You’ve started a green team and seven weeks later, your once ecstatic committee of cubicle warriors by day, green champions by night (a.k.a your green employees) begin to dwindle in numbers. Even the most eager employees look like they would prefer to be idling in traffic than be here listening to your green pitch.

Preston Koerner wrote a valuable article in Green Biz on how to prevent “green fatigue” and separate it from the “green noise” amongst customers in response to a recent commentary on eco-overload in the New York Times.

As Williams points out, fatigue, confusion and contradiction amongst customers is vivid in today’s advertising landscape. Canada’s Competition Bureau has even announced a crackdown on environmental claims in advertising and labelling. But, how can a leader stop green fatigue from stymieing the ongoing efforts of its staff? Here are the five S’s to keep sustainability flourishing from the inside out:

1. Shake things up

How can use of the hot-button, resource intensive “tools” at the office - like paper, packaging, energy and vehicles - lend themselves to more creative solutions? Here’s a few ideas to get the juices flowing:

Carpool Day
If you have a large enough green team with staff that commute from the suburbs:
i. Have staff write down their name and their neighbourhood on a piece of paper.
ii. Match up names into boxes according to neighborhoods;
iii. Do a weekly draw to see who carpools with whom and;
iv. Voila! Instant conversation between the Accountant and the Maketer, not to mention C02-reduced commuting.

Green intrapreneurs
Google allows its engineers to spend 20% of their working time on projects that they are passionate about. This has allowed employees to produce Google Suggest, AdSense for Content and Orkut. While 20% may not be feasible for some companies, try for 5% to start. It boosts employee moral, provides a sense of ownership and may just help create a recycling system that helps the whole company make green while going green.

2. Show honesty
Just when you have a product that has both positive and negative environmental attributes and you’re working to improve the negative attributes, you want to be upfront to employees about that office kitchen composting initiative that went south.

Say it like it is, find out why an initiative failed to get off the ground or just plain stunk (no pun intended), have a laugh and move on.

3. Scintillating conversation
Bring in a green speaker. It doesn’t need to be someone from Speaker’s. Call up the unlikely green heros you read about in your community paper that morning. I’m sure they would be thrilled to come and talk about how they donated solar paneled, hand-cranked internet-enabled $100 laptops to children in developing countries.

4. Step down
Finally, sometimes an idea deserves to die, if only momentarily. Let it. Sometimes, it’s time to delegate the green champion to best successor in your committee. Let go, if only to see your green team revive itself with new energy.

As echoed by Arthur D. Little: regulation, rising energy costs and increased consumer pressure on businesses are driving corporations to chose sustainable buying - and indeed, many start from a humble “green team” - to lower costs and build more valuable business practices.

Print green. Save a tree. And, look good while you’re at it. Learn how many trees, C02 emissions and waste water you can saving using Green Printer’s Eco-Calculator - with sources from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

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News byte: Why should we care about keeping our forests or more specifically, our rainforests anyway? What it costs says it well:

“Tropical rainforests help cool the planet by absorbing vast amounts of carbon dioxide and producing clouds that reflect sunlight and heat away from the earth. Experts say that between 25 and 30% of the world’s GHG emissions are the result of deforestation. The World Bank reports that 85% of Indonesia’s 3,014 million tons of CO2e emissions are caused by fires and deforestation, making it the third worst offender in the world for GHG emissions (behind China and the United States).”

Correction: Adsense for content was not produced by google engineers in their 20% free time. It was an acquisition of a Santa Monica-based firm. Orkut also arose from work outside the company.

Now, paper is back under the public eye in fuller force than ever because of its significant climate change footprint.
“Paper is a tremendously resource-intensive product to produce,” explains project manager Victoria Mills, “and the decomposition of paper in landfills generates methane, a greenhouse gas with 23 times the heat-trapping power of carbon dioxide.”

When EDF first consulted with their ambitious list of household brand companies like Starbucks, Citgroup, UPS and many others, they were pushing many “environmental firsts” (Starbucks was one of the first to use recycled content in direct food contact applications).

So, what was it that worked and where are these companies now, years after EDF intervened? And, most importantly, how have the original suggestions put forth by the EDF, public pressure and shifting supply chains challenged these brands to green their paper use even more?

