Reducing Paper Use

Concerned about waste? Finding ways to reduce and reuse paper is one way to be eco-friendly and save money, too. Try these easy ideas:

print and copy double-sided

e-mail your documents as attachments

edit documents on screen rather than printing out and hand editting

Benefits of Electronic Files

Converting paper files to electronic files is a great way to save time and money. Not only will you reduce storage needs, but electronic files are easier to search. Both of these benefits add up to a savings of time and money.

Conserve Energy with Laptop Computers

Laptops computers use only 10% of the energy required by desktop computers, take up less desk space, and are virtually noiseless (no power supply fan noise).

Screen Savers

Although screen savers are fun and you can get so many different and interested patterns and pictures, don´t rely on them to save energy. They are only meant to save phosphors in the screen.

Photocopiers

Copiers use more energy per unit than any other type of office equipment. Try to make double-sided copies whenever possible. A duplexing option helps cut back on energy use, as well as decreasing paper costs and reducing waste. (The energy to produce the paper far outweighs the energy needed to produce an image on the paper.)

Paper Saving Fax Ideas

Reduce paper usage at the fax machine by faxing documents directly from your computer. Also, instead of using a cover sheet, use a transmittal sticky note or a rubber stamped transmittal block.

Saving Energy

Turn off lights, computers, photocopiers, radios at the end of the day to save energy.

Reusing Paper

When printing draft copies, use the reverse side of already-used paper. Producing a single sheet of virgin paper requires an average of 20 watt-hours, so reusing paper can save embodied energy and cut your paper supply costs.

Patronize Eco-Friendly Businesses

Promote waste reduction by patronizing places of business that practice the three R´s: (waste) reduction, re-use, and recycle. Look for water and energy conservation, too.

Reducing Computer´s Energy Use

Activate your computer´s ´sleep´ or ´quiet´ mode option so that when the machine is not being used, it will automatically switch from full power to sleep mode. This can reduce your computer´s energy use by as much as 70%.

Virtual Meetings Reduce Air Pollution

Be kinder to the environment by conducting meetings by telephone, teleconference, video conference or web conference when possible.

Printers

Consider the use of a dot matrix, impact, or inkjet printer over a laser printer. Dot matrix and impact printers use 80% to 90% less energy, while providing good speed and adequate quality for many applications. Black-and-white inkjet printers use 95% less energy and are nearly equal to laser printers in terms of quality. (Color inkjet printers, meanwhile, do not offer substantial energy savings over color laser printers.)

Sharing Subscriptions

Share subscriptions to periodicals, professional journals with your co-workers and get your name off mailing lists for unwanted publications.

Computer Monitors

Bigger monitors use more power. A 14" color monitor will use up to 50% more energy than a 10" color monitor. Increasing resolution in a color CRT increases power per square inch by about 22%.

Energy Efficient Fax Machines

For energy efficiency, choose an inkjet fax machine. These machines have a low standby energy rating and use about 10% of the energy required by laser fax machines.