a year are generated by POS displays and are largely not recycled
• More than 80% of POS displays are estimated to be burned or incinerated at end of life, excluding cardboard (estimate from our study on the life cycle of POS displays).
• 30% of the POS displays produced never reach consumers' eyes (estimate from our study on the life cycle of POS displays).

This runs counter to environmental considerations and to consumer expectations, as revealed by the study conducted by Circul'R in partnership with the Appinio institute: 63% of French people would respond positively to a responsible POS display initiative and 47% would favour a brand that uses responsible POS displays over another.

Against this backdrop, Circul'R launched a coalition to offer a sustainable alternative to conventional POS displays.

Since the beginning of 2022, 14 large companies (Carte Noire, Bel, Coca-Cola, Kronenbourg, BIC, Auchan, Carrefour, SHOP!, Bolloré Logistics, Antalis, Tri-O Greenwishes, SAP, Sequoia and BMA) have worked together to share the opportunities and challenges of rolling out more responsible POS displays.

Among the main needs identified, promoting eco-designed POS displays was selected and led to the creation of a tool, the "POS Display Score", which rates the circularity of a display on a scale from A to E.

• For brands: the POS Display Score allows them to assess the circularity of each display manufactured or purchased simply, consistently and quickly (level of eco-design, origin of materials, manufacturing processes and so on)
• For manufacturers: the POS Display Score brings greater transparency on the environmental impact of their products and helps them market their most circular displays

The scoring system is designed to be simple and quick to complete, while remaining comprehensive in what it measures. The tool draws on the key principles of the circular economy, with a focus on the major impacts of POS displays.

To find out more about the tool, we ran a webinar bringing together manufacturers, advertisers, retailers and POS display experts. A replay is available via this link.