Starbucks
Starbucks, after almost a decade since EDF joined hands to improve the retailer’s paper use, switched to 10% post-consumer recycled content paper cups, instituted a 10% per cup discount to encourage “for here (ceramic) versus to go” cups and adopted a corrugated cup sleeve to cut out double-cupping.

What Worked: Throw down a challenge
One of the more innovative things EDF did at that time included challenging Starbucks’ suppliers to find better materials and designs for its disposable cups. The team evaluated several designs, which included adding an insulated outer layer made from unbleached recycled fiber.

Where are they now?
According to their Februrary 2008 company fact sheet, Starbucks recycled their first-ever paper cup made with 10 percent post-consumer recycled fiber in 79 percent of all U.S. and Canada stores where they controled waste and recycling.

Citigroup
Citigroup, the world’s largest financial services firm, had their eye on two kinds of green when they partnered with EDF: a. to cut the environmental impacts of copy paper used nation-wide and; b. in doing so, cut costs. Through sheer determination, the reliable banking system, the size and number of offices across the U.S., Cititgroup managed to switch its U.S. offices to 30% recycled copy paper at no extra cost, producing annual environmental savings of 43.8 billion BTU’s of energy, 2,800 tons of greenhouse gases and 26.3 million gallons of wastewater.

What worked: “Visual education” for employees
However, what made Citigroup stand out was its employee education programs, including posted signs at its copying and printing locations to encourage double-sided copying and printing by its employees. During a 5-week, 2-sided printing test, Citigroup saved an estimated $98,000, 11 tons of solid waste and 28 tons of greenhouse gases.

Where are they now?
In 2005, Citigroup purchased more than 6,596 tons of copy paper. By purchasing recycled paper instead of virgin fiber paper, the financial services company:

Saved the equivalent to the amount of residential energy used by 363 homes per year and cut out over 4 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions – equivalent to the amount released annually by 379 cars.

To date, Citigroup’s environmental savings continue to grow.

UPS
While most of the companies in the express delivery industry had made significant efforts to manage risk in the 1990s, UPS paid very little attention to advancing superior environmental performance to gain a competitive edge.

But in 1998, that changed - largely as a result of EDF’s intervention.

The packaging action plan announced in November 1998 cut across the spectrum of UPS’s express packaging. Together, the new packaging improvements along with the reusable envelope, reduced air pollution by almost 50 percent, cut wastewater discharge by more than 15 percent and used 12 percent less energy than previous UPS packaging. In addition, the initiatives saved the company more than $1 million annually.

What worked: Stimulating competitors to action
Once UPS jumped on board, overnight shipping companies spurred to make some notable improvements to their packaging.

In October of 1999, FedEx announced that it switched all of its bleached virgin paper envelopes to 100% recycled, minimum 35% post-consumer content paper. This change, which affected hundreds of millions of envelopes a year, saved almost 12,000 tons of trees annually.

Where are they now?
From UPS‘ latest Sustainability Report, UPS purchased 35,800 tons of materials with recycled content. These purchases have the equivalent energy savings of removing 6,618 passenger cars from the road for a year.

In 2005, UPS recycled 30,700 tons of solid waste materials including metals, plastics, paper, corru-
gated materials, pallets and wood waste, causing a ripple effect amongst their suppliers.

Through its Corporate Office Recycling Program, 54 percent of waste produced by UPS’ corporate office was recycled, including paper, cardboard, lamps and ballasts. In 2005, UPS recycled wastes at a rate of 115 pounds per person at these locations.

To date, UPS has also greened its ground and air fleets, resulting in significant fuel emissions reductions.

The Verdict?

According to BP’s “Environment and society: The results so far” paper, if all Fortune 500 companies used recycled paper, an estimated 6,311,610 tons of CO2 could be prevent. Enough said.

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Weekly Tip: Recently launched online dating site DateForTrees.com partners with American Forests, as it continues to pursue its goal of donating at least 12,000 trees annually.
Green Printer’s eco-calculator, with sources from the Environmental Defense Fund, helps customers like Best-Western, ReMax, Lush and Aveda go - and stay - green. Green Printer carries attractive, eco-friendly and high quality recycled paper types at competitive prices.

A www.greenprinteronline.com dispatch

For all those days when you believe your green values aren’t aligned with your workplace but you can’t - or don’t want to - make the eco-entrepreneur step, here are some immediate action steps to try out at the office this Monday.

Remember: while many green teams start from humble beginnings, they can grow exponentially - pent up passion for green amongst employees can be powerful driving force.

For instance, one eco-savvy video games President started with an email blast to employees and 30 people (out of 90 staff) showed up for the first meeting.

Some useful tips to kickstart - and motivate - your office sustainability team:

1. Just get started no matter what! Find one passionate person to start the group and use money from savings to get the group going and moving forward.

2. Don’t turn people off by being a preacher. Instead support people for what they are doing. Find common ground. Keep it light, fun and inspiring

3. Once you start more ideas will follow. It’s always about learning.

4. Focus on the low hanging fruit first. Look at energy consumption and purchasing. For instance, it’s easy to switch over to a green office supplies company. Get your hands on easy to understand paper purchasing guides (”what does “tree free” paper look like anyway? Can I trust the FSC certification?”) from pros such as Monadnock. If it’s not easy, then it’s not fun and it’s not sustainable. Start with the easy stuff.

5. Concentrate on employee engagement activities that will promote behaviour change – things people can easily do at work at home or commuting like:

• cheeky reminders to turn out the lights as well as turn computer and/or monitors off when not in use;
• consider eco-friendly waterless printing;
• have numbers or contact people to who employees can report leaking taps and toilets immediately;
• reduce disposable food choices from coffee cups to take out green purchasing;
• recycled paper products;
• emphasize the four key areas to promote behaviour change including energy efficiency, transportation options, water reduction, recycling;
• show stats and tangible, monetary energy savings like Seventh Generation did in their cold-water promotion;
• post cool links like this one by Greenupgrader or PlantABillion.org Billion Tree Campaign from Nature Conservancy in an internal Green Team forum or list-serve to remind people what this effort is all for when motivation wanes;
• consider new kinds of cool products on the market, like this award winning paper by Neenha, which uses green energy and manufactures many brands carrying the Green-E, Green Seal and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification;
• show how good of a job you are doing to your employees visually - companies like Visible Strategies can help and;
• why not have your business donate money to bring green textbooks to local elementary and high schools? It’s a unique way to show your commitment to going green in your community and to motivate employees.

6. Last, but not least, reward good behavior with prizes, special events or speaker series and games.

Above all, keep your expectations in check. Green teams should prepare for the ebb and flow of interest. So, keep up the friendly competition and bring outside people or groups of interest in to help keep up the motivation.

Save trees, time and money the eco-friendly way with our recycled paper, sustainable printing methods and eco-calculator with Green Printer - more details at www.greenprinteronline.com. Now, wasn’t that easy?

Image source: it all skyrocketed with Gutenberg’s printing press…

A Green Printer dispatch.

Ever wondered how much energy and thought it took to produce that shiny brochure your marketing staff handed to you this week? And no, it’s not just the brand and visual design genius we’re talking about.

Let’s face it: making a few pieces of paper look pretty takes up some pretty hefty resources and the paper and pulp industry is there to meet our paper hungry needs (so much for the paperless office).

In fact, the OECD Environmental Outlooks calls the pulp and paper industry the single largest consumer of water and the third greatest industrial greenhouse gas emitter, right after the chemical and steel industries and the oil and gas industry.

And, that rank, as echoed by Co-op America is not set to go down anytime soon.

The Environmental Defense Fund further attests that paper use is on the rise with paper and packaging still making up one third of municipal landfill waste. And, producing all those nice brochures (or manuals or contracts or….) takes up a lot of energy. In fact,

• Producing paper uses 11.5 percent of all energy in the industrial sector.
• One third of all wood harvested in the U.S. goes into paper products.

Thus, on the bright side, paper use presents the potential for enormous environmental savings. Citigroup took up the challenge of using post-consumer waste paper and saved 43.8 billion BTU’s of energy, enough to supply 430 homes for a year.

But then, what about those cool, “a must” coloured graphs and charts on the company brochure?

