The document provides tips for reducing paper usage in offices through the "3 E's" - being economical, environmental, and efficient. It recommends printing double-sided to cut costs in half, as well as tips like using electronic forms instead of paper, only printing necessary pages, keeping forms updated, and setting defaults to print double-sided. Implementing these paper-saving techniques can benefit the environment by reducing the impact of paper production and waste, as well as increase business efficiency.

1. PAPER CONSERVATION TIPS
Marvin L. Culajara
Paper Conservation Program Team Leader
10/9/13

2. The 3 E’s
 Economical
 Environmental
 Efficient
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3. The 3 E’s
Economical
Saving paper saves money!
If 1 sheet of white paper cost 0.25 cent,
then think! If all employees use a double
sided the cost will be cut to half, that is
savings.
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4. The 3 E’s
Environmental
Saving paper reduces our impact
 Paper is an office necessity for some essential tasks, but it has
an environmental cost. Creating paper from trees requires a lot of
natural resources: trees, water, and energy.
 It takes more than 1½ cups of water to make one sheet of paper.
 Over 40% of wood pulp goes toward the production of paper.
 Reducing paper use reduces greenhouse gases: 40 reams of
paper is like 1.5 acres of pine forest absorbing carbon for a year.
 Even with recycling efforts, paper makes up over 25% of our
garbage.
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5. The 3 E’s
Efficient
Saving paper increases efficiency
Paperwork! It brings to mind filling out unnecessarily
complicated forms. Electronic forms can now make
that job easier and more efficient. Businesses that
have converted to electronic forms and filing systems
have found that it takes less time to both find and
process information. This doesn't mean that electronic
forms should replace all paper. In some instances,
paper will be the best tool, but most businesses find
that reducing their paper use increases their efficiency.
Whenever we have fewer sheets of paper in our
offices, we spend less time looking for those that are
misplaced or lost.
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6. Tips for reducing office paper waste
Use both sides
• Use the front and back of a piece of paper and cut your
paper use and costs in half.
• Set computer defaults to print double-sided.
• Make double-sided copies when possible.
• Give it a second chance: Use paper printed on only
one side in your fax machine, for draft copies or
internal documents, or as scratch paper
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7. Think before you print or copy
• Sometimes it is necessary for documents to be printed. Print
responsibly.
• Preview documents before printing. Use the print preview to
spot formatting errors and blank pages before you print.
Proofread first, and use the spell/grammar tool to help avoid
errors that can cause documents to be reprinted.
• Print only the pages you need. If only a few pages of the
document are needed, print only those pages instead of the
whole report. Most software programs provide this option
under the print function.
• Promote a "think before you copy" attitude. Consider sharing
some documents with co-workers. Print only the number of
copies needed for the meeting, don't make extras.
10/9/13

8. Go electronic
• Route memos and newsletters that employees should see,
but do not need to keep. That way newsletters and other
documents can be shared rather than copied.
• Use revision features in word processing software. You can
edit documents on screen instead of printing out drafts and
making hand-written comments.
• Send information electronically. Use e-mails instead of fax or
mailed letters when possible. It's faster.
• Fit more words onto each page (e.g., smaller font, narrower
margins). Simply changing the default margins from 1.25" to
1" can reduce the amount of paper you use by up to 8%. Use
a space-efficient font like Times New Roman.
• Create an electronic filing system for quick, easy retrieval.
10/9/13

9. Keep forms and lists up-to-date
• Reduce unwanted mail. Much of the marketing
mail that your office receives is discarded
immediately, and you foot the bill for recycling or
disposal, not to mention the time it takes to sort
and deliver mail. Cut down on the amount of
unwanted mail by keeping your employees' names
off of mail lists to begin with.
• Eliminate unnecessary forms. Sometimes
documents become obsolete and are no longer
needed. If forms are still needed consider making
them electronic.
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10. Be nice to your copier...
And your copier will be nice to you. Keep copiers and
printers in good repair and make it policy to only buy
copiers and printers that make reliable double-sided
copies. Let your copier maintenance person know when
a copier is performing poorly (toner is low, jams
frequently, etc.). Regular copier maintenance is
important, especially if the toner is low. Copiers are often
used until all the toner is gone and that wears down
machines. A copier that works well is less likely to jam
and this helps save paper!
10/9/13

11. Compound savings
• Think about that 10-page, single-sided
report you're dropping in the mail. You
need an extra stamp, don't you? Take that
same report and send it double-sided.
Now you've cut your paper cost in half,
and you don't need to pay the extra
postage.
10/9/13

12. Why to save paper? Isn’t
Recycling Enough?
To really have an impact we need the 3 R’s,
use 100% recycled paper, combined with an
effort to reduce printing could cut greenhouse
gas emissions by half or about 750 tones each
year, equivalent to taking 130 cars of the road.
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13. REDUCE
• Reducing means using less. If you don’t need to print
something, then don’t. Or if you can print double-sided,
which means using only half as much paper as printing
single-sided, then print double-sided! We as a society
use way too much paper – we can use a lot less without
really being affected. Remember the old saying from
elementary school – “waste not want not”? You can
save money and the environment by reducing your use
of paper.
10/9/13

14. REUSE
• Re-using mean encouraging employees to
save and reuse paper printed on only one side
at their desks. Collect paper that has been
printed on one side for reuse in copiers and
other office communication. Also, use the one-
sided or double-sided paper to make scratch
pads. Making ¼-, ½-, size scratch pads is simple
and easy. Always think “two side is better than
one”
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15. RECYCLING
• Recycling involves two things: (1) using
recycled paper instead of regular virgin paper
with no post-consumer waste content (and the
higher the percent of recycled content the
better), and (2) recycling all paper used so that
it’s turned back into paper for future use instead
of ending up in the dump (where it releases
greenhouse gasses while it decomposes).
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16. Being RESPONSIBLE
involves all of the above, as well
as being responsible in other
ways.
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17. THANK YOU!!!
10/9/13