The concept of using less paper has been around for a long time, it’s just the reasoning behind it and the importance of this reasoning that has evolved. In the beginning it was ‘protect the rain forests, use less paper’, but for most people the rain forests were the cradle of life, rather than the CO2 absorbers they are known as today. People certainly did not connect using too much paper with dramatic changes in our future lifestyles.

Funnily enough, however, I get the feeling that we worry less about using paper today than we did 10 years ago - it’s certainly the case in the very wasteful office I am currently working in. Maybe we feel that recycling has solved the problem. Maybe we have the impression that the ‘paperless office’ is reality, and that, because we send hardly any faxes and letters but use emails instead nowadays, we are using less paper. Maybe we think that enough trees are being planted elsewhere to compensate for those that are cut down to make paper.

Only it’s not as simple as that. Demand for paper continues to increase, so we are cutting down more and more trees. The manufacture of paper also uses water, chemicals and energy. On average, only 50% of paper used is likely to be recycled, and huge amounts still end up in landfills or even being incinerated. Paper is bad for the environment.

What’s more, the famous ‘paperless office’ is, in my experience, a myth. Email is such an easy form of communication, that we send more and more of them…… and then we PRINT THEM OUT! We produce beautiful powerpoint presentations that look great on screen and then we PRINT THEM OUT IN BLACK AND WHITE! Our screens are bigger and better, but to check our documents we PRINT THEM OUT! In many countries, the law still requires HARD COPIES of invoices. We continue to generate reams and reams of paper in a totally inefficient and unnecessary manner.

And at home, its not much better. Junk mail….. need I say more? Bank statements, credit card bills, phone bills, utilities bills, KITCHEN ROLL (sorry, I’m in a mood for capital letters today), useless receipts, product instructions in 10 languages taking up 10 times the paper.

Maybe it is possible to find a way to produce all the paper we need combining new and recycled paper, whilst maintaining the number of trees globally, although I doubt it. But is that the point? If we’re not producing CO2 by killing trees, we’re doing so by producing paper, burning paper, or letting it decompose. It all counts.

And with a little effort, just a little effort, we can make a dent in this problem, both at home and at work. At home this will save us time and money. At work it will make our businesses more profitable. In all cases it will reduce CO2 and save energy.

Here are my tips for using less paper - there are of course many variations:

At work

  1. Only print if you really need to. Just ask yourself the question each time you think about printing a document.
  2. If you need to print, why not print on both sides of each sheet of paper? Most printers have this function nowadays.
  3. If you are printing a word document for internal use, why not print two pages on each page? Again most modern printers have this function.
  4. If you are printing a powerpoint presntation for internal use / review, print several slides per page. Up to 6 is in general perfectly readable.
  5. If you have a pda that you synchronise with your pc and the screen is big enough, why not take the email or document with you and view it on your pda when you go to that meeting?
  6. Recycle all office paper. Step one is reusing paper internally if only one side has been printed on. Step two is ensuring that paper is kept and collected for recycling.
  7. If your suppliers / clients are willing to work this way, ask to send and receive invoices by email. Same with contracts, although you may need a signed copy somewhere along the line.

At Home

  1. Don’t buy and don’t use kitchen roll. It’s so easy, it’s so available, it gets used for everything and nothing, lasts no time, and goes in the bin so gets sent to landfill or incineration. Use soap and a sponge. It’s more hygenic anyway.
  2. Join the mail preference service and opt out of receiving junk mail. No more 0% credit card offers!
  3. Bank online and ask to stop receiving paper statements. You still have access to all the information you need, but you don’t receive several pieces of paper each month that you probably don’t read anyway. What’s more taking this action contributes to a whole chain of CO2 reduction: the bank buys less paper, and does not use energy to print the statement. The mail service does not use energy in delivering the letter. You don’t even have to send the paper for recycling or worse, you don’t have to put it in the wrong bin and send it for incineration or burning where it generates yet more CO2.
  4. Same goes for phone bills. You can now receive this information by email. If credit card companies don’t do it, they should.
  5. Recycle all the paper you don’t need. Everyone has a recycling service now, but it’s amazing how much paper still goes in the wrong bin.
  6. When you buy a new electrical product, take all unnecessary instructions and put them straight into the recycling bin.
  7. If you have a choice, ask NOT to receive a receipt unless you need one.

These are all things that are easy to do, so why not avoid being forced to make much larger concessions in the future, and take action today. I promise it won’t change our day to day lives, but it might help change our future.