A successful company is likely to use a lot of paper and a lot of energy. A lot of this paper and energy is sometimes wasted. Many consumers now look at the carbon footprint of a company before they consider buying from it. It is important for a business to try and minimise its waste and minimise its carbon footprint not only to help the environment but also to draw in new customers. Being environmentally friendly is now a marketing tool as well as a scientific request and companies should embrace this because it is very easy to become environmentally friendly.
One way of minimising waste paper is to only print on demand. This means that instead of printing lots of flyers or brochures that may get thrown away after an event is over or a certain product is sold out, you only print the amount you need and then print more if necessary. Digital printing has made on demand printing very quick and easy as a business can order prints via email and usually pick them up the next day, if not the same day! Printing on demand reduces the amount of paper that gets thrown away.
If businesses are using colour printing to advertise their products then one option is to only use short run colour printing. This means that again they will not be throwing away paper if they have not used it. A duplex colour printer should always be used to get more information on one sheet of paper instead of using double the amount. Duplex printing not only helps the environment, it also saves the company money as they do not have to buy as much paper.
If a company does have a lot of waste paper they should be sure to recycle it and not just throw it away. Paper can be recycled almost anywhere so a business has no excuse to not recycle their waste. Some businesses also only use recycled paper to begin with as this is good for the environment and does not cost the business more money.
While many businesses are environmentally friendly these days, not all can boast that they only work with other companies who care about the environment. If you outsource your printing you should consider working with a digital printing company that uses recycled paper and recycles its own waste as this can be a huge marketing opportunity for both of your businesses.