Why Paper Choices Matter and What You Can Do About It

Blog by Julie Urlaub, Founder and Managing Partner at Taiga Company
Sep 2, 2010 10:50 AM ET

Taiga Company Blog

Take a guess at the number of pages the average worker uses in one year?  According to reduce.org, it's a shocking 10,000 pages of paper per year.  With that being said, paper choices matter.  

As explained in our business sustainability programs, producing paper from virgin fiber is both energy and water intensive.  It releases significant amounts of greenhouse gases into our atmosphere.  By choosing to use less paper and paper with recycled content you are making the choice to save wood, water and energy, and cut pollution and solid waste.   The costs savings add up and the environmental impact goes down.      Small business resources are available to assist in making better paper choices.  One option includes Environmental Defense Fund's Paper Calculator.   We frequently use this tool in our business sustainability consulting because it helps to quantify the benefits of better paper choices by showing the environmental impacts of different papers across their full lifecycle. 

Take it a step further and move towards a paperless office.  A long term benefit to incorporating sustainable business practices of going paperless re-orients thought processes of workers and business approaches to view other areas of the business with a sustainable mindset.  In addition, the sustainability concepts learned at work are often implemented at home expanding eco awareness beyond the workplace.  Click here to continue reading.

 





Home to one third of the earth's trees, the Taiga is the largest land-based biosphere and encircles the globe. Its immense oxygen production literally changes the atmosphere and refreshes the planet. It is this continuous renewal that has shaped Taiga Company's vision to drive similar change in the business world. Taiga Company seeks to be the "oxygen for your business".



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