The 'green' revolution is truly established across households in Europe which is having a 'knock-on' positive affect on environmentally sound behaviour in the office, according to new research from Lexmark, with a massive 84% saying their behaviour in the office is environmentally friendly.
A new study by the printing solutions provider of over 2 500 office workers across Europe reveals that thinking about the environmental impact of day to day tasks is fast becoming habitual, with 88% recognising that printing at work has a big impact on the environment.
Time for more action
It is clear that office workers are keen to see greener workplaces but they also claim their companies are not helping - 43% claim their company does not care about paper wastage and 41% don't think energy waste is on their employers' agenda. Lexmark takes its responsibility in this area very seriously and is continuing to build on several years of environmentally sound practices which include worldwide recycling programmes.
Good intentions
People are getting more paper-savvy, with 84% of office workers claiming they often read their e-mails and other documents on screen rather than print them. However, only 29% of them use recycled paper to print and just 28% print double-sided.
The research not only looked at paper wastage in the office but also the wider issues of energy waste and cartridge recycling. Being green is increasingly becoming part of every day office life, with 81% of office workers claiming they often switch off the lights in their office at the end of the day as well as their computer and screen to help save energy. What's more, over half of employees often go even further by switching off the printer (56%) as well as the lights in absent colleagues' offices (53%).
When it comes to printer cartridges, the story is not quite as good - despite 63% of office workers saying empty cartridges are collected by the manufacturer for recycling, only 49% dispose of them in the recycling collection bin. What's more, over one in 10 (12%) workers throw the empty cartridges straight in the rubbish bin.
Eco-professionals
Lawyers are the most conscientious about the environment, with almost nine out of 10 (88%) switching their PCs off at the end of the day. The legal profession is also leading the way in office recycling with over two-thirds (67%) recycling all waste paper, compared to just half (55%) in the financial services industry.
The 'green' age
Across Europe, it's the over 50s who are leading the recycling revolution, with almost one in 12 (7%) investing in alternative sources of energy at home, such as solar and hydro power. Over two-thirds of this age group (67%) recycle paper, compared to half (56%) of 18- to 24-year-olds.
"We at Lexmark have internally evaluated the environmental impact of our products using a lifecycle analysis methodology. I'm pleased to see that the way office workers perceive the environmental impact of printing is close to reality, as confirmed by the latest Ipsos research," says Hans Horn, Managing Director of Lexmark South Africa. "Indeed, this impact is primarily due to paper consumption and then to energy waste.
He adds: "When it comes to the empty cartridges, there is still work to be done in educating people about the impact of their choices. Many office workers believe that reusing cartridges is a way to solve the environmental issue. However, when quality is poor and the cartridge yield does not meet expectations, these cartridges are discarded anyway," Horn concludes.
Research conducted by Ipsos
1) Between 20 February and 7 March 2006
Number of interviews: 2 837 employees in France, Germany, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy and Sweden.
Interview method: phone
2) Between 27 July and 15 August 2006
Number of interviews: 4 602 employees in France, Germany, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Poland and the Netherlands.
Interview method: online
3) Between 4 and 14 September 2006
Number of interviews: 2 500 employees in France, UK, Germany, Spain, Italy. Interview method: online
For further information, please contact Louisa Craig at telephone (011) 244 - 2650; fax (011) 244 - 2629; e-mail louisa.craig@lexmark.co.za.
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Lexmark International, Inc (NYSE: LXK) provides businesses and consumers in more than 150 countries with a broad range of printing and imaging products, solutions and services that help them to be more productive. In 2005, Lexmark reported $5.2 billion in revenue and employed more than 13 000 people globally. Learn how Lexmark can help you get more done at www.lexmark.com.
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