Sustainable Times Issue 4.
As the British Council of Offices recommends raising working temperatures from 22 to 24 degrees centigrade. On pages 14 and 15 we publish a few tips on how to stay cool when the mercury rises.
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Sustainable Times Issue 4
1. SUMMER 2009
Carbon
Zero
Toshiba MFPs plus
first million prints
now carbon zero
Projects supported by Toshiba
include the supply of energyefficient stoves in Kenya…
How to stay cool this
summer
Recycled pens
Energy Star 5.0 explained
Desktop virtualisation
Smarter commuting
2. Lexmark printers can help
you save the environment.
In today’s climate, going green and reducing environmental impact are a global concern. Lexmark can help you save
money, increase productivity and reduce paper consumption. Through features such as secure print, follow me print
on demand, 2-sided printing, wireless technology and high yield cartridges you’ll cut your printing costs considerably.
Our range of printers are designed to suit every home, student and business need, and they’re backed by industry
leading guarantees. 75% of the world’s top banks and retailers use Lexmark, that’s what makes us the natural choice.
To understand why Lexmark are the Print Experts
and to find out how you can Print Less, Save More
visit: www.printless.co.uk
save
money
save
time
save the
environment
environme
Inkjet, Laser and Multifunction Printing Solutions
4. greenAgenda
Carbon counter
keeps going up
Solar-powered reading light
My Reading Light is a solar-powered light developed by
Philips as part of its drive to deliver sustainable lighting
solutions to Africa.
Based on low-carbon LED technology, it enables users –
especially school children – to read and write after dark, giving
the estimated 500 million Africans who live without electricity
a safer and brighter alternative to candles and kerosene lamps.
My Reading Light can be handheld or placed over the page
of a book, freeing hands for writing, and offers a choice of high,
middle or low light settings. The built-in rechargeable battery
provides between 3.5 and 9 hours of light depending on the
light level selected.
Philips plans to launch two versions of the light: a standard
model; and a slimmed down, low-cost version with a target
price of less than $15. www.philips.com
Photo: Nana Kofi Acquah - Africa Interactive
From left to right: Knowaste Marketing
Director, Lynnette Pierce and
Steve McKenna, Director of Mailbox
Mouldings International Ltd celebrate
the first Small Planet roof tile
Photo: Brandon Barrett
How much do your
PCs cost?
Stay dry with roof tiles made
from nappies
The first roof tiles from SmallPlanet Building Products,
a new business set up by nappy recycling company
Knowaste, have rolled off the production line at Mailbox
Mouldings in Stalybridge, Cheshire.
Initially, the tiles will be made out of recycled plastic
from a variety of sources, but ultimately the aim is to use
plastic recyclates produced at the UK’s first Knowaste nappy
recycling plant.
When it opens in Birmingham early in 2010, the recycling
centre will process and sanitise nappies and adult incontinence
products, producing cellulose organic residue for green energy
and plastic that can be used to create a variety of products
including plastic cladding, decking and roof tiles.
Roy Brown, president and chief executive of Knowaste Ltd,
said: “More than 750,000 tonnes of nappy waste is disposed of
in the UK each year – a figure that highlights the importance
of developing alternative uses for post-consumer nappies.”
www.smallplanetbuilding.com www.knowaste.com
04 sustainabletimes
Version 3.0 of the Enterprise
Management Suite from
desktop and asset management
specialists NetSupport includes
an energy-monitoring component
that enables customers to
calculate the cost of PC energy
consumption across the
enterprise.
Previous versions of NetSupport
DNA kept a record of when each
computer was on, off or hibernating.
The new component takes this to
the next level by providing a method
for calculating an indicative energy
usage figure. This can then be used
to work out the overall cost of
specific systems (based on each
customer’s energy tariff).
Another new feature of
NetSupport DNA 3 is an Internet
Gateway component that provides
secure IP communications over the
internet for managing assets that
may ordinarily be ‘hidden’ on a
remote network or behind firewalls.
This ensures that all IT assets can be
managed in real time.
www.netsupportsoftware.com
Deutsche Bank is aiming to instil a
sense of urgency into the climatechange debate by establishing a
70-foot high ‘carbon counter’ outside
Madison Square Garden and Penn
station in New York City.
The digital billboard keeps a realtime tally of greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere, based on measurements
developed by scientists at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT).
The figure shows the total estimated
tonnage of all 24 long-lived greenhouse
gases covered under the Kyoto and
Montreal Protocols, expressed as their
equivalent amounts of carbon dioxide.
At launch this was 3.64 trillion metric
tons but the number is increasing by
approximately 2 billion metric tons
per month.
Ronald Prinn, Professor of
Atmospheric Science at MIT, said:
“The Carbon Counter is a bold new
experiment in communicating climate
science to the public. This number can
help convey how fast these greenhouse
gases are increasing and the progress,
or lack thereof, in slowing the rate of
increase.” The number can also be seen
24 hours a day at
www.know-the-number.com
0870 903 9500
5. The cloud is greener, claims NetSuite
Proponents of Software as a Service
(SaaS) frequently refer to its
environmental advantages, but how
great are they and where do the
benefits lie?
