Climate change and pollution are major issues that concern all countries across the globe. At present, it is imperative that more environmentally conscious practices are incorporated into everyday routines.

More importantly, the urgency to continuously act on current environmental problems has never been more emphasized. One such example that many people can relate to is saving paper.

Environmental campaigns have taught consumers to recycle paper, but the damage doesn’t stop there. The goal should be to stop use in the first place! With the widespread problem of pollution, saving paper and curbing wastage is now a more pressing concern, because of the harmful pollutants released during the manufacturing process, and the chain of negative effects associated with this.

During the manufacturing process there are many area’s that for different reasons, produce pollution. In paper manufacturing, pollution begins with pulp pills, where wood chips are made into thick fibreboards, which are later sent to paper mills for further processing.

The process of burning bark so it can be transformed into usable fibre releases toxic greenhouse gases, which eventually can cause acid rain, destroying marine life, crops, and polluting drinking water.

The process of bleaching pulp to create various finishes on paper also involves draining water that contains bleach chemicals and harmful dioxins, which instantly pollute water catchments.

In addition, transporting mass quantities of wood chips by sea cargo is often the most cost-effective, but has recently been scrutinized for the high levels of CO2 produced by ships and their associated long distance travel.

Hence, saving paper and making the most of daily usage in homes and the workplace is important not only to save on unnecessary extra spending, but also to cut down on the unnecessary harmful effects unleashed into our environment.

Now seeing we’re on the PaperCut website, we have to say that the obvious: To help cut down the paper usage in your school or business, take a look at PaperCut. It’s easy to install and to use. With handy features like printing charge and control, print quotas, real-time environmental impact reporting, and seamless function across various operating systems and multiple servers, using PaperCut for your print management is the easy step in your paper-saving efforts.

While using our print management system is an obvious paper saving tool, here are some other handy ideas to reduce your impact on the environment and save paper.

1. Print duplex or two to a page- Print on both sides of the page or print two pages to a single side (also called N-Up printing). Combine both of these to print four pages on only one piece of paper! Not only save paper but also take longer to reach your print quota!
2. Use PDF and go digital- Send business documents by e-mail in PDF format rather than printing and then faxing/mailing them. You no longer need to print, sign and send. Use an electronic signature and email documents that require a signature. While you’re at it, consider an FAX-to-email gateway so your inbound faxes arrive in your inbox.
3. Use an electronic diary- Install a program on your laptop or computer and record all appointments and diary entries electronically. Google Calendar is our program of choice.
4. Send e-cards- Save money and save the planet. Personalised season’s greetings can be sent quickly and easily by email. Save on stamps, cards and envelopes. Note: Some may thing you’re “cheap” doing this so make it known that your driver is not cost savings but the environment!
5. Use a whiteboard- Forget sticky notes and note pads. Use a white board to record all those quick and temporary notes.
6. Electronic memo’s and bulletins- Communicate in the office electronically. Invitations, instructions and important notices can be sent via email or viewed daily on an updatable document on your intranet.
7. Be selective- Print only what you need to print. Cut and paste relevant information from longer documents and print only when and what you absolutely need to.
8. Proof work on screen- some people prefer to print documents for proofing as it’s difficult and taxing to do so on the screen. Be kind to your eyes and simply enlarge the text temporarily while you proof.
9. Promote awareness- place signs around your office or study encouraging these and other paper saving ideas. (Laminate them so you don’t have to reprint them!) Gentle and polite reminders are all you need.
10. Recycle, recycle, recycle- have recycle bins in prominent places so people remember to use them, use the back of old documents as scrap paper etc. Lead by example and watch others follow!

Did you know, that today, 10% of the world’s population, including Western Europe and North America, are responsible for over half of the world´s paper consumption, more than six times the world average. Paper consumption in Europe alone has increased six-fold since 1950. Some 10,000 sheets of paper are used each year by your average office worker in western industrialized countries. (information and more tips published by the WWF)