More than likely, it was made using inks containing volatile organic compounds (VOCs). That’s short for those nasty major pollutants linked to the deterioration of the earth’s protective ozone layer and, consequently (some researchers suggest), to accelerating climate change.

So what are we to do?
Let’s begin with the water used to print those brochures. Waterless printers have been able to dramatically reduce water consumption. For example, a printer in Switzerland, operating one of the world’s first waterless web presses, eliminated the use of approximately 250,000 liters (about 66,000 gallons) of water in one year. That water would normally have come from a nearby lake, which is a source of drinking water for tens of thousands of people.

The invention of water-washable inks has allowed the waterless pressroom to be virtually VOC-free. Water-washable ink technology takes out the need for solvent-based press and blanket wash solutions, which typically account for a large portion of a printer’s VOC output.

So, have your cake and eat it too. We all love handing a cool looking brochure to a client. It just doesn’t need to cost the Earth.

More resources

• No piece of paper is completely environmentally invisible, even the recycled kind, so choose check out these guidelines for environmentally preferable paper by the Environmental Paper Network.
• Handy printable signs to encourage better office paper use by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).
• Ever wondered where to even start to buy greener paper? The first step starts with asking the right questions and this Paper Supplier Evaluation PDF by the EDF is about as thorough as it gets.
• Recycled paper purchasing article from GreenBiz.com.

Get these brands and more, all while tracking how much CO2, trees and wastewater you’ll save with the Eco-Widget, at Green Printer.

Image source: Ecofriend.org

A Green Printer Online Dispatch

Do you scoff at company-made labels (i.e. internal labels) and only go for the non-profit, third party born eco-labels when buying green office supplies? Or do you take both with a grain of salt, comparing the merits of “private” and “public” labels?

If you’re the latter or if you are a green procurer, you probably want to streamline the “boom! done, I’m buying that product - not that one - because it has a trusty brand” process. So, here are the ins and outs of some of the up and coming brands that you’ll see in Staples, online or in a custom office paper supply shop.

The CEO - ENVIRONMENT®
Description
Just like the CEO, this paper covers all the recycled paper rounds. It’s reliable, it’s got experience (comes in smooth, felt, laid, and parchment finishes) and it’s around internationally.

You can buy either 100% post-consumer recycled, FSC-certified fibers, specialty fibers or 100% recycled with 30% post-consumer fiber from the entire line. Plus it’s cost-efficient.

What this paper is best for
Acid free and archival, so it’s ideal for scrap booking. It comes in different colours (all 22 of them) and is fit for the renewable energy expert at your office - all papers are made entirely with Green-e Certified renewable energy

What it’s not so good for
If you are looking for 100% post-consumer line of paper only - this one also carries 30% post-consumer fiber paper type.

The Verdict?
It’s a flexible, no fail solution - just takes some time to choose paper amongst the large selection.

The Office Eco-Star - Astrolite PC 100
Like that person who spearheaded the green team at your work, was the first to buy a hybrid and talk about installing solar panels over the weekend - this paper is an eco-star. In fact, it’s one of the cleanest, brightest, and smoothest recycled paper types available. It’s also FSC-certified so you can be sure it contains only de rigeur 100% post-consumer recycled fiber.

What this paper is best for
Um, everything: from business cards to product sheets, especially since Astrolite PC comes in a thicker, new 130lb double thick cover.

What it’s not so good for
What’s not to like?

The Verdict?
100% reliable just like the Office Eco-Star.

The Design Connoisseur - ChorusArt
Description
ChorusArt paper has top-quality triple coating, giving it a slick yet totally eco-chic feel to it.

What this paper is best for
Shiny-er, glossy-er stuff with the FSC stamp on it: catalogues, book covers, magazine covers, direct mail, inserts and flyers, books, art books, magazines, commercial printing, supplements, annual reports, brochures and more. This paper is FSC-certified, guaranteeing that the standards of the Forest Stewardship Council are respected and that the pulp the paper is made of consists of a mixture of fibers from certified forests and post-consumer recycling processes from controlled sources.

What it’s not so good for
Depending on what you want to use this paper for, it has a lighter feel to it.

The Verdict?
Your Design department will love you.