In order to find out, SaaS provider
NetSuite commissioned Greenspace
to identify, measure and quantify
the energy-savings that come from
using the NetSuite Cloud business
management software suite instead
of on-premises Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship
Management (CRM) and E-commerce
applications.
Greenspace found that the use of
shared datacentre resources and the
elimination of the need for additional
on-premises servers and support
equipment, such as server room airconditioning, reduced the average
NetSuite customer’s electricity bill by
more than $10,000 a year.
Taking into account hardware,
software licenses, maintenance,
personnel and occupancy, Greenspace
claims that total cost reductions could
be as high as $100,000 per customer,
per year.
Other claimed benefits of
NetSuite’s offering include lower levels
of paper use and e-waste and increased
productivity.
www.netsuite.com/green
In a whirl
Energy management at the
workstation
Herman Miller claims to have bridged the gap between
large building infrastructures and individual workstations
with a new desktop energy management solution that
enables energy consumption to be monitored, measured
and controlled at workstation level.
Developed following Herman Miller’s strategic alliance with
electrical and network infrastructure solutions provider Legrand,
Energy Manager (EM) is an electrical circuit control system that
connects building power systems with the modular power of
Herman Miller workstations including Vivo interiors, My Studio
Environments, Ethospace system and Action Office system.
An EM unit mounted on a panel or inside the wall of
Herman Miller’s frame-and-tile based systems controls two of
the four circuits of power feeding a cluster of workstations. This
enables a manager to regulate the delivery of power to devices
plugged into those circuits so that task lights, printers, power
bricks etc. are only on when needed and off when workstations
aren’t occupied.
Power can be delivered according to a timed programme or
workstation occupancy – EM sensors detect a worker’s presence
and instantly turn on devices plugged into the circuits: when
the person leaves, the devices turn off automatically.
EM can be integrated with Herman Miller’s Convia
web-based building management system, which provides
programmable on/off control of selected circuits, overhead
lighting and building control systems; and the ability to
measure energy use and workstation occupancy.
Real-time monitoring and historic reports give managers the
information they need to develop energy-saving strategies and
optimise real estate usage.
www.hermanmiller.com
www.binfo.co.uk
Visitors to Glastonbury will
have seen this impressive 5kW
wind turbine spinning above the
festival’s main Pyramid stage.
The Skyrota turbine features a
distinctive two-bladed vertical axis
design that enables it to collect
wind from all directions, unlike
conventional turbines. Suitable
for use in urban, rural and built-up
areas, it was installed by approved
Skyrota distributor and installer
Sitec Infrastructure Services Ltd.
www.skyrota.com
A is for Aberdeen
Active, a leading provider of
sustainable energy systems, is
practising what it preaches at its new
£3 million Aberdeen headquarters.
A variety of micro-renewable
technologies, such as a wind turbine,
solar panels and a road energy system
that soaks up heat from tarmac
surfaces, will enable the 1,665 square
metre building to be completely selfsufficient in energy by the end of the
year. The Active Renewable Energy
Centre is the only building in Aberdeen
to have an A-rated Energy Performance
Certificate (EPC).
greenAgenda…
sustainabletimes 05
6. greenAgenda
Greenpeace holds
manufacturers to
account
Cross-charging fires enthusiasm
for green IT
Four out of five senior-level IT executives (83%) are
responsible for, and in some cases cross-charged for, the
electricity consumed in their data centres, Symantec
claims in a new report.
The greater level of visibility and accountability that this
represents is one reason for the sustained level of interest in
Green IT among the 1,000+ IT professionals surveyed for the
2009 Green IT Report.
Almost all respondents (97%) stated they were at least
discussing a green IT strategy, while 45% have already
implemented green IT initiatives, such as replacing old
equipment with new energy efficient devices (95%);
monitoring power consumption (94%), server virtualisation
(94%) and server consolidation (93%). More than half (57%)
considered software-as-a-service offerings to be green.
The key drivers for implementing green IT are to reduce
electricity consumption (90%), lower cooling costs (87%) and
meet corporate pressure to be ‘green’ (86%).
Green IT budgets reflect this trend, with 73% of
respondents expecting to see a rise in the next 12 months, and
19% looking forward to an increase of more than 10%.
The importance of reducing energy costs means that most
IT executives are willing to pay a premium for energy efficient
products: two-thirds said they would pay at least 10% more,
while 41% are willing to pay at least 20% more.
www.symantec.com
On the straight and narrow
Commuters between Cambridge and St Ives can look forward
to a smoother journey and free WiFi when the controversial
Cambridgeshire Guided Busway opens later this year.
The new fleet of 10 single-decker buses and 10 double-decker
buses Stagecoach has ordered for the route are packed full of
features to encourage people to get out of their cars, including
leather seats, air chill or air conditioning and free WiFi so that
passengers can access email and the internet on the 16-mile
route – the longest guided busway in the world.
The buses run on biofuel from recycled food waste, which
is claimed to generate 80% fewer carbon emissions than
standard diesel.
06 sustainabletimes
Prius commitment
Part of the marketing campaign for
the new Toyota Prius hybrid car,
these 18-foot high ‘solar flowers’
provide seating for up to 10 people,
free WiFi access and power for
mobile phones and notebooks, some
of which is generated by solar panels
on the flowers’ petals and stems.
