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My Boss is Cheap! Justifying the Costs of Using Post-Consumer Recycled Paper

22 Aug 2008

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Bryan Beckett 8-23-08

EcoGreenOffice

You are the green leader of the office. You have created a green task force. You have crafted a green mission statement with a list of eco-strategies. The day comes to present your sustainability plan to management and before you can even say post-consumer, recycled paper, your efforts are clouded by: “it costs to much”. “That will negatively effect the bottom line”. “Going green is great but at what costs”.

Instead of ditching your efforts, now is your time to shine. The use of post-consumer recycled paper can actually GREEN your company’s bottom line!

Consumer Demand is Driving Businesses Toward Social Responsibility

This means that if your business is not on the forefront of making green efforts, it will be left behind and then there will not be a bottom line to even consider. Using post-consumer paper does say a lot about a company especially if you quantify your actions! By putting the tangible on something that is intagible you can create instant positive results and will engage the non-interested ones. Your company can save trees, water, landfill space and limit CO2’s just by using post-consumer paper. It is the easiest way to take action.

Monitor and Reduce Use!

Does every person in your office really need a printer? A few xtra steps to a centralized print station may make people think twice before printing unnecessary documents. Additionally, using post-consumer paper will result in reduced use. This is because it is more opaque than virgin paper which means that it is perfect for double side printing. See if you can collect paper purchasing data from accounting over the last 6 months and make it a challenge not only order post-consumer paper but reduce the amount ordered!

Implement a “Green” Printer Cartridge Program

Using “green” printer cartridges will not only save you 10-20% but they also have eco-benefits that can be quantified as well. Avoid the cheap internet cartridge searches by partnering with a specialized “green” cartridge dealer like EcoGreenOffice. You can get custom pricing with all the guarantees of brand new cartridges. A specialized dealer can usually ensure savings on a printer cartridge program which totally offsets the $.0025 increase/page of post-consumer paper.

These three simple strategies will help you overcome the post-consumer recycled paper barriers. Help management understand the big picture and that in the long run, green practices will green the bottom line! Finally, have fun with your green program and create quantifiable challenges for your co-workers.

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The Office Paper No Business Can Function Without

16 Aug 2008

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It is the office paper used daily but never discussed. It is the office paper that is absolutely crucial for day-to-day operations. It is the office paper that every employee will come in contact with…

Yes, I am talking about Bathroom Tissue.

We consult with hundreds of businesses every year that are striving to make a positive impact on the environment and incorporating better practices. Maybe it is a lack of education or perception that recycled bathroom tissue is “dirty” or less in quality, but bathroom tissue is often left of of the ‘green up’ list.

Truth be told, some offices have that employee who may use more T.P than copy paper! Sorry for that visual image, but it is a fact. What facts? According to “Bathroom Tissue State of the Category”, T.P is a $4.1 billion dollar industry and each of YOU use an average of 8.6 sheets per, ahem, swipe (sorry again for that).

There is absolutely no reason why an office that is using post-consumer copy paper shouldn’t also be using post-consumer (recycled) T.P.

* Up to 80% post-consumer, 100% recycled

* Comes in 2-ply and is just as soft as non-recycled T.P

* Is process without Chlorine

* Cost effective

A few facts about recycled paper

02 Aug 2008

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Jessica Scott

GREEN MATTERS

Many offices are attempting to reduce paper use to help lessen their environmental impact. It is now common for companies to have paperless meetings, where the agenda and meeting materials are all on computer or overhead screen; and many e-mails that land in our inbox have a footnote that reads: “Think of the environment before printing this e-mail.”

But along with reducing paper use, the type of paper used is equally important.

When recycled paper first came on the market 15 to 20 years ago, it was grainy, off-white in colour, and had a shorter life.

Fortunately, recycled paper has come a long way since then and is now equivalent to virgin paper in terms of finish, opacity, whiteness and grams per square metre (a measure of the weight of the paper).

And in terms of the production cycle, using recycled fibres (the individual strands of paper that make up the pulp) to make useable pulp consumes less energy and water, than using fibres directly from a tree when manufacturing virgin paper (about 60 to 70 per cent less energy, and 55 per cent less water).

The fibre composition is what is taken into consideration when you read the percentage of recycled content on a package of paper.

For example, “paper is 80 per cent recycled” means that 80 per cent of the fibre comes from recycled content, and 20 per cent comes from virgin fibres.

Pre-consumer pulp is made up of production waste and generally does not require de-inking - the process in which printing ink is removed from recycled paper in order for it to be reused in the production of new paper.

But pre-consumer pulp is limited in supply. That is why the term ‘post-consumer’ is most often seen - this means that recycled pulp consists of paper from offices and homes after use.

These post-consumer paper products that are recovered for recycling reduces the amount of virgin trees needed to produce paper and cardboard products.

And purchasing products made from post-consumer recycled materials supports the markets for materials recovered by recycling services across the globe.

Higher-grade papers generally require some virgin pulp to achieve comparable quality levels as the quality of fibre degrades each time it passes through the recycling process.

Bleaching is the process of whitening recycled paper, which uses different chemicals including chlorine.

When you are deciding what kind of recycled paper to purchase, try to buy paper that is chlorine-free and acid-free, which means it has a lower environmental impact in terms of toxins used in the manufacturing process.

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an independent, non-government, non-profit organization established to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests.

FSC is the only forest certification system that is supported by all major environmental groups.

So when you buy FSC certified paper that means that the paper company complies with the highest social and environmental standards in the market.

Make sure to keep in mind that when you are recycling your paper, but not purchasing recycled content paper, you are only doing half the job.

Buying recycled paper is a small but important investment that both businesses and individuals can make to help reduce our environmental impact.

Along with using recycled paper, avoid printing when unnecessary, print double-sided when printing and copying, reuse single-sided paper as scratch pads, and be sure recycling bins are visible and near all printers and copiers.

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Benefits of Using Post-Consumer Paper

15 Feb 2008

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Recycled paper requires less energy, fewer chemicals, less water to
manufacture, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and takes material
out of the waste stream.

Post-consumer fiber content                        30%      50%      100%

% less energy used                                  13%     22%     43%

% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions     11%     19%       37%

% less water used                                      14%     23%       46%

% reduction in solid waste                           15%     25%       49%

% fewer trees used                                     30%     50%      100%

 

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