Remember to ecoprint

Next time you are wondering if you should really print that document, remember this:

The United States prints 2 trillion pages of office copy annually. If we lay the paper out length-wise, this equates to;
•727 return trips to moon
•5 return trips to Mars
•4.6‘ thick wall of paper around the circumference of the earth

If we consider the world’s copy print of 9 trillion pages – we have;
•3271 return trips to moon
•23 return trips to Mars
•21‘ thick wall of paper around the circumference of the earth

How much resource can be consumed by paper?

In the USA, 4.6 million tonnes of paper consumed annually for office copy. Consider that making, using and disposing of that amount of paper:
• required enough wood to build more than 1 million average homes,
• used the same amount of water as flows over Niagara Falls in one full day,
• required more energy than is used in all the households in Los Angeles for a full year, and
• generated more than 5 million tonnes of solid waste and greenhouse gas emissions.
The point of this is not to say that copying and printing are terrible, shameful things we must never do. The goal is to drive home the fact that reducing your printing means both financial benefits to your company as well as environmental benefits for everyone.

Combining corporate results and the environment

In these days of global warming and economic instability, company managers have to choose on too many issues between greater revenue and “greater good”. It’s refreshing if not downright thrilling to realize that cutting your print costs can be beneficial to not just your bottom line but also to the planet’s. Taking the time to assess just how much your company prints and minimizing that amount will save money, yes, and will help the environment on so many different levels. A look at the existing situation and the environmental “costs” involved can help to pain a clearer picture.