When people talk about “sustainable offices,” it’s usually LED lights, reusable coffee cups, and maybe the odd roof garden. But here’s the kicker: your printers are doing more environmental damage than you think – and they’re doing it quietly, one unnecessary page at a time.
A proper green print policy doesn’t just trim the budget. It cuts carbon across three major fronts: less paper, less energy, and fewer service van visits. If your organisation is serious about reducing emissions – and especially your Scope 3 emissions – this is one of the quickest, most practical ways to make a dent.
Let’s break it down.
1. Less Paper: The Carbon Cost You Can’t See
Most of us still think of paper waste as a recycling problem. But recycling isn’t the issue – it’s how much carbon went into making the paper in the first place.
Every A4 sheet takes water, chemicals, logistics, and energy to exist. And when it’s printed, skimmed, and tossed in a bin 20 minutes later, all that embedded effort goes straight to waste.
What the numbers say:
- One A4 sheet = ~5g of CO₂ from production and distribution.
- An employee printing 10,000 pages/year = 50kg of CO₂ – about the same as driving a car 120 miles.
- Each sheet also guzzles 5–10 litres of water in its making. Multiply that across departments, and it adds up fast.
Now add this stat: around 30% of all print jobs are never collected. That’s not “overuse.” That’s pure waste.
The fix? Implement Pull Printing – where users must physically tap a badge at the printer to release a job. No tap? No print. The job deletes itself after 12–24 hours.
It’s the easiest paper-saving win you’ll ever get.
2. Less Energy: Cut the Power Drain of Idle Printers
If your office is full of desktop printers sitting quietly, don’t be fooled – they’re not asleep. They’re quietly nibbling at your energy bill.
Here’s what most offices forget:
- Laser printers draw 5–10 watts in standby mode.
- Multiply that by 50–100 machines across a building, running 24/7.
- Now factor in the power to produce the paper being fed into them.
It adds up.
But here’s where device consolidation changes the game. Replacing a dozen inefficient personal printers with a single, energy-efficient Multifunction Device (MFD) not only lowers consumption – it also reduces maintenance, toner waste, and warm-up cycles.
And let’s not forget this overlooked truth:
Making the paper uses more energy than printing on it. So if you’re digitising workflows (think e-signatures instead of print-sign-scan), you’re skipping that energy use entirely.
3. Fewer Service Calls: The Emissions No One Talks About
Here’s a stat that surprises most people: every time a printer breaks and a technician drives out to fix it, your company is racking up roughly 65kg of CO₂ – per visit.
That’s the fuel, the spare parts, the round trip, and the idling while they diagnose what’s wrong. It’s called a “truck roll,” and it’s one of the most carbon-heavy, least-tracked parts of office life.
What changes with Green Workflows:
- Remote monitoring tools now let engineers diagnose and fix many issues without leaving their desks.
- Predictive maintenance can bundle minor repairs into one efficient visit instead of three.
- And most importantly – lower print volumes mean less wear and tear, so machines break down less often in the first place.
Cut print volume by 20%, and you’ll likely cut service calls by the same amount. That’s fewer vans, fewer miles, and fewer emissions.
Summary: A Green Print Policy Attacks Carbon on All Sides
| Problem | Green Workflow Fix | Environmental Win |
| 30% of print jobs are never picked up | Secure Release (Pull Printing) | Saves paper, water, and CO₂ instantly |
| Dozens of idle desktop printers drawing power | Fleet Consolidation into MFDs | Cuts standby power usage by up to 40% |
| Printer breakdowns = technician van visits | Remote Monitoring + Predictive Maintenance | Reduces high-carbon service trips |
So, Why Aren’t More Offices Doing This?
Honestly? Because printing is invisible. It’s seen as “low priority” – until the toner runs out mid-meeting or the costs hit finance at year-end. But if your organisation has even basic sustainability goals, ignoring your printers is like trying to lose weight but never looking at what’s in your coffee.
This is low-hanging fruit. You don’t need new buildings or bold pledges. You need:
- One good print management platform
- A secure release system
- A cultural shift that says paper ≠ progress
The Takeaway
A proper Green Workflow policy isn’t just good PR. It’s smart decarbonisation, rooted in how your office actually runs every day. It cuts waste you didn’t know you had and emissions you never thought to count.
And best of all? It usually saves you money at the same time.
If your office is printing like it’s 2005, now’s the time to upgrade – for the planet, for your budget, and for your staff who are tired of fighting with jammed paper trays.
Need help getting started? We’ve helped hundreds of UK organisations cut print waste and cut emissions. Let us know what you need – or we can show you what’s possible.
