Save Money By Saving the Environment
Written by Madison Kluge, Sustainability Coordinator
According to a study by the Penn State Green Destiny Council, decreasing printing margins to 0.75” on all sides of printing paper results in a total reduction of paper usage by nearly 5% (3). That is a large percentage when considering the size of Penn State’s campus with roughly 120,000 students and faculty combined.
In a scenario where all of Penn State were to print one page per day with 0.75” margins for one year, they would save:
· More than 2 million pieces of paper per year.
· Roughly 200 trees.
· More than $25,000 per year.
There would be a total savings of almost 4,500 trees and $530,000 if Penn State were to go paperless. This is excluding the ink and printing equipment.
In the same scenario with 400 City of Salisbury Employees, the City of Salisbury employees would save:
· More than 7,000 pieces of paper.
· ¾ of a tree.
· Roughly $100 per year.
If Salisbury were to go paperless, there would be a savings of almost $2,000 in paper per year.
Additionally, going paperless conserves energy and prevents pollution during processing and shipping. This is why going digital is a great alternative for storing and reading documents.
What Can I Do Now?
1. Address these 6 questions:
· Have I previewed the pages?
· Can I reduce the font sizes or margins?
· Can I print double-sided?
· Is there a payback for printing?
· Have I reached out for help?
· How can I digitalize this?
2. Take the green initiative
Not everyone can stop printing cold turkey. What you can do is create a green printing initiative for you or your workplace. Maybe, consider switching to sustainably produced paper and ink, enforcing a printing policy, documenting your savings. Think before you print.