We mentioned on the last post that we did not think the paperless office exists, so how do we manage/control the use of all of this paper in our office?
The use of virgin and old growth forests for office paper is destroying many habitats and communities www.safetherainforest.org, so some of the measures we can take to have an active part in reducing the impact on these forests is by trying to adopt the following:
Purchase of paper
make sure that is has a high-recycled content (greater than 70%), totally chlorine-free during production, has an accredited environmental or green waste label
Paper saving techniques
ensure an efficient use of paper with double-sided photocopying and printing
use email and voicemail wherever possible
insist all staff are aware of ‘green printing’, i.e. make sure documents are as short as possible and only printed when necessary
have paper audits – look at recycled bins to assess how much waste is going into them. Try to have paper reduction targets
so simple: ensure staff are trained how to use the photocopier correctly to avoid mistakes!
have a space on your website so that reports and documents can be downloaded and viewed on screen
keep your database up to date – then you can email your latest offers and communications to your customers
For hardcopies print on both sides of the paper
use line spacing of no more than 1.5
lay out the document with the minimum amount of white space
avoid using varnishes when printing
if adhesive binding is used, ensure that it contains chlorinated organic compounds
label all of your printed documents with information about how it was produced
It is worth bearing in mind that it is thought that half of all office waste is paper-based, so the benefits to not just the environment, but also to your buhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifsiness by keeping yourhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif office green are quite evident. All of the above measures to cut the amount of paper you use are relatively inexpensive and can in fact actually save you money, whilst at the same time, you can take pride in the fact that your business is doing its bit for the environment.
Do forward this link to anyone who you think might be interested. There are awards and many hidden benefits to green businesses www.greenachiever.co.uk
Should the paper that you are required to keep for the statutory 7 year period start to pile up in unwanted parts of the office, then it is always worth considering sending the odd archive box away to be stored :
