Earth Day - What can you do to make your office more sustainable?
Earth Day is a great time to re-evaluate our business behaviors and the impact they have on the environment. In the spirit of the day, I’ve compiled a list of reminders to help us all create a more sustainable office.
Focus on paper usage: "According to the U.S. EPA it takes 10 times more energy to produce a sheet of paper than to print on it; thus paper reduction becomes critical in the printing workflow not only for economic but also for environmental reasons."
• Think before you print.
• Print only what you need (classic example is a 10 page e-mail chain when you only need the first page.)
• Set your printer to duplex (double-sided printing)
• Print multiple pages per side (great for powerpoint presentations; print 2 to 4 slides-per-sheet & duplex. This can save up to 75% on paper usage.
Focus for IT managers - Save on Energy Usage:
• Think efficiency - how many users do you have connected to each device? Many printers/multi-functions are capable of 15+ pages-per-minute with very high reliability. Consolidate machines and instantly save energy!
• Think about supplies & waste - look for multi-function devices that offer all the performance you need in one machine (solid ink products, for example, also produce 90% less waste and the solid ink is cartridge free!
Being aware of behaviors is the 1st step in greening up the office.
• Assess your current environment and make choices to improve your footprint.
• Consolidate machines to save energy
• Print what you need - eliminate wasted pages
• Reduce the amount of waste each device creates
• Think about supplies when you purchase the device
• Understand the total impact of your choice
Most importantly remember the fundamentals of sustainability: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle -- focus on them in this order and do your part! At Xerox, we call it the "green gene" - click here to see more!
Deb Koehler
Solid Ink Sustainability Manager
Xerox Office Group