Environmental Benefits and Reasons to use less paper!
- Paper production requires trees, so paper contributes to deforestation.
- Each ton of paper produced generates 1.5 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.
- 1 tree can only produce, on average, 17 reams of paper, and takes about 100 years to grow.
- Producing 17 reams of paper releases 110 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
- Think about how quickly our office might use 17 reams of paper in relations to how long it takes for those reams to be produced.
- Ink used in printing contains chemicals, oils, heavy metals, and other substances that are potentially damaging to the environment.
- The production of ink also uses fossil fuels.
- Packaging office paper and delivering it on trucks also contributes to paper's carbon footprint, and therefore the carbon footprint of your office.
- Some professionals think that as long as paper is recycled, the impact of paper on the environment is reduced. This is not necessarily the case.
- Even with recycling, a significant portion of paper ends up being thrown out and the recycling process itself requires fossil fuels.
How to become environmental friendly and reduce paper!
- Record keeping can be achieved digitally by saving documents in their appropriate locations on network drives.
- You can easily search and refer to the document later.
- Secure location and will not get mistaken for trash.
- Make use of iPads, Bluebeam or review documents together at a computer!
- If you must print, print documents double sided!
- Stop getting mailed items by ending a paper subscription! You can almost always opt to receive an electronic version.
- Use 100% recycled paper and ensure that the choice can also be recycled!
- Adjust fonts, margins and spacing to ensure you’re able to fit more per page!
- Create a digital signature that can be used on documents that can be sent electronically. (i.e.: Reimbursable forms)
