For the past several years, corporations have been promoting the launch of every new sustainability program, from employee engagement initiatives to renewable energy-powered operations. So 2010 is an interesting year for Green Printer to see the results of these decisions on the shop floor and in the boardroom.

In a very interesting article, Eco-Coach’s Anca Novacovici talks about how corporations like 3M and the Grossman Marketing Group reaped tangible but windfall gains, savings, and customer praise by choosing the greener path.

“Going green can… fatten up the top line. Grossman Marketing Group, a $30 million (sales) marketing manufacturer, decided to spend up to $4,000 each year to ease the strain on the nation’s power grid by purchasing from renewables—energy “credits” from two California wind farms. Adding 5% to his energy bill didn’t save Grossman any money at the time, but it did attract green customers like Google and Green Mountain Coffee. envelopes, representing 45% of Grossman’s bottom line: grew 20% in 2007, which is a pretty good return on a $4,000 investment!”

The biggest? “Since 3M instituted water and energy efficiencies, they’ve saved over a billion dollars,” Novacovici says.

What about the other unexpected revenue consumption expense a business can face? Impression. According to the Gartner Group, between 1 and 3 percent of corporate revenue is spent on printing. Seen from another angle, the average employee prints 12,000 pages a year. This can cost a business up to $1,000 per person in toner.

Results from a CitiGroup Environmental Defense Study estimated that the average employee uses 10,000 sheets of paper per year and the actual cost of printing is 13 to 31 times the purchase price of waste paper, or $0.06 to $0.13 per page. At the low end of that range, printing for the average employee costs the company $600 per year and at the high end $1,300. A significant portion of this cost goes to pages employees never intended to. print. In fact, a study by Lexmark found that an average of 17% of everything was considered waste: pages the user didn’t want.

Consider, too, how our office choices contribute or detract from a better quality of life. After all, what good are our lifestyles or even our vacations if we can’t enjoy the forests, clean water, and fresh mountain air?

Discouraged already? Start small. The University of Western Australia’s Ecosystem Services FAQ page states that “every 100 reams of recycled office paper that is printed double-sided saves two trees, more than a tonne of greenhouse gases and almost a cubic meter of landfill space compared to 100 reams of paper that is not recycled or double-sided.

Dispelling the myths of green printing We debunked the myths of green printing in the past. Still, the initial investment to start printing in a more sustainable way can be daunting. To newcomers, words like “no chlorine process” and “vegetable inks” sound like gourmet organic food (read: a blow to the corporate account) next to plain old virgin paper. So, we investigate. What exactly makes the cost difference between traditional and sustainable printing, paper and ink processes?

Paul Kuck of TechSoup.org writes a great article and says “Vegetable-based inks are often priced competitively with petroleum-based inks; carbon-neutral printing is no more expensive than traditional methods; and many papers recycled, TCF and ECF are in fact less expensive than virgin.”

If, particularly as a start-up or nonprofit, the initial investment to green your marketing and design is still more expensive than you previously expected, then Kuck has this very helpful tip: (please tick the following)

1. Consolidate

Instead of running four email campaigns a year, try sending three green campaigns. The positive publicity generated by going green can actually improve response rates, and you’re more likely to get the most out of what you send out. Or, offset the costs with creativity: “Design multifunctional projects, for example, automail/program combos, to save money by using more expensive paper,” Dynamic Graphics suggests in its Printing Green article. “Also, combining projects whenever possible is a good idea; one idea is to print business cards and postcards with the same recycled paper.”

2. Bypass the middleman

Getting and managing a print project isn’t as complicated as it might seem and will help you avoid the high markups of graphic designers. Ask your designer to send you print-ready files, then work with the printer to deliver and test them. Explain that you are a non-profit organization trying to save money – many printers will be happy to help you through the process. Alternatively, some designers may even be willing to forgo markup when they know they’re supporting a good cause.

3. Share the glory

Another way to offset costs is to ask a provider to participate. Some printers will cut their price if they can put your logo on the part, and many will do it discreetly. Similarly, you can ask one of your sponsors to help cover costs in exchange for a small promotion on the piece.

4. Keep it exclusive

Re-nourish founder and University of Illinois design professor Eric Benson notes that some printers will offer discounts if you bring all (or most) of your business to them. “Choosing a printer to exclusively print your literature can result in a contract that can lower costs the more work you send them,” he said.

Have you been there, done that? For the entrepreneurs and business owners who yawn at the cue for another byte of “print on both sides” sound, here are several original tips we found from Neil Tilley.

1. Try to scan and reconsider what really needs to look like on paper. Split documents into two parts: should they be stored or moved around the organization? 2. Consider sending electronic faxes. “If you’re still using analog (phone line) fax machines, you’re printing more than you need. Offered as a feature on most print/copy multifunction devices, electronic faxing not only reduces paper , but also reduces telephone transmission costs and the amount of electricity used by a stand-alone fax machine.” 3. Why not electronic forms? “Get rid of preprinted stationery (like invoices and letterhead) and replace it with electronic forms. One benefit is that you can quickly make updates without throwing out outdated documents.”

Another reason to rethink the use of paper in the office? More office space for the things that really matter, like a beautiful and spacious entrance area for clients.

David R. Wetzel says that “[paper] Filing systems take up a considerable percentage of office space. With less paper used and stored, a business can move to a smaller office. Filing less paper also reduces the cost of long-term storage of documents.”

Want to know how much greenhouse gases, trees, and wastewater you can save by using affordable, eco-friendly paper products? Discover and track your organization’s environmental savings today using our green calculator and using green printing services like brochure printing, postcard printing, banner printing and much more.