Printing is a vital part of your business, but it can also be a significant contributor to your company’s environmental footprint. Consider that paper and ink manufacture can impact our environment before the printing even begins! By greening your printing, your company can show its commitment to a better environment and more eco-friendly business practices. So what steps can you take?

Buy recycled paper. Consider that a forest area the size of 20 football fields is lost every minute to paper production. The Environmental Defense Fund estimates that 90 percent of the printing and writing paper in the United States is produced from virgin wood pulp. Producing 2,000 pounds (one ton) of virgin uncoated paper requires 6,000 pounds of wood. Producing a ton of paper using 100% post-consumer copy paper rather than virgin pulp saves the equivalent of 24 trees (forty feet in height and 6-8 inches in diameter).

42% of all the wood harvested for industrial purposes in the world goes to making paper. The magazine industry alone harvests more than 30 million trees every year for paper. That’s more than one tree every second.

The pulp and paper industry is also the third largest industrial contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, after the chemical and steel industries. Producing a ton of paper using 100% post-consumer copy paper rather than virgin pulp saves 4,100-kilowatt hours of electricity and 60 pounds of air pollution.

Make sure your printers use eco-friendly inks. The printing industry is the single largest toxic polluter in the world. It is also the third largest consumer of fossil fuels, after the automobile and steel-manufacturing industries. Eco-friendly printing helps keep toxic chemicals out of our environment and generates far fewer greenhouse gases compared to conventional printing. Printing green also requires much less water than conventional printing. Printers use trillions of gallons of water, which then has to be treated because of its toxicity.

Finally, recycle your paper products, which will reduce the amount of solid waste going into landfills, and improve the market for recycled paper goods. Producing a ton of virgin uncoated paper requires 19,075 gallons of water. Producing a ton of paper using 100% post-consumer copy paper rather than virgin pulp saves 7,000 gallons of water.

With facts like these, now is a great time to think about your company’s paper procurement, paper reduction, and paper waste disposal strategies. Your local Green Irene Eco-Consultant can provide guidance in developing these strategies, and can provide you with the resources you need for developing your green printing policy. Contact them today and start working toward a more sustainable business!

(Facts excerpted from Print Net, Inc.)

Face it. Your small business needs to purchase many goods and services to ensure it runs smoothly and prospers. That is a fact we all need to accept, but we also need to accept the fact that your business can purchase goods and services in a way that supports socially responsible and green efforts. Green purchasing is the art of buying goods and services that have reduced footprints and support socially responsible causes. By purchasing green goods and services, not only can you eliminate potential problems, such as toxic substances in materials, but you can also significantly reduce your business’ footprint.

Most of the goods and services your business needs carry a footprint. Whether it is paper sourced from a rainforest or energy sourced from dirty coal, goods and services used by your business tend to carry along an environmental and social impact. But through the art of green purchasing, your business can reduce this impact and help steer manufacturers towards more sustainable practices and production methods. Green Irene provides you with all you need to know about green purchasing through its broad network of local Eco-Consultants and its comprehensive Ask Green Irene Service.

You no longer have to spend time trying to figure out how you can make an impact through the way you buy. Green Irene has done all the research you need to make critical decisions about green purchasing. Ask a local Green Irene Eco-Consultant today to learn more about our services. You can help us Green The World, One Office at a Time!

With green becoming mainstream in the operations of thousands of businesses, you may be wondering what else you can do to further green up. Most offices tend to organize regular events for various reasons. Ever thought your event had a significant environmental impact? Have you ever considered not only greening your event, but cutting event costs at the same time as you green up? You don’t have to think too much any longer; we’re here to help.

Green Irene offers a Green Office Event Checklist. The Checklist allows you to identify aspects of your office’s event that have a significant environmental impact based on categories, such as choosing a venue accessible by public transportation, sending e-mail invitations, and using reusable silverware, and then prepare for them in advance by following the specific recommendations for those items you identify.

Whether your event is in your office or in a large venue, you can identify specific targets for which you can prepare in advance to help you achieve real measurable results. The Checklist provides recommendations to help you reduce energy use and carbon emissions, cut on waste and save resources, and educate your guests, all while reducing your overall costs.

Green Irene believes that greening your event is not just responsible, but also saves you money by eliminating unnecessary costs and sets you apart as a green leader. To find more about the Green Office Event Checklist, ask your Local Green Irene Eco-Consultant.