The Office Knight - The Save-a-Tree ®
Description
Just like your trusted office cubicle buddy back in the day (yes, the one who answered your harried call to finish off a research report at 1:23 am), this paper will get the job done. Made from 100% post-consumer waste, Process Chlorine Free (PCF), it also runs and prints like virgin paper - what more could you want?

What this paper is best for
Medium weight, everyday use yet “dressed to impress” paper quality that’s ideal for CSR and annual reports, stationery, newsletters, catalogues, brochures and more.

What it’s not so good for
Super thick and shiny-ish business cards - this paper has a medium weight feel to it. People that are adamant about having the FSC standard on their communications material should choose another paper product - this one does not have this label (the FSC actually came under fire last year).

The Verdict?
Your PR department or Cause Marketing team will thank you - great for communicating your corporate green committments to stakeholders and an alternative to the FSC label.

Now, if only buying coffee was so eco-conscious and those trees planted by the UN could create a domino effect..

Get these brands and more, all while tracking how much CO2, trees and wastewater you’ll save with the Eco-Widget, at Green Printer.

Image source: National Geographic

A short, weekly “school of hard knocks” history of why paper supply chain management is not as easy as it looks - but can be. A Green Printer dispatch.

Deforestation hurts. Just ask Harrison Ford - he waxed his chest and demonstrated just how close forests are to his heart.

Sustainable management of forests, not simply trees or more recycling, is what Rainforest Alliance’s executive director Tensie Whelan recently advocated for in GreenBiz and she’s right: while recycling has its environmental limits, sustainably managed forests as a whole ensure the well-being of the forest ecosystem and biodiversity survival for generations to come.

But back to the office drawing board, far removed from the realities of logging triggered orangutan extinction brinks, we need to find practical ways to measure emissions and deforestation impacts from our supply chain before we can begin to live lighter on the earth.

And, that’s what Saas, a Software-as-a-Service solution to create a centralized data hub for the total supply chain costs, claims to do.

According to a study by the Aberdeen Group, “despite heightened attention in recent years, many companies still do not have timely visibility into the critical processes involved in global supply chain management.” The study noted that over of third of SaaS users reported a return on investment within six months and 65% saw ROI within a year.

In an instant gratification world, coupled with the forest and paper products industry’s concerns of continuing to source fibre (the biggest cost driver for the industry) cheaply in order to avoid having to put green paper products in a ‘premium cost’ pedestal, sustainable paper supply management is no walk in the park.

Those just getting their feet wet in tracking their company’s CO2 emissions and tree saving goals can consider Green Printer’s handy eco-calculator widget.

According to a recently released HAVAS Media report, consumers are more likely to scapegoat oil and fuel industries for their climate change havoc (no surprise here), while finance and media industries, who still consume paper sourced from virgin forests - a major climate change aggravator - continue to stay off the hook.

But it’s not their direct onus: according to the Washington, D.C.-based group Forest Trends, China (a major paper supplier to North American industries), continues to depend on virgin forests for its higher-quality paper, sourcing nearly 40 percent of wood and wood pulp from countries where good forest management cannot be assured, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region and, most recently, Africa.

But in the end, good paper policy is a lot about setting high standards in the board room. Standards are powerful stuff. Just ask Wal-Mart, that dark horse that rocked the global, paper supply chain system.

The uber-box retailer has “taken a “lifecycle approach” to packaging with objectives covering reduction in waste and renewable energy. Nine weighted parameters of Wal-Mart’s sustainability scorecard are measured for their prospective and current vendors.”

Financial whizzes can now show their bosses that the contracts don’t need to be printed on precious paper to be signed. That’s because Communication Intelligence Corporation (”CIC”) can play a role in moving the traditionally conservative industry one step closer to the coveted zero emissions office with its biometric signature verification technology.

And lastly, as with the great copy machine epidemic reported by Treehuger (subsequently thwarted by elementary school students in North Babylon), don’t be surprised if tree(forest)-conscious kids spring up across the country.

With more carbon partnerships from CarbonFund like Baby Rain Inc.’s stroller and tree planting collaboration, an offset supply chain is coming from a crib near you.