Toyota’s campaign also features bus
shelters with solar-powered fans that
circulate air within the space.
These installations reflect one of
the most talked about aspects of the
new Prius, its optional Solar Powered
Ventilation System. Solar modules on
the car roof power a fan that draws in
air to reduce cabin temperature when
the car is parked in direct sunlight.
Toyota’s Harmony Installations will
be visiting US cities throughout the
summer, including New York, Chicago,
Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
PC manufacturers HP, Dell and Lenovo
are languishing near the bottom
of the rankings in the July edition
of Greenpeace’s Guide to Greener
Electronics after being penalised
for backtracking on a voluntary
commitment to eliminate polyvinyl
chloride (PVC) plastic and brominated
flame retardants (BFRs) from
computer products (excluding servers
and printers) by the end of 2009.
Greenpeace claims that both
materials are hazardous and create
significant health risks to workers
who deal with e-waste. When burned,
PVC can form dioxin, a known
carcinogen, while BFRs can be released
from products during use and are
highly resistant to degradation in
the environment causing them to
accumulate in animals and humans.
The campaigning organisation argues
that there is no reason for manufacturers
not to have PVC and BFR-free PCs.
To support its case, it points to the
example of Apple, which has completely
eradicated BFRs and virtually eliminated
PVC from its new computer lines.
Dell and Lenovo are ranked higher
than HP, because, although they have
postponed the complete eradication
of hazardous materials, they have
launched models that are free, or at
least significantly reduced in their use, of
PVC and BFRs.
Greenpeace’s Guide to Greener
Electronics ranks consumer electronics
companies according to their record in
eliminating hazardous substances, the
availability of take-back and recycling
programmes and their efforts to reduce
the climate impact of their operations
and products.
The July 2009 ranking is topped by
Nokia, followed in order by Samsung,
Sony Ericsson, LG Electronics, Toshiba,
Motorola, Philips, Sharp, Acer, Panasonic,
Apple, Sony, Dell, HP, Microsoft, Lenovo,
Fujitsu and Nintendo.
http://tinyurl.com/cc4j9
E-waste to peak in 2015
The problem of toxic e-waste is
predicted to become more acute
in the next six years before finally
turning in 2016 as e-waste initiatives
take effect.
A new study by Pike Research,
Electronics Recycling and E-Waste
Issues, predicts that the global volume of
electronic waste from computers, mobile
phones, games consoles etc. will peak
at 73 million metric tons in 2015, and
then gradually decline as government
regulation like the EU’s WEEE Directive,
electronics industry initiatives and
greater consumer awareness take effect.
www.pikeresearch.com
0870 903 9500
8. greenAgenda
Brother acts to preserve rainforest
Brother has teamed up with the
Cool Earth charity to prevent
the destruction of the Amazon
rainforest, claimed to account for
six billion tonnes of CO2 emissions
each year.
The printer company is sponsoring
Cool Earth to safeguard four square
kilometres of Peruvian rainforest,
containing 44,000 mature trees,
190,000 saplings, six endangered
species of mammal, 322 types of
plant and more than 11,000 species
of insect and worm.
Brother’s sponsorship will help
Cool Earth protect an irreplaceable
eco-system and enable the local
Ashininka tribe to live sustainably
from the land.
www.coolearth.org/brother
Eee PC best for developing world
Computer Aid International is
recommending the Asus Eee PC
as the best low power computing
solution for developing countries,
ahead of the Intel Classmate, OLPC
XO, Inveneo Computing Station and
Ncomputing X300.
The shortlist of five devices
(whittled down from eight by ZDNet
Labs) was field tested at Kenyatta
University (Kenya), Jos University
(Nigeria) and the National University
of Science and Technology (Zimbabwe)
in order to establish which was best
suited to the demands of developing
nations.
The Asus Eee PC was the
unanimous choice of all testing teams
for its balance of power consumption,
performance and portability.
www.computeraid.org/lowpowerpcs
08 sustainabletimes
Deforestation is
everybody’s business
The Forest Footprint Disclosure (FFD)
Project is aiming to make the notion
of forest footprints as familiar as
carbon footprints – and to make
investors more aware of the financial
risks that agricultural commodities
from deforested land pose to their
investment portfolios.
The FFD is calling on leading
businesses to disclose their ‘forest
footprint’ – the direct and indirect impact
that an organisation has on the world’s
forests through the use of unsustainable
agricultural commodities such as beef,
soy, palm oil, timber and biofuels.
Speaking at June’s official launch of
the Forest Footprint Disclosure Project,
Andrew Mitchell, chair of the FFD Project
steering committee, said: “Deforestation
is a global emergency, the importance of
which the business world needs to wake
up to….Calls are being heard from world
leaders, major businesses and influential
NGOs to halt deforestation now and this
is going to have a material impact on the
way business can act in the future.”
He added: “The launch of the Forest
Footprint Disclosure Project creates a
simple starting point for businesses to
assess their impact on the world’s forests,
which could be reflected in their future
value, and for investors to pick potential
winners and losers.”
One of FFD’s first acts has been to
send a questionnaire to 200 leading
businesses asking them to disclose how
and where deforestation can be reduced
and driven out of their operations.
