However, there is a lot that can be done at a lower level to help cut waste and boost a company's eco-credentials. These include actions by each individual employee and best-practice processes that can streamline the business in an energy efficient way.
Use of electronic equipment and a certain amount of printed material are required to help drive businesses forward on a day-to-day level, but finding ways to reduce power consumption and paper usage can create real environmental and economical change in the business.
It may seem simplistic, but small changes at the lowest level can have a cumulative impact that can add up to a big difference. There are also a wide range of device features that are easy to implement and save paper and energy with a touch of the button.
By enabling power-saving modes on printers and multi-function devices, such as setting a device to 'sleep' after ten minutes of inactivity and dimming of the LCD screen, it's possible to reduce power consumption by up to eight per cent. That may not seem like much, but it adds up over time.
A bigger contributor to the carbon footprint of a business is the usage of paper. From day-to-day desk work, to marketing and communication, right through to supply chain management and billing, there is usually some paper involved in office operations. The printing of millions of pages during the day-to-day running of a business means paper consumption will account for up to 80% of the total carbon footprint of a given device.
However, while the vision of the paperless office may not be in sight, the 'less-paper' business is a very real possibility. By simply setting the default print option to duplex - printing on both sides - this automatically cuts the amount of paper used in half.
Similarly, studies have shown that one out of every five-to-six pages printed are never picked up. This waste can be eliminated with a feature like Lexmark's Print Release. Users send print jobs from their workstation or mobile device, but these only take place once the user physically 'releases' them at the device, therefore eliminating the paper wastage of print outs that are forgotten and never collected. This is crucial when you know that producing one sheet of paper uses 50 times more energy than what's needed for printing it!
Cutting unnecessary paper usage and waste is a great first step, but an even greater impact can be had when the business can change its processes. Implementing process and content management technology can bring considerable cost savings and efficiencies to every part of a business. But it's also highly useful as a strategic element of any green initiatives.
Daily tasks such as customer inquiries, paying vendors, generating invoices, hiring new employees, receiving materials and creating and renewing contracts can generate huge amounts of paper. This is not only inefficient, but it's wasteful too as that paper not only has to be printed, but has to be manually transported between operation centres. The move towards digitising this content can help eliminate cumbersome, wasteful delivery procedures, cut fuel costs and minimise paper use in the process.
Businesses need software solutions that not only make processes more effective and efficient, but also reduce printing and its impact on the environment. However, these are in vain if there is no way to measure and analyse that success. This has the dual benefit of being able to showcase the impact of existing initiatives as well as finding areas where new efficiencies and progress can be made.
Every aspect should be reported on - from carbon savings to process efficiencies - and reports should also compare metrics to other organisations in the same industry. The wealth of information can be turned into actionable recommendations to reduce print, lower costs, and generate additional sustainability benefits.
The efforts of an individual company to reduce its carbon footprint can be furthered by working with suppliers that also play their part. Businesses can integrate sustainability into their supply chain by screening all new suppliers for environmental compliance, material management and social responsibility.
In light of the global economic recession, green and eco-initiatives took second place to cost cutting for many companies. However, sustainability and corporate social responsibility remain an important part of every organisation's overall strategy - not to mention delivering cost savings and optimising processes.
These types of initiatives don't need to be massive, complex and costly undertakings. In fact, many are simple and cheap, and a large number will help cut costs, improve efficiency, boost trust and help create closer relationships with suppliers and customers alike.
