Spring sprang with a vengeance in April, and despite the bouts of Spring fever, we took our laptops outside to enjoy the new season while keeping the posts flowing.
No foolishness here… just good stories from the wide world of sustainability. Here’s a few of our best…
April 2008
All companies like to say they are “green,” but Xerox is putting numbers behind it. Its “2008 Report on Global Citizenship” provides a year-over-year look at its progress toward its goals toward corporate social responsibility.
Among the highlights:
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By Chris Milton •
September 9, 2008
Bosch, Du Pont and Xerox have joined the Eco Patent Commons, an international effort to speed up the progress of sustainable development.
Their paticipation brings the number of free patents available for use by anyone in the world to 69, more than doubling the original number.
Hosted by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) the Commons was established in January this year by IBM, Nokia, Pitney Bowes and Sony in response to a growing dilemma among large businesses.
Most of my discussion last week with Patty Calkins, VP of Environment, Health, and Safety at Xerox, focused on her company’s efforts in the realm of sustainable business… so, not necessarily “ecopreneurial” material. As “document management” is a concern for any business owner, small or large, I made sure to address entrepreneurial issues with her. Specifically, I gave her a scenario: I’m the owner of a green start-up, and want to implement as many sustainable practices as possible while watching costs. How do I balance these priorities in terms of printing, paper use, and the energy costs that come with them?
It turns out (fortuitously … I didn’t know this up front) that Xerox was planning to release a series of tips on this topic this week in anticipation of Earth Day. That information was released today:
- Cut paper use. Make two-sided prints and copies using the “duplex” function, print multiple images per page, and print only the quantity you need at the time you need it. Saving paper also saves energy: Environmental Protection Agency estimates say it takes 10 times more energy to manufacture a piece of paper than to create another print or copy.
- Recycle the paper you use, and use recycled paper. Install bins in several office locations to make it easy to collect paper for recycling or for reuse as notepaper. And commit to purchasing recycled paper – it can meet the same performance specifications as non-recycled paper.
Can a company that manufactures copy machines, and sells more paper than any other single brand, really walk the talk on sustainable business practices?
That question framed my response to an offer to talk with Patty Calkins, Vice President of Environment, Health and Safety at Xerox Corp. After all, don’t copy machines “[consume] vast amounts of water, paper, and energy…?” I’ve seen numerous press releases on environmental issues from the company whose name is now synonymous with “photocopying,” but I was still skeptical: isn’t this still a business model built on heavy inputs of energy and paper?
Patty and I talked on the phone last Wednesday (April 9), and, as in other situations, my reservations were addressed directly and concretely. I had forwarded a version of the above question prior to our talk, so she was ready for me. Among the company initiatives she detailed for me:
