Earth Day and Copiers? Seriously?
Let's be real, copiers and Earth Day are not really compatible. We can talk about copiers being better for the environment, in a relative sense, but it's not like any of them are neutral or good for the environment. First of all, what can you do that simple today? You may want to take this Powerpoint slide and encourage your office to duplex print! When it comes to efforts in the area of eco-friendliness, I would have to say there are essentially 3 manufacturers who have pushed the industry as a whole to be more ecologically efficient and therefore deserve some attention today.
The first manufacturer is HP. HP was coming up with recycling programs years before other manufacturers were and were re-using plastics long before others were. Some will argue they did this because of the cost savings, but who says you can't save money and save the planet at the same time? I think people who say this are hoping to put a black eye on an obvious market leader when it comes to the ecological emphasis rather than looking at the facts and giving HP its due in this important area.
The next manufacturer that has consistently been cognizant of Earth issues has been Kyocera Mita. I have been the most impressed with Kyocera because of their consistency in this area. When I went to Dallas, they were not even willing to let us throw away our coffee cup… They made us all recycle them. I thought the people from El Paso were going to have a coronary… I thought, wow… they do take recycling very seriously. Now when you look at their ridiculously long sustainability report, you will see they actually have some plants with zero emmission ratings! When it comes to their products, if you search this blog site for "ozone," you will find articles on how their equipment does not produce ozone. They have a drum free cartridge system which can reduce total waste tenfold.
Finally, not to mention Xerox would be a little crazy as they have been pushing extremely hard on the environmental sustainability area. First of all, they have their wax based printers which uses non-toxic materials and much much less waste than it's competitor's (or its own) color laser printers. One good measure that Xerox isn't just all talk is they did make the EPA's climate leader list. Xerox foes a great job integrating technology and drivers to reduce actual paper printed, which seems a tad odd to me given they are the largest copier paper sales group in the country… Nevetheless, they do a great job overall and have done a great job putting together resources and helps for any company who wants to go more green. Xerox has so many resources, I don't even want to start listing them all, instead I will direct you to their environment health and safety page.
I hope you take some time to consider your footprint on the planet today and if you do need a copier here in Denver, please give us a call and we can help you with whichever device makes the most sense for your organization!
A great recycler if you need a reference here in Denver or Boulder is GRX. They do a far better job than most recycling companies as over 95% of the materials they take in goes straight back into the manufacturing stream and not to Africa or Asia! They have the highest environmental standards of any recycling company I have been able to find anywhere in Colorado! GRX made me aware of their certification with the Basal Action Network, a group who would like to make this copier industry much greener and I support their efforts as it is sad to see some of the things that go on in terms of end of life of equipment. Please take a moment to look over their website!
