Research shows paper waste up and environmental concern down

Research conducted by Loudhouse on behalf of Kyocera has shown that levels of environmental concern among the UK’s office workers have fallen over the past two years, while the amount of printing carried out has increased. Here is a summary of what they found:

The average office worker goes through 10,000 sheets of paper per year, of which 6,800 are considered to be “wasted”.
Forty percent of respondents described themselves as “paper people” indicating that despite the increasing availability of alternative technology such as tablet PCs and e-readers our love affair with the printed page is far from over.
The percentage of UK employees stating that they were personally concerned about environmental issues fell from a peak of 77% in 2008 to 63% in 2010.

Environmental focus

The economic downturn appears to have had little negative effect on environmental initiatives being carried out by organisations, with 25% of respondents stating that they had actually carried out more environmental activities than originally planned as a result of a focus on reducing energy costs
65% of IT Managers are required to report on the IT performance of their networks, although only 49% conduct an energy audit. Smart investment
Cost remains the primary driver in IT investment for the majority of organisations , but environmental considerations are considered “important” in 35% of businesses. This is a strong indication of the alignment between cost-saving and energy-saving initiatives that has occurred over the past 18 months.

Smart investment

Cost remains the primary driver in IT investment for the majority of organisations , but environmental considerations are considered “important” in 35% of businesses. This is a strong indication of the alignment between cost-saving and energy-saving initiatives that has occurred over the past 18 months.