The results will form the basis of a
report to be produced in January 2010, in
which businesses will be ranked as ‘best
in class’; as having identified strategies
for managing their risk; or as having
declined the request to disclose their
forest footprint.
The questionnaire has been endorsed
by 16 investors, with collective
funds under management of US$2.2
trillion, concerned that unsustainable
commodities are causing a valuation risk
to their investments.
The Forest Footprint Disclosure
Project is the brainchild of the Global
Canopy Programme. Its steering
committee includes representatives from
the Carbon Disclosure Project, Fauna &
Flora International, The FTSE Company,
The Prince’s Rainforests Project, Strategic
Environmental Consulting, UNEP Finance
Initiative and the UK Department for
International Development (DFID).
www.forestdisclosure.com
Sealed with a click
Customers with mailings of any size
can reduce the cost of producing and
sending mail, as well as its carbon
footprint, by taking advantage of
hybrid mail solutions offered by the
likes of ViaPost, Unity and iMail.
These services let you send mail
from your PC across the internet to a
central processing facility where it is
printed according to your specifications
(e.g. in colour, two-sided, with a
scanned signature etc.), inserted into
an envelope and posted for next day
delivery – in some cases for less than
the cost of a first class stamp.
Hybrid mail advocates claim that
e-delivery to the processing centre, the
use of high volume devices and, in some
cases, the automatic routing of mail
to the processing centre closest to the
delivery address can reduce the carbon
footprint of a letter by up to 80%.
www.unityhybridmail.com
www.viapost.com
www.ukmail.biz/imail
IT recycling a step too
far for UK consumers
UK consumers have the lowest
technology recycling rate in Europe,
according to a Dell sponsored survey
of 5,000 consumers in France,
Germany, Italy and Spain, but are
among the best at recycling paper,
plastics and glass.
Research Now found that only one
in two consumers in the UK recycles
old electronics, compared to four
out of five in Germany, and that UK
consumers have the lowest awareness
of the WEEE Directive and producer
recycling initiatives.
In response to these findings, Dell
is urging government bodies to do
more to publicise the free recycling
initiatives available in the UK and
advising consumers to find out more
by looking for recycling information
on manufacturers’ websites, calling
their local council or visiting recycling
websites such as www.regeneration.org.
0870 903 9500
9. AVERY
What percentage of recycled
plastic is used in the Blue
Avery EcoFriendly Desktop
Accessories range?
To enter, simply email your answer to:
consumerservice-uk@eu.averydennison.com
with your name and contact details and the subject
heading ‘Sustainable Times Desktop’. Five lucky
winners will be drawn at random after the closing
date of 30 September 2009.
P2P Magazine | Spring 09 |
17
10. Printing without
the waste
According to Lexmark, the biggest
step that customers can take to
reduce the environmental impact
of printing is to reduce the overall
number of pages output.
The printer manufacturer recently
conducted a Life Cycle Assessment
(LCA) of its printers and found that
paper accounts for up to 80% of a
business printer’s global warming
impact compared to 8% for energy
consumption and 6% for consumables
used. Plastics, metals and electronics in
the manufacturing phase account for 7%
of the carbon footprint and distribution
0.4%. Recycling at end of life has a
positive environmental impact of 1.4%.
This calculation is based on a
Lexmark X646dte printing 8,000 pages
per month over 5 years, with just one
page per sheet of paper (i.e. no twosided printing) and toner density set
at maximum.
Clearly, paper’s impact will fall
considerably and that of other elements
rise proportionately as organisations
implement simple paper-saving
measures, such as two-sided and n-up
printing (the printing of more than one
page per side of paper).
Paper’s impact will also be
proportionately smaller for individuals
and organisations with lower print
volumes. This is reflected in a second
lifecycle assessment Lexmark has
produced for one of its small office/
home office inkjet all-in-ones, the
Lexmark X7675 Professional.
Based on a user printing 228 singlesided pages per month over 3 years,
Lexmark found that
the usage phase of an
X7675 Professional
accounted for 68%
of the printer’s global
warming impact,
manufacturing 34%
and distribution 4%.
Recycling at end-oflife decreases global
warming’s potential
by 6%.
In the usage phase,
paper was responsible
for 47% of the carbon
impact, ink cartridges
for 11% and energy
consumption for 10%.
Low waste technologies
Clearly, businesses should attempt to
minimise paper consumption regardless
of the type of printer used. But what
else can they do to reduce the impact of
other aspects of printer use?
One option is to choose a printing
technology that generates less waste.
This will help reduce the carbon
footprint of consumables, which in
Lexmark’s LCAs accounted for 6% and
11% of the total impact, assuming
that high capacity cartridges are used
(standard cartridges that need to be
replaced sooner would have a higher
carbon footprint).
Most laser printers use all-in-one
cartridges containing both the toner and
drum, which have to be replaced as soon
as the toner runs out. As each cartridge
contains as many as 60 separate
elements, including OPC drums, springs,
Kyocera
consumables
are made up of
just four parts
compared to 60 in
an all-in-one laser
cartridge
Xerox solid ink MFPs
generate 90% less
waste than comparable
laser devices
10 sustainabletimes
metal pins, cogs and plastic toner
reservoirs, this represents a significant
source of waste – especially when you
consider that most of these elements
will have plenty of life left in them when
the toner runs out.
