Don’t let corporate ignorance cause a paper jam

The Paper Manufacturers Association of South Africa (PAMSA) is calling on businesses to change their attitude to paper during Green Office Week (22-26 April) by shredding the misconceptions they have about paper.

Day in, day out, we are faced with messages about the harm that paper does to our environment. More often than not, these messages can be found in two places: at the bottom of emails and from service providers informing you of their move from postal to electronic distribution of documents. Continue reading →

Pulling the plug on the digital vs paper debate

It is time for the South Africans to take stand against the myths and misinformation, and broaden our knowledge of the truth and scientifically proven facts.

While we cannot dispute the convenience and immediacy of having annual reports on our company websites and our latest bank statement emailed to us, we have to ensure that electronic information is not ‘green-washed’. In the case of your bank statement being sent straight to your inbox, it is simply about reducing cost (to the service provider) and improving convenience to you as the user. It is certainly not about ‘going green’. Continue reading →

Paper vs digital – Let’s get Stern about the facts

Ahead of Earth Hour on 31 March 2012, here are a few facts about the impact of digital communications versus its paper counterpart. So next time you need to read a really long document, it’s probably better to print it out.

Sir Nicholas Stern, head of the Government Economic Service in the United Kingdom, released the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change in 2006. This tackled the effects of climate change and global warming on the world economy.

He used the 700-page document to demonstrate how paper and print have a better environmental footprint than electronic communications.

- Printing the Stern Review emits 85g of carbon dioxide (one copy can be read over and over again without further emissions).

- Reading the Stern Review on a computer for one hour emits 226g of carbon dioxide every time.

- Burning the Stern Review to CD is estimated to emit 300g of carbon dioxide for every copy, while burning it to DVD is estimated to produces 350g of carbon dioxide for every copy.

Stern notes that sending 50kb via e-mail causes the same emission as posting a 10g item, with all its fossil fuel consumption in mail delivery etc.

The big difference is that reading an item on a computer emits greenhouse gases at the rate of 3.8g of carbon dioxide per minute. Reading a piece of paper results in no additional emissions.

By all means, opting for electronic billing but do not label as ‘going green’. It is simply about reducing cost (to the service provider) and improving convenience to you as the user.