Save trees, time and money the eco-friendly way with our recycled paper, sustainable printing methods and eco-calculator with Green Printer - more details at http://www.greenprinteronline.com. Now, wasn’t that easy?

The big names cannot help but pump out more sustainable paper products on an almost weekly basis. From biology college textbooks gone green to carbon friendly greeting cards, we’ve rounded up the top ten green papier goods that caught our eye.

7. So, the FSC is not perfect. But it’s a start and it speaks volumes when office supply giants like Staples start to sell what most of us want to start using already in the copy machine: post-consumer waste paper.

6. Green textbooks are challenging Penn State University’s exam taking establishment. Talk about a YAWN generation.

5. Perfect for the green spy in your life? Xerox has got paper that erases in 24 hours.

4. From your hiking map to your grandma’s birthday letter: Chris Ryan, a publisher of outdoor recreation and guide books now buys up to 15 tons of outdated maps at a time to meet his customer’s demands from these premium quality, unique envelopes made from 100% post-consumer content.

3. Random House’s 2008 15% recycled paper policy: the one that triggered a short-term revenue decline and in the future (if the right CEO steps up to the plate) has the potential to paint the publishing world a darker shade of green.

2. Live lighter at the office by switching to 100% post-consumer waste paper and then showing off your CO2 and tree savings using Green Printer’s eco-calculator widget (we couldn’t resist a well-time “plug”!)

1. Verysupercool (yes, that is their real and uber-funky name) teams with CarbonFund.org to create the Greenest Little Greeting Card in Texas.

So, even while the mythical paperless office lures us with its green goodness, we still use and love our paper - printed on both sides, thankyouverymuch.

Save trees, time and money the eco-friendly way with our recycled paper, sustainable printing methods and eco-calculator with Green Printer - more details at http://www.greenprinteronline.com. Now, wasn’t that easy?

Image source: http://timblair.net | Lights out for Sydney, Australia 2007

An http://greenprinteronline.com dispatch. 

Earth Hour is tonight, March 29th from 8 to 9 pm. The idea is to turn off the lights as a symbolic gesture that us citizens, business owners, uber-corporations (hello, Google’s black screen, hello McDonalds in Toronto saving 10 000 kilowatt hours) local governments and non-profit groups are taking climate change seriously.

Despite gripes that Earth Hour falls on the NCAA basketball regional, it’s lights out for over 23 major cities worldwide like Toronto and Bangkok.

Globally, landmarks like Sydney Opera House, San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco’s Alcatraz prison and Chicago’s Sears Tower are also included in the event.

It’s been dubbed a WWF led “spread of soft fascism” and “a new-age, tooth-fairy delusion” by global warming skeptics (wow, they still exist?) and it has four million strong Facebook group following.

Whatever the goal behind WWF’s Earth Hour, it’s a positive message spurring many unexpected and inspiring actions like the {4 One Earth I Will} initiative in Vancouver, where local residents make a visual pledge to take action on climate change.

What’s more interesting than the beaten “soft fascism” idea is that with climate change becoming the new religion, Earth Hour has all reminisces of a vigil - a “ritual devotion observed on the eve of a holy day”.

For citizen groups, businesses, governments and your neighbors, it’s more than just sitting in the dark, it sends a message that “yes we take climate change seriously”.

So, keeping in line with the theme of buying local to reduce emissions, us Vancouverites at Green Printer want to give kudos to local businesses for flicking off, including:

1. Telus

2. BC Hydro

3. Small Energy Group - tracking the energy usage

4. Raincity Grill

5. Better Business Bureau of Vancouver Island

6. Jawl Properties Ltd.

7. Orion Homes Ltd.

8. Morguard Investments Ltd

And, it’s not just business, its entire communities too, who are taking action.

The 170 residents in the northern B.C., Canada town of Hartley Bay are taking Earth Hour’s mandate a step further and turning off their power generator for the hour. “No heat. Not lights. No nothing,” said Hartley Bay Coun. Cameron Hill, a member of the Gitga’at First Nation.

Save trees, time and money the climate friendly way with our recycled paper, sustainable printing methods and eco-calculator with Green Printer - more details at http://greenprinteronline.com. Now, wasn’t that easy?