Note: Occasionally a client may opt to remove a piece, change strategies, go out of business, merge with another company, etc. In those cases, I do my best to put my latest version here. This piece was originally for Pharos.com. I’ve also included social media add-ons that were part of the project.
In today’s business environment, sustainability is no longer a nice to have. According to IDC Global Sustainability Research Lead Bjoern Stengel, corporate sustainability “is becoming a business imperative for organizations around the world.” When it comes to printing, the IDC predicts that 60% of managed print service buyers will rate sustainability as a major factor in choosing providers.
Meanwhile, more than a third of consumers worldwide are willing to pay more for products and services from environmentally conscious companies. In this landscape, everyone from customers to investors tends to consider sustainability when evaluating a company. Employees are even considering sustainability practices when choosing who to work for and whether to stay on.
This means more companies are eager to show how well they’re doing, fueling competition in this crucial area. As of 2020, 80% of global companies report on their sustainability efforts. Still, according to the Harvard Business Review, simply reporting may not be enough. That won’t fool your critical partners and customers for long, so here’s how you can make a real difference in your environmental impact by making your printing sustainable.
Benefits of Sustainable Printing
The benefits of sustainable printing are felt across the business and do more than just make you look good. Here are some of the biggest impacts sustainable printing can make.
Eco-friendly
The number one impact of sustainable printing is its positive impact on the environment. Sustainable printing reduces your carbon footprint, improving compliance with environmental regulations. Even a slight reduction in print volume can reduce paper and ink consumption, reduce transport, and cut energy use significantly.
Cost reduction and better productivity
Cartridges, toner, paper, and electricity cost money. So does time spent on maintaining outdated printers, servers, and driver software. Reducing this cost represents an easy win-win – cutting down on unnecessary environmental impact while simultaneously reducing your operating costs.
Sustainable print practices are also more efficient, which saves employees time and boosts productivity across the board. For example, when employees have to wait for driver updates or look for their job in a pile of abandoned printouts, time is wasted.
Improved brand image
Your brand’s reputation is crucial to your success. In today’s market, customers, investors, and employees alike care deeply about how companies affect the world. If you’re perceived as a business that wastes, you could find yourself with quickly diminishing status.
Developing a reputation for sustainability backed by real, demonstrable impact, creates goodwill with consumers. According to a 2021 report commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Google searches relating to sustainable goods rose a staggering 71% since 2016 and according to a 2022 survey from the Ashkin Group, “nearly 80% of U.S. consumers consider sustainability (of a product, the retailer, or the brand) when making at least some purchases.” In other words, sustainability not only helps your brand image – it’s becoming a branding necessity.
Adopting a Sustainable Printing Mindset
Sustainable printing isn’t complicated, and for savvy businesses, a sustainable printing mindset is no different than a smart fiscal mindset. Implementing these changes starts with knowing where you are and implementing best practices.
Audit printing practices
Before you can go anywhere, you need to know where you are. Take inventory of your workflows, printers, and servers. Note any unnecessary, expensive, or outdated legacy devices. Eliminating these devices is a great start to making your printing more sustainable.
Next, find out how much you’re printing, who’s doing the printing, and what it’s costing the company. If you find it difficult to get this data, you’ve found your first roadblock. The best way to gain these insights is with the help of a managed print services provider like Pharos.
This initial audit will reveal things like unauthorized printing, unnecessary printing like webpages or emails, and inefficient print practices like printing before documents are fully proofed.
Document best practices
Implementing some straightforward best practices for printing can reap immediate benefits, even before you make bigger changes. Try some of these policy changes going forward:
- Proof documents – Documents should be proofed and approved before printing to eliminate reprints.
- Print to PDF – Some documents don’t need printing. Forms, for example, can be printed to PDF and shared via email. Using scanned or electronic signatures means even contracts don’t necessarily need to be printed on paper.
- Don’t print webpages or emails – The fact is, webpages and emails aren’t meant to be printed. You can’t jump to hyperlinks or reply to emails on paper, and this kind of printing is wasteful not only because it’s unnecessary, but also because webpages and emails aren’t designed for printing. Large spaces, color images, and screen-based layouts mean printing this material spends more paper than it would in print-friendly formats.
Workforce education
No document policy works without employee education. Make sure employees are educated as to your document policies as well as why you have them. In addition to the best practices above, you can have employees use two-sided printing, enable color only when necessary, or reduce margins to fit more data on a page.
You should also educate employees on how to recognize when printing is not necessary and encourage them to let management know when they notice inefficient systems that create unnecessary paper.
Print management
Smart print management can reduce economic impact by automatically choosing the best methods for printing, like automatically printing double sided or redirecting jobs to the most energy-efficient device available. Plus, a managed printing can significantly improve security with secure release printing.
Put simply, secure release means documents don’t print until an employee is physically present at the printer to authenticate and release the job. This improves security since sensitive documents don’t sit in printer trays unattended. It also reduces unauthorized printing, further reducing waste and cost.
Secure release printing is also one of many ways managed print services can tighten print security. This is an important part of sustainability because breaches can cost time, money, and resources.
Analyze and optimize
Once you’ve implemented changes, return to testing. Since you started with a thorough audit, you now have a benchmark to compare against. Audit again and find out how much impact your changes have had. Ongoing analysis is even more helpful because it will allow you to make changes, re-evaluate, and determine which changes have had the most impact.
Data can also empower optimizations such as reduced consumables budget and the retirement of old, rarely used devices.
Get expert guidance
Sustainability in printing is simple – but implementing it can be complicated if your systems are large and well-worn. Many companies find themselves overwhelmed and don’t know where to begin – but you needn’t let that stop you.
Finding a great managed print services provider like Pharos is the best way to modernize your print systems and make them more sustainable, efficient, cost-effective, and secure. Whether you seek a consult or an ongoing partnership, getting expert help is often the quickest, most effective way forward.
How Cloud Printing Makes Printing More Sustainable
Cloud printing gives you access to a world of efficiency, allowing you to:
- Eliminate outdated printers, slow workflows, and print servers.
- Easily implement analytics to immediately gauge your impact and make improvements.
- Encrypt workflows for better security, reducing unauthorized printing
- Simplify workflows, even for remote employees.
In short, moving your print services to the cloud is the easiest way to implement all the changes you need to be sustainable.
How Pharos Can Help You Meet Sustainability Goals
For over 25 years, Pharos has been a pioneer of managed print services. We improve workflows, provide robust analytics, and eliminate waste from your print systems to bring your printing into the now, meaning your printing will be sleeker, more cost-effective, and ultimately more sustainable.
If you’re ready to find out how the right print partner can make your printing more sustainable, contact us at Pharos and request your demo of Pharos Cloud today.
FAQs
Is cloud printing sustainable?
Yes! In fact, cloud printing is the quickest way to implement modern, efficient sustainable printing practices.
How do we make our printing more sustainable?
Start by assessing where you are, then implement simple document policies like double-sided printing and eliminating unnecessary printing, then move on to improving efficiency, eliminating outdated devices, and reducing volume. The easiest way to get started is to get help from an expert partner like Pharos.
How will sustainable printing affect our bottom line?
It will help it! Sustainable printing means reduced use of consumables and energy, as well as more efficient workflows and better productivity – all of which will reduce cost and boost ROI.
Does sustainable printing cost more?
It’s a common fear that implementing sustainable practices will cost more, but when it comes to printing, nothing could be farther from the truth. Reducing output, shoring up security, and making print workflows efficient means your printing costs can plummet.