From Printer to Forest: How Does PrintReleaf Work?
Thinking of New Year’s resolutions for 2020? How about this: Next year, try planting a tree for every page that the office prints. Sound ambitious? It is, but it’s not unrealistic all. There’s a company out there not only trying to make it happen, but they’re making it easy for businesses to participate no matter how large or small they are. Meet PrintReleaf. Along with their partners, they’ve planted over one million trees since they got started in 2014.
PrintReleaf is an innovative reforestation initiative that helps connect companies with forests around the world. Read on to discover how it’s providing value for companies and the earth alike.
How It Works: Offsetting Paper Consumption with Reforestation
PrintReleaf is a tracking program for paper usage across an entire company. It was built to help companies offset their paper consumption with automatic reforestation. It harvests paper data from sources like print management suites and printer meters to measure the company’s total paper consumption over time. For every 8,333 letter pages counted (PrintReleaf calculated the average paper yield per tree), the software automatically purchases one tree to plant at a global location of the office’s choosing.
A Holistic Solution for the Office and the Earth
PrintReleaf is commonly used by offices that are actively reducing the environmental impact of their printing environment. While PrintReleaf doesn’t control or reduce printing in any way, it does make a powerful first step that companies can take to reduce their overall reliance on printers.
As a cloud-based service, PrintReleaf takes advantage of the high degree of integration and connectivity frequently seen in modern offices today. A library of powerful APIs allows users to find the tools they need to integrate PrintReleaf with the native print environment no matter what platforms or devices they’re currently using.
Each system, device or program feeds data directly to PrintReleaf. This allows companies to compile a full picture of the paper ecosystem within an office – they can see exactly where the biggest offenders lie, or what devices are underutilized or poorly configured.
Visibility is often one of the biggest stumbling blocks to reducing office waste. PrintReleaf not just helps companies offset their paper consumption, but is a solid first move for reducing printing all around.
Environmental and Social Impacts Built to Scale
Reforesting the world is a monumental task, and PrintReleaf empowers companies to take direct action towards this goal no matter how large or small they are. The PrintReleaf certification guarantees that all paper consumed is reforested back into a natural environment. It also guarantees that the net impact of the program is neutral – in other words, a company can, at worst, neutralize the impact of its paper consumption over time.
The Power of Accessibility
PrintReleaf designed its platform to make printing sustainability accessible to as many companies as possible. There are no annual certification fees for companies that pursue the PrintReleaf certification, and the costs for print tracking generally run between one and two percent of a job. For most companies, PrintReleaf notes that the cost usually averages out to tenths of a cent per page if not less.
Companies also have the ability to choose the global forest in which they want their paper consumption invested. This choice may be changed at any time, or multiple locations may be selected. As of 2019, PrintReleaf works with seven reforestation locations across five continents.
Finally, PrintReleaf can run on its own. While a managed print service provider can configure and deploy it, companies don’t need an MPS plan to take advantage of this service.
Chain of Custody Certification
Companies that plan to use PrintReleaf long term may wish to take their paper consumption offset to the next level. The Chain of Custody (CoC) Certification helps them do exactly that. This certification guarantees supply chain assurance that the paper products used by a company come from certified sustainable forests.
To acquire this certification, the company must use CoC certified brands and stocks. It must also undertake initial and annual facility audits. Finally, there’s an annual fee associated with this certification. For companies with robust green initiatives, the CoC certification is a powerful and visible way to indicate their commitment to environmental sustainability.
Go Green: Get PrintReleaf for the Office Today
PrintReleaf is truly a first of its kind. Many environmental initiatives can seem abstract or intangible, making it difficult to maintain motivation or get everyone in the office on board. PrintReleaf empowers companies to take the initiative with reducing their environmental impact in visible ways.
Sustainability shouldn’t be complicated, and with PrintReleaf, it isn’t. Enjoy better print environment visibility, scalable environmental impacts, and a reduced paper footprint over time as the company works towards a greener future.
Edwards Business Systems is a proud advocate of the PrintReleaf program. Contact us today to discover how easy it is to participate in the reforestation of our natural environment.