Laser/LED printers with separate
toner and long-life drum units are
potentially less wasteful as the drum
is replaced at the end of its life and
not just when the toner runs out. The
drawback of this arrangement is that it
requires more intervention by users –
especially on colour devices with four
colours and therefore four sets
of consumables.
Kyocera has taken a different
approach with its ECOSYS printing
technology. This uses drums and
components that are designed to last
for the lifetime of the machine, so that
for most users the only consumable
that needs to be replaced is the toner
cassette, made up of just four recyclable
plastic parts. This results in very little
waste and the industry’s lowest cost
per page.
Xerox’s solid ink printers and MFPs
are based on a completely different
printing technology, using solid wax
blocks rather than toner, but they too
benefit from the use of printheads
designed to last for the lifetime of the
machine. Because the wax blocks are
the only consumable, waste is kept to
a minimum. Xerox claims that its new
ColorQube solid ink MFPs generate 90%
less waste than comparable laser MFPs.
Another low-waste option worth
investigating is HP’s Edgeline technology
used in a couple of high-speed
departmental MFPs (the HP CM8050
and HP CM8060). These inkjet devices
are also claimed to generate less waste,
but what really sets them apart from
similarly specced laser devices is lower
energy consumption.
If waste reduction is your focus, it
is worth considering Kyocera devices,
alternatives to laser/LED technology
such as solid ink and HP’s Edgeline
technology or even remanufactured
toner cartridges which, as reported in
the last issue of Sustainable Times, have
a 25-60% smaller carbon footprint than
virgin consumables.
But if your priority is energy
efficiency, traditional options may
be the best bet, as manufacturers of
conventional laser devices continue
to make improvements in energy
consumption that can’t be matched by
solid ink, say. To find out more, see the
next issue of Sustainable Times.
0870 903 9500
11. If ethics are high on your list,
take a look at the top of this one
POSITION
COMPANY
ETHICAL COMPANY
INDEX SCORE
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Brother
Kyocera
Lexmark
Konica
Epson
Xerox
Canon
Dell
Samsung
HP
100
90
85
80
70
65
60
55
55
40
Judging categories: Environment, animal welfare and human rights.
100 OUT OF 100
SIMPLE
3 YEARS
RUNNING
PRINTING STRAIGHT
It’s good to know Brother has come first yet again for its environmental and
ethical strategies. And as we’re the only printer and fax manufacturer to do so,
which name should top your list?
To find out more: www.brothergreen.co.uk or call 08444 999 444
* Source www.ethical-company-organisation.org – 2009
RESELLER DETAILS
*
RENEW FREE
RECYCLING
SCHEME
12. cover story
Toshiba has become the first
MFP manufacturer to make all its
devices and the first million pages
printed on each one carbon zero.
The
Carbon Zero
MFP
Like most printer and MFP
manufacturers Toshiba has
taken great strides to reduce
the environmental impact of its
products throughout their lifecycle,
from manufacture to recycling at
end of life.
New devices like the e-STUDIO455
and e-STUDIO855 series are designed
from the ground up to consume as
few resources as possible. They are
smaller, more compact and have fewer
components than previous generations;
they use long-life consumables to
Steve Hewson,
Toshiba Marketing Director
Energy efficient
stoves in Kenya
Toshiba e-STUDIO6530c
12 sustainabletimes
minimise waste; they are designed to
simplify maintenance and recycling at
end of life; and, above all, they consume
less energy than older devices.
In addition, Toshiba provides
customers with the software tools
and productivity features needed to
implement green printing practices:
from two-sided printing at the rated
engine speed to network scanning for
electronic workflows and software
controls that enable administrators to
monitor and restrict MFP usage.
Despite these advances, printing
pages – like any activity – has an
environmental cost. Valuable resources
are used to make the devices, ship
them, service them and then recycle
them at end of life. Throughout the
active usage phase of their lifecycle,
MFPs consume electricity, toner and
paper, each of which has its own
carbon footprint.
Toshiba believes it is important
for businesses to reduce unnecessary
printing. However, it also recognises
that printing is a consequence of doing
business.
To find out what could be done to
neutralise the effects of unavoidable
printing, it commissioned voluntary
carbon offset provider co2balance
to calculate the lifecycle carbon
footprint of a Toshiba MFP and the
pages printed on it and then work out
how much it would cost to offset the
equivalent amount of CO2 by funding
carbon saving projects in the UK and
developing world.
After doing its sums, co2balance
came up with a figure split evenly
between the cost of offsetting the MFP
and the cost of offsetting one million
prints. The cost is the same for a small
desktop MFP as a large production
machine because although the former
will require far fewer resources to make,
it needs more to print one million
pages.
Toshiba felt that it could easily
absorb this cost over the lifetime
of a contract and therefore decided
automatically to make all MFPs sold
directly to commercial customers after
July 1, plus the first one million prints,
carbon zero. Customers can choose
to buy bolt-on packages to offset the
carbon from the second million prints.
The co2balance offsets are also
available to Toshiba resellers who
can choose either to pay the cost
0870 903 9500
13. cover story
themselves or pass it on to their
customers.
Phenomenal response
Toshiba marketing director Steve
Hewson has been delighted with the
reaction to the CarbonZero initiative.
