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Carbon myth - print versus electronic

07 Jul 2008

Think you’re being environmentally responsible reading a report on the net? Well think again.

The perception that electronic media leaves less of an environmental footprint than printed material is one of those myths that needs to be debunked once and for all. It’s just not true!

Putting ink on paper is one of the most environmentally responsible ways you can get your message across. However, what is most concerning is that we are starting to see organisations cringing at the thought of using paper as a communications medium.

Some organisations are starting to actively discourage the use of print on paper because apparently it is negatively impacting on the environment. Whether the concern is real or just cost cutting, it is being said often and people are starting to believe it. So being able to provide a factual counter to these claims is critical.

The example given to the left, based on The Stern Review, is a case in point, although it applies to almost any publication, annual report or document that may be published and distributed in print, online or on CD.

For an industry that gets regularly slammed for its supposedly poor eco credentials, this is excellent news and we should be sharing it with our all our customers.

Trees lock up carbon
A significant portion of the earth's carbon dioxide is in the atmosphere and organic matter such as trees and bushes. Carbon in the atmosphere, traps sunlight and in doing so contributes to global warming.

Paper production can have a valuable impact on reducing this influence. A report by Jorge Sarmiento and Steven Wolfsy for the US Carbon and Climate Working Group highlights how the huge reforestation programs taking place in many parts of the world are helping to create a positive shift in the amount of carbon trapped within the environment, rather than the atmosphere.

The reason why this is beneficial is that a tree, which is almost entirely carbon with a small measure of water grows for about 100 years. Its weight represents the amount of carbon taken out of the atmosphere, so after 100 years very little carbon is absorbed into the atmosphere.

Fight global warming
The more paper we use from sustainable forests the stronger the contribution towards the fight against global warming. More managed tree plantations equals more carbon locked up and the fibre can be recycled four or five times.

Has anyone ever recycled their 1995 laptop into a brand new up to date laptop?

THE STERN REVIEW
The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change is a 700 page report released on 30 October 2006.Written by Sir Nicholas Stern, Head of the Government Economic Service for the British Government, it is one of the most important social works of its time which discusses the effect of climate change and global warming on the world economy.

Print 85g

The printed version of The Stern Review was validated in the report as 85 grams of CO2 in total for the complete manufacturing process and the paper. Because it is a finished printed book, that is the maximum CO2 it will ever
amount to and can be read as many times as you like over the next 100 years.

Online 226g

For every hour that a person reads The Stern Review in PDF format on a typical desktop computer*, 226 grams of CO2 are generated. This does not include the CO2 footprint for the IT infrastructure to deliver the PDF via the Internet, nor does it include the footprint to print it out on an inkjet or laser printer.

Of course, a typical reader will print out parts or all of the report. Why, because we want to read it in hard copy – the majority’s preference?

Also of note is a study completed by well know Australian printing industry expert Phillip Lawrence of Eco Strategies, who concluded that one single colour A4 sheet printed on a laser printer, equalled 100 pages of four colour process, printed two sided on a cold set web offset press.

CD 300g
A study in 2007 by Australian Dr Tony Wilkins, Group Manager, Environment & Climate Change for News Ltd, has validated that the manufacture of a CD with The Stern Review data generates 300 grams of CO2 per disk or a DVD 350 grams and that is even before it is put into a computer and viewed or printed.

*2.13 GHz Intel Dual Core 1GB RAM, CRT Monitor (Panasonic PanaSync E701) and Wireless Router Modem (Belkin VoIP 802.11g). Computer energy costs sourced from Choice Australia, May 2008 and conversion coefficients used are sourced from the Australian Greenhouse Office Factors and Methods Workbook December 2007.

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