In the spirit of being “green,” let me begin by stating that no trees were harmed in the writing of this blog.  With the power of the internet, no longer is paper really needed to disseminate information (sorry local newspaper).  However, paper is still a critical part of typical business processes in many companies today, and for the most part, it doesn’t have to be.  If you want your office to be more “green,” it’s easy.  Let Advance help you implement an Electronic Document Management solution. We call it Document Management by Advance and it’s all the rage in Baltimore.

Click here to learn about how we can help your office safely manage the lifecycle of its documents – from creation to storage.

 

Yet, there will always be a need to output some level of paper, right?  Certainly.  So, why not make sure the vendor you partner with for document output solutions represents manufacturers on the leading edge of best practices for sustainability.

Advance proudly represents the numbers 1 and 2 most globally distributed MFP (Multi-Functional Printer) manufacturers in Canon and Ricoh/Savin.  Both have very strong, documented, environmental programs and are among the most respected manufacturers in the industry.

Canon’s Corporate Environmental System focuses on three fundamental strategies:  Resource Conservation, Energy Conservation and Elimination of Hazardous Substances.  Canon is among the world’s largest ISO-14001 certificate holders with 700+ locations that are certified.  (ISO-14001 is the internationally recognized standard that provides the framework for an organization to develop its own Environmental Management System.  It offers a systematic way to help reduce the risk an individual product or organization may have on the environment, with special focus on energy consumption, use of natural resources, and the paper handling and treatment of waste.  Certification is achieved through an external audit by an accredited 3^rd party registrar.) Canon pioneered the collection of used toner bottles in 1990 and its cartridge recycling program is still going strong today.  Canon’s other “green” innovative technologies include:  using 100% recycled plastics and bio-based plastics, creating smaller and lighter designs to help improve transportation efficiency, developing low power consumption in sleep mode, creating lower fusing temperatures, limiting warm up times, and developing long life parts and supplies.  Because of these features, Canon was recently awarded the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s 2011 Energy Star Award for Excellence in Energy Efficient Product Design.  Also, in 2011, Canon has partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation to help give back to the environment.  From January 1^st through June 30^th, Canon will plant a tree for every imageRUNNER ADVANCE model sold.  Canon also promotes end of life collection and remanufacturing of their business products, whenever possible.

Ricoh/Savin has excellent environmental programs that are very similar to Canon.  They have also achieved ISO-14001 certification in all of their manufacturing facilities worldwide.  In fact, the majority of their non-manufacturing facilities, including sales and service offices, have achieved ISO-14001 certification as well.  Ricoh/Savin focuses its efforts in Resource Conservation and Recycling, Energy Conservation, Pollution Prevention and Consumer Education.  Through processes based on “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle,” Ricoh/Savin is able to utilize zero-waste-to-landfill operations.  Ricoh/Savin, also like Canon, uses post consumer recycled plastics and designs products with energy efficient features such as quick start up technology, low power consumption in sleep mode, and low fixing temperatures.  Many current Ricoh/Savin models advertise that they consume fewer kilowatts per hour of energy in a typical work week than a 100 watt light bulb operating for 40 hours.  Ricoh/Savin offers a toner recycling program to promote a resource recirculating society, and has achieved Version 1.1 Energy Star qualifications for its entire current line of multifunctional products, representing the latest technology in energy efficiency.  In addition, Ricoh/Savin has a strong de-manufacturing program which can recover an average of 98.5% of materials used in its equipment.  Recovered commodities include steel, aluminum, glass, plastic, copper, paper, and toner.

So while it may seem counter-intuitive to say that machines designed to produce paper output can be “green,” you can see that manufacturers such as Canon and Ricoh/Savin are leading the industry in best practices for sustainability.  And if you want to talk with an Advance representative to learn more about being “green” through electronic document workflow solutions, give us a call.  After all, “We Live and Breathe This Stuff.”