“The response has been phenomenal
because we have made it so simple.
There are not multiple levels for
different devices but one flat fee, and
it saves customers from having to do
their own complicated calculations,”
he said.
CarbonZero status is particularly
attractive to organisations that have
a commitment to reduce their carbon
footprint, but, according to Hewson,
it also has appeal for organisations
with a strong focus on corporate social
responsibility (CSR).
“Even if you don’t believe in the
need to reduce carbon emissions,
despite all the evidence that supports
it, most people have charitable and CSR
obligations and this initiative fits in
well with that too,” he said.
“One of the projects supported
by Toshiba is the supply of energyefficient stoves in Kenya and this has
important consequences for local
development and employment over
and above the reduction in CO2
emissions that it delivers.”
Other projects supported by
co2balance and Toshiba include the
supply of low energy light bulbs to
households and community groups in
Kenya, a hydropower project in China
and tree planting in Somercombe Wood
on the Somerset/Devon border.
www.toshibacarbonzero.co.uk
e-STUDIO455
The new black is green
Toshiba’s CarbonZero initiative applies to all
Toshiba MFPs including its eight new black and white
multifunctionals (MFPs).
The Energy Star-accredited
e-STUDIO455 series and e-STUDIO855
series are not only Toshiba’s most
productive B&W devices to date, they
also incorporate a number of green
features that make them perfect for
organisations eager to reduce the
environmental impact of office printing.
Perhaps the most impressive of
these is the new Super Sleep mode
that reduces power consumption
to just 1 watt of electricity. A timer
enables customers to specify how long
a device should be inactive before it
reverts to Super Sleep mode,
enabling administrators
to balance the need to
conserve energy with
the requirement for
productivity.
In addition, Toshiba
has implemented a
number of new features to eliminate
waste and make consumables last
longer. Foremost amongst these is the
internal toner recycling system, which
re-uses excess toner produced
when printing/copying. This lowers
running costs and removes the need
to collect, process and recycle waste
toner and waste toner boxes.
Further savings come from useful
copying/scanning features, such as
the ‘outside erase’ function, which
removes dark shadows when copying/
scanning books and other bulky
documents; and the ‘Omit Blank Pages’
feature, which prevents unnecessary
paper use by removing blank pages
from multi-page copy/scan jobs.
www.binfo.co.uk
“
Super Sleep
mode reduces
power
consumption
to just 1 watt
of electricity.
e-STUDIO855
e-STUDIO305
Productive devices
Above all else, the e-STUDIO255/305/
355/455 (the 455 series) and the
e-STUDIO555/655/755/855 (the
855 series) are highly productive
multifunctional devices suitable
for use in all office environments
from small workgroups to large central
reprographics departments.
The 455 series is a complete allrounder, with print speeds of 25 to 45
pages per minute (ppm) and a colour
scanner – the first time colour scanning
has been available on a Toshiba midvolume B&W MFP. This means that
even where colour printing is not a
priority, hard copy documents can be
captured, stored, emailed and imported
into other applications in their original
state with no loss of information that
B&W scanning/copying can entail.
To ensure that B&W copies/
scans are as true to the original as
possible, the 455 series of mid volume
devices (25-45ppm) features a Colour
Document Mode, which retains the
nuances of colour originals by capturing
them in easy-to-read grey scale.
The combination of the third
generation Toshiba e-BRIDGE
controller and e-BRIDGE Open
Platform connectors provides seamless
integration with third party systems
and applications, such as Microsoft
SharePoint and Exchange, enabling
users to integrate scans into electronic
workflows.
Ease of use
The new series include a number
of additional features that help
maximise end user productivity by
simplifying operation and keeping user
intervention to a minimum.
Ease of use is enhanced by an 8.5in
WVGA colour touchscreen panel that
simplifies job selection; a USB port on
the front of the machine for scan to/
print from removable storage devices;
programmable one-touch templates
for complex but routine tasks; and
a temporary document archive, the
e-Filing box.
For maximum device uptime, the
MFPs have a paper capacity of up to
7,600 sheets on the 855 series and
3,200 on the 455 series; a high capacity
toner supply (with internal toner
recycling to minimise waste); and the
ability to change the toner on the fly
without interrupting a print/copy job.
Document security is guaranteed,
with Private Print and Hold Print; a
Secure PDF function; security pattern
printing; and standard AES encryption.
SSL encryption and IPSec protocol
keeps data streams secure, while an
optional data overwrite function clears
the hard disk of data from completed
print/copy jobs.
To prevent unauthorised use of
devices administrators can apply user
authentication for 10,000 users or
1,000 workgroups. This feature can also
be used to restrict access to certain
features, by user or department, and
so help organisations gain control over
office printing.
www.thenewblackisgreen.co.uk
sustainabletimes 13
14. How to
Stay Cool
this Summer
Sustainable Times spoke to Morgan Lovell
sustainability manager Lara Conaway
about what businesses can do to keep cool
without turning up the air conditioning
or moving office. Here are some
of her key recommendations.
“
The first initiatives to implement are
ones that impact human behaviour:
simple things like clear guidance on a
more relaxed dress code – there are
still companies that stipulate men
should wear jackets and ties. “
“
Ensure blinds are fully operational.
