4imprint (asi/197045) is stepping up its sustainability game.

The Top 40 promotional products distributor this week announced that it will build a solar array to help power its distribution center in Oshkosh, WI.

Expected to be completed by August 2022, the 2,600 solar panels will generate one megawatt of electricity and provide more than 40% of the power currently required to drive the facility’s operations. 4imprint will collect any excess electricity and feed it into the local power grid, executives said. Green Bay, WI-based Eland Electric is leading the installation.

“This project allows us to dramatically increase the proportion of the business we power with renewable energy,” said 4imprint CEO Kevin Lyons-Tarr, a member of Counselor’s Power 50 list of the promo products industry’s most influential people. “It’s an exciting step forward on our journey to become a more sustainable company and I’m proud of the work the team has done to bring this project to fruition.”

The solar panels are part of an increasing effort on 4imprint’s part to operate more sustainably.

In 2017, the promo firm launched an internal team to measure the company’s environmental impact, engage the organization around sustainability and make recommendations on improving the environmental footprint across the company and supply chain. In November 2021, 4imprint announced it had been certified as a CarbonNeutral company by Natural Capital Partners.

In recent years, a growing number of promo products companies have been amplifying eco-minded efforts.

Last year, for instance, the third-largest supplier by revenue in promo, S&S Activewear (asi/84358), announced that it had completed a two-year-long project that involved installing solar panels at its six U.S. facilities. Top 40 distributor Geiger (asi/202900) has earned recognition for its environmentally focused initiatives, which include having the largest business solar array in Maine. It powers the company’s headquarters.

Headquartered in London, U.K., 4imprint’s main operations are in Oshkosh and the firm earns the vast majority of its business in North America. In January, 4imprint issued a trading update that indicated its full-year total global sales in 2021 were $787 million, an increase of 41% compared to 2020. Full financial results for last year are expected to be reported in March.

Based on 2020 North American promotional product revenue of $549.9 million, 4imprint ranked third on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest distributors in the industry.

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