The key to a sustainable office is to integrate it into the bigger picture, your business strategy – not only is it good for your ‘green’ bottom line, it’ll also put extra green notes in your pocket!
We are a proactively Green Business, and very conscious of our environmental responsibility when it comes to our products and services. Often, we are asked by companies and managers how to introduce more sustainable printing and office practices. Our answer is easy, when sustainability is put into the centre of your company’s mission, rather than as an afterthought, then this naturally flows through all the areas of the business and decision making.
We recognise that implementing green initiatives can take time though. Especially if you are taking your first step. But we can help. We are here to encourage and help you incorporate sustainable practices into your business processes at your own speed. Below will guide you through the services and products you can slowly introduce for a truly Green Modern workplace.
And it can do more than just conserve energy: it can increase productivity, reduce material waste and can even put some extra green in your pockets by controlling costs.
Have a dedicated Print System in place
Without a system in place, printing can be an extremely inefficient aspect of the office environment. Studies have shown that annual paper consumption per employee in the UK averages 125 kg per person, that’s about 18 bowling balls and an average cost of £600 per person. The implementation of a managed print service can reduce costs, on average, by as much as 30%.
Energy costs can quickly get out of hand when maintaining multiple stand alone devices. Managed Print Services will connect all devices to one monitoring system, ensuring your system routes to the most efficient printer for the job. In other words, no paper or energy wastage. Your print job follows you to the printer you choose to print from.
A Managed Print Solution will also give you control over who prints what. Do you ever notice just how many emails are printed? Most emails contain a coloured logo, now imagine that waste and simply being able to reduce colour printing as an option.
Think e-documents over paper, think digitally
What exactly does this mean? Most employees are frightened of the idea of digital workflow and digital documents. Digital document workflows reduce the amount of hard copy output, using technologies to facilitate document workflow to distribute or store documents electronically. If you do need to print, switch to use recycled paper. Go paperless and go green.
Monitor, measure & review
While it’s not always possible to just stop printing and go completely paperless, by measuring your print output you can review printer practices and patterns. Our Managed Print audit, a free assessment of you print network, will assess usage patterns and make recommendations on where to place devices in the office, and how you could minimise redundant or under-utilised copiers, fax machines and printers.
We can also advise on replacement energy efficient Smart multifunctional printers (MFPs) that copy, fax, print and scan wherever possible for high consuming devices in your office, allowing you to recover your costs in the long term through lower energy and consumable bills. Remember, limit the use of single function devices!
Every Cloud has a Silver lining
The easiest way to reduce your carbon footprint is with the Cloud. Few people understand the amount of power you need to operate an on-site server. You need a constant power supply for your server, a cooling system to avoid overheating, and replacement for them when their lifecycle ends. Move your heavy-use energy guzzlers out of the office and move your data to the Cloud.
With the cloud, not only are fewer servers used, but they are powered far more efficiently.
The cloud is revolutionising the way we do business in so many ways. Customers consume 77% fewer servers, 84% less power and reduce carbon emissions by 88% by using the cloud, and there is no denying that it’s positive impact on the environment is just another one of its many positive attributes (research by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory).
Office Supplies – green, green, green
Look out for our Eco-friendly Office Supplies range. Chosen for their low material cost to the environment or use of recycled materials. Our self-branded toner and cartridges are as green as the glass milk bottle from your childhood – for ordering customers we have a recycling initiative in place for all our self-branded toner and cartridges; we collect, refill & resell.
So, there you have it. Regardless of how far into your journey of sustainable business practices you are, there are more ways than you think that are available to you. Don’t be afraid to speak to us for recommendations of how to make your businesses processes more environmentally friendly. Our Document and Cloud services not only address reduction of overall energy consumption, hard copy output and CO2 footprint, but also include future recommendations. When it comes to the truly Modern Workplace, the energy costs can work for you and the planet.