They will block the sun and prevent
solar gain in offices. It’s important
that they should be manual to
give the user control over their
environment.”
“
Look at the temperature settings of
air conditioning systems. The British
Council for Offices (BCO) is bringing
out new guidance this summer and
they are recommending setting the
temperature at 24 degrees centigrade
not 22 degrees centrigrade, because
it has a better carbon profile, but it’s
important that this is linked to a more
relaxed dress code.”
“
Putting in plumbed, filtered water
gives savings on cost and carbon
miles from deliveries of plastic
bottles.”
“
“
14 sustainabletimes
The main aim is to keep people
comfortable and that means having
continuity of temperature. Look at the
amount of heat generated by office
equipment. IT emits a huge amount
of heat, which goes straight into
the office environment. Make sure
equipment is turned off overnight.
Consider whether it is possible to
move printers and copiers into a
dedicated space away from the office
environment.”
Remove computer boxes. Freemote
from Powerdesk lets you move CPUs
to a separate location and have just
a slimline unit by the desk giving
a connection to the computer. By
moving all computers out of the
working space you are reducing the
heat load in offices, but it has other
benefits including security and,
because you have moved all computer
boxes into a different location, you
can get more people into a space, for
example by using a benching system.
One bank was looking at taking five
floors of an office building but by
implementing the technology and
through clever space planning they
only needed three.”
“
Think ahead. Consider solar gain when
you look at the office space. If one
part of the office has high solar gain,
you could move people to another
area of the office and use it as a
meeting room instead.”
“
Seating products with mesh seats and
backs encourage better circulation of
air around the individual.”
“
Make sure people move around the
office. At Morgan Lovell we are not
allowed to eat at our desks and we
don’t have personal waste bins so we
have to get up and move around.”
“
If you are going to be staying in a
place look at the air conditioning
you’ve got. Heat recovery is the new
technology. It’s very effective: it moves
heat from one part of the office to
another. It keeps air circulating in the
space.”
Make sure your lights are turned off.
Motion sensors save energy and are
good practice. Replace old lighting
with energy-efficient LEDs.”
“
“
Make sure there’s a clear policy.
You go into many offices with air
conditioning and see that workers
by windows have them wide open.
Air conditioning systems are now
pretty efficient, but one of the things
that’s holding businesses back from
becoming more efficient is the lack
of effective management and proper
operational management. That’s a
classic example.”
0870 903 9500
15. “
Cool Products
The RH Ambio chair by RH Chairs is upholstered in Ventec, an entirely natural
material that includes horse and pig hair chosen for its cooling properties.
Independent research shows that Ventec is 25% better at transporting heat and
15% more effective at transporting moisture than other materials, helping office
workers to keep cool, dry and comfortable in hot weather. This is on top of the
chair’s strong green credentials, which include EPD certification (a new sustainability
standard) and 100% recyclability. www.rhchairs.co.uk
Top Tip
Images play a part in keeping people
cool. Print images of cooling scenes
onto wallpaper for office walls.
Digital printing specialist SurfaceView
prints digital images supplied by
the client or from its own extensive
library onto a variety of materials
to suit any surface from glazing to
brickwork. Prints can be supplied
in a wide range of sizes from small
canvases to complete murals. The
latter are supplied in drops just like
conventional wallpaper.
www.surfaceview.co.uk
The Three Graces by Antonio Canova
from SurfaceView’s V&A Collection.
www.binfo.co.uk
Claremont Group Interiors uses a
Waterlogic plumbed water system in
their serviced offices. This provides
constant still and sparkling drinking
water, without the waste and
environmental cost of bottled water.
For clients that want bottled water for
meetings, Claremont offers the option
of refillable 500ml and 750ml glass
bottles printed with the customer’s
own logo and corporate identity.
Sun-blocking window film
can lower energy consumption by
reducing solar gain in the summer
and preventing heat loss in the winter.
LuxaSolar Clear View window foil
acts like a filter: radiant heat up to
22 degrees centigrade is allowed to pass
through, but above this temperature
the sun’s heat is filtered out. Luxasolar
claims that buildings equipped with the
foil record temperature drops of up to
10 degrees centigrade. For businesses
with air conditioning systems this can
result in a reduction in energy bills of
up to 30% for the months from May
to October. In winter, heat is reflected
back into the room, providing average
energy savings of 25%.
www.luxasolar.eu
Alternatively, you could paint your
walls with Coolwall System primers
and coatings from Textured Coatings
of America (TexCote). Available in
70 colours, these incorporate heatreflective technology that reflects the
sun’s infrared energy and UV radiation,
lowering wall surface temperatures
by as much as 40 degrees farenheit.
According to a study by U.S. Energy
Department’s Oak Ridge National
Laboratory, this reduces cooling costs
in the range of 4.2% - 21.9%. TexCote’s
latest formulation includes recycled
glass material, making it even more
attractive to green designers and
architects. www.texcote.com
The heat generated by IT equipment in
an office can have a considerable impact
upon the overall temperature at this
time of year. Whilst we can’t do away
with computers we can choose kit that
can reduce the amount of heat emitted.
For instance flat screen monitors use
less power (approx 50-60%) and emit
a lot less heat than traditional CRT
monitors. Flat screens also enable a
more comfortable seating position
when used in conjunction with an
adjustable support such as Colebrook
Bosson Saunders’ Rodney monitor arm.”
