“Carbon credits are recognised reductions or absorptions of carbon. Credits should be certified and recognised by a certificate owned by the individual or company who has created the greenhouse gas saving. Over time, companies or individuals who create more certificates than they need can sell these to others wanting to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.”[i]

Both commercial and non-profit organisations throughout Australia run carbon credit schemes, where you pay a certain amount, generally between $2.50 and $3.00 per tree needed to offset your emissions, for the company to plant trees on your behalf.

Where the organisation is non-profit, your donation is 100% tax deductible.

The aim of these schemes is to make you ‘carbon neutral’ by planting enough trees to remove the same amount of carbon from the air as you are producing. This will help to reduce global warming.

Read More »»

More and more corporate executives are informing themselves about recycling, carbon footprint and sustainability issues, which is why we’ve developed a series of articles to help you navigate through all the jargon.

Global warming seems to be what everyone is talking about at the moment. Even politicians, who have for so long avoided discussing it, are starting to take a stand as they realise how important this issue is becoming to voters.

In a recent survey of businesses by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 100% of respondents said that they viewed climate change as strategically significant to their organisation in the next five years.[i]

Large corporations are instituting environmentally sound plans, looking at ways to cut their emissions and to ensure they can answer increasingly difficult consumer questions about their commitment to the environment.

It’s not as easy to develop an all-encompassing environmental plan. However, the current focus on this subject is bringing many new options to light, such as carbon offset schemes. These schemes allow you to pay a non-profit company a certain, tax deductible amount (dependent on the size of your carbon footprint) and they will plant trees to offset your emissions.

What is a carbon footprint?

“A Carbon Footprint is a measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of green house gases produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide.”

“Carbon footprints represent the effect of human activities on the climate in terms of the quantity of greenhouse gases generated through individual lifestyle choices.

“When you drive your car, take a flight or turn on a light, you produce carbon dioxide emissions that add to global warming.”

Your carbon footprint is made up of two parts: your direct footprint and your indirect footprint.

What is a DIRECT carbon footprint?

Your direct footprint measures emissions from the fossil fuels burned in order to deliver the amount of energy you use (electricity and gas) and to power the transportation (car, bus, train, plane) that you use regularly.

What is an INDIRECT carbon footprint?

Your indirect footprint measures the emissions from everything else – from your garbage through to your business equipment – from their manufacturing through to what it takes for them to eventually degrade.

Why does YOUR carbon footprint matter?

While Climate Change has been a topic of conversation for some time, recent climate-related issues, such as Australia’s drastic water shortage, have made it a subject people can no longer ignore.

More and more, consumers are looking at the ways in which the companies they choose to do business with are affecting the environment. This isn’t a passing fad – it’s a recognition by the general public that something must be done now to combat these environmental issues and that every one of us has a part to play in fixing the planet.

It won’t be long before those businesses who don’t recognise this huge change in public perception begin to feel the economic impacts of not being seen as a ‘green company’.

Stay tuned for additional definitions and clarifications on this new component that needs to be considered within your Printer Fleet Management decisions and deployments.

[i] PriceWaterhouseCoopers, “Carbon Conscious: Survey of executive opinion on climate change in Australia”, December 2006

This is a question that many clients ask. Check out these 3 cases… It’s quite surprising isn’t it? In future posts, we’ll address how you can reduce your carbon footprint when it comes to Printer Fleet Management.

How Big Is Your Carbon Footprint?

What Is Your Carbon Footprint?

Are you an Environmental Pirate or Evangelist?

For every ‘Yes’, give yourself 1 point.

What your score means:

1-3:            You’re an Environment Pirate! Your lack of attention to your energy usage is probably costing you hundreds of dollars every year.

4-7:            You have Environmental Amnesia! You know that the environment is important and you try to do the right thing … but sometimes you get so caught up in life that you just forget about it. Check out our tips below to help keep you get back and stay on track.

8-10:            You’re an Environment Evangelist! You are very aware of the environment and the damage that high levels of energy consumption can have – both on the planet and on your wallet!

How to improve your rating AND save money!

So, you’re an Environment Pirate.  Your lack of energy efficiency isn’t only bad for the environment – it’s costing you money! The following table shows how you could be saving hundreds of dollars every year, with next to no time investment, by changing a couple of simple things:

Ask your energy company whether they have a scheme whereby you can invest in renewable energy sources.

How to cure Environmental Amnesia: You’re on the right track. Your energy efficiency levels are okay, but it can be easy to forget some of the things that you know you should be doing! Here are a few tips to help you stay on track:

• Put signs above light switches reminding you to turn them off when you leave the room.
• Got kids? Why not make washing up by hand and hanging out clothes part of their weekly chores?
• Buy an air conditioner with a timer so that you can set it to turn off automatically just before you go to bed.
• Buy a weekly bus / train / public transport ticket – you’re less likely to be tempted to drive to work if you’ve already paid for your ticket.

Environment Evangelists: Rejoice! It’s the environment evangelists of the world who will help to ensure there is a planet here for all of us. Even so, here are some suggestions of things you can do:

• If you haven’t already, consider joining a carbon offset scheme where non-profit organisations charge you a small amount to plant trees on your behalf in order to offset your carbon emissions.

• Don’t keep what you’re doing to yourself – share it with others and inspire more people to become environment evangelists! Write an article on the things you’ve done that other people could replicate. Send it to your clients and suppliers. You could also submit it to trade or industry association publications. Then, use your environmental initiatives to inspire others by organising a promotional contest.

*            Savings are approximations based on a three bedroom house and using http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/howmuch.html and http://www.uic.com.au/nip37.htm to calculate approximate energy usage and price, respectively.