Peter Bosson, founding Director of
Colebrook Bosson Saunders
Did You Know?
When Peter Bosson, founding
Director of Colebrook Bosson
Saunders, studied architecture he
was fascinated to learn about the
ancient cooling systems developed
in the East, in the days of Genghis
Khan. It seems that the tent cities,
and later the stone ones, used damp
blankets, often fed by a drip feed, which
the wind blew through. The scientific
phenomenon known as “latent heat”
took energy out of the air, turned it
into evaporated water and chilled the
air (know the feeling of a sea breeze?).
This created a kind of heat pump using
wind. Incredibly, all modern offices
work on a version of this principle
today. The stone building as part of
the Islamic patterning used diamond
shaped sections, which by compressing
the air heated up the stone but
delivered cooler air on the back side
of the window. This, combined with
a damp hanging, proved an effective
chilling mechanism. So, if you had wind
and water, you had cooling: simple,
green, sustainable.
sustainabletimes 15
16. advertorial
Olivetti and
the Environment
The current condition of the planet has focused
attention on pressing environmental issues, encouraging
all social partners (public authorities, associations,
companies) to commit themselves to active protection
and safe-guarding of the environment.
ink-jet printhead
production facility
awarded ISO14001
certification
Polymerised
toner
Active participation in protecting
the environment has always been at
the top of Olivetti’s list of priorities,
as reflected in its corporate mission.
Decades of indiscriminate dilapidation
of raw materials and energy in order
to cater to the ever more pressing
needs of a constantly expanding
economic system, have seriously
undermined the delicate equilibrium
of world eco-systems. To protect the
environment and, ultimately, the planet,
a compromise must be established
between technological development
and effects on the environment. Olivetti
has endorsed this concept, contributing
with a balance between technological
innovation and protection of the
environment, as confirmed by its ink-jet
printhead production facility which has
been awarded ISO14001 certification,
the international standard for the
management of the environment.
WEEE and RoHS Directives
The EC Directive 2002/96/EC, also
known as WEEE (Waste Electrical and
Electronic Equipment) is intended
to prevent and restrict the flow of
waste equipment to be disposed of, by
applying equipment and component
re-use and recycling policies. The
Directive applies the concept of
Extended Producer Responsibility
(Whoever Pollutes: Pays). One way in
which Olivetti makes this easier for
everyone is by encouraging its network
of dealers to use empty up-turned
machine boxes, as collection points
for all WEEE. Olivetti then arranges
for full boxes to be collected; the box,
and its contents, are then recycled at a
designated processing unit, on behalf of
the dealers and their customers.
Waste Reduction and
Re-usable Materials
Olivetti goes a long way to ensuring
their products conform to the stringent
pro
environmental directives in place. In
environ
particular the long-life drums and
particul
developers, in their copiers and
deve
printers, are highly reliable and
productive and this reduces
service intervals, maintenance
costs and user downtime. All
co
Olivetti products are manufactured
Olivett
under ISO14001 and adhere to global
IS
standards of responsible packaging
standar
which is recycled and recyclable.
Print quality is greatly enhanced with
a highly durable print finish to ensure
long-lasting, better quality professionallooking documents.
Low Temperature Fixing
By making the particles smaller and
uniform in shape, toner fixing can be
achieved at a much lower temperature,
preventing paper curling or jamming
during the finishing process.
Power Consumption
Olivetti Products are all Energy Star,
and, in the case of the colour range,
Blue Angel compliant which means
they have been specifically designed
to reduce the amount of energy office
machines use. With the help of lower
fixing temperatures this is achieved
every time the machines make copies
or prints. Each machine features a
power-saving automatic “sleep mode”
which, over a year, can reduce the
amount of electricity used by our
models by 60% over previous years.
For instance the 62ppm and 82ppm
Olivetti d-Copia 6200 and d-Copia 8200
absorb only 10 watts of energy when in
sleep mode.
For more info on Olivetti’s full range
of business products go to
www.olivetti.co.uk
Improv
Improved Quality and
Reduced Emissions
Reduce
The polymerised toner technology
poly
used to enhance the printing quality
of Olive
Olivetti’s monochrome & colour
solutions is unique in the market and
solution
has bee designed with the environment
been
and use in mind. Because the toner
users
particles are smaller, than ordinary
particle
pulverised toner, with a more uniform
pulveris
shape, image reproduction delivers fine
i
lines and small text with clear contours.
an
Photos and illustrations are reproduced
more naturally with improved half-tones.
na
16 sustainabletimes
0870 903 9500
17. IT industry standards are all rather confusing:
there’s EPEAT Bronze/Silver/Gold, Blue Angel, Green
Ticks, Quick Wins, Eco Flower, Energy Star 4,
Energy Star 5 – the list goes on. But what do they
all mean and which ones are most relevant to the
environmentally conscience buyer? Here Very PC
managing director Peter Hopton provides an overview
of the different schemes and how they compare.
Energy Star
Energy Star (www.eu-energystar.org),
a joint EU/US standard administered by
the US environmental protection agency
(EPA), relates to the energy efficiency
of products. This is probably the most
important consideration when buying
equipment, as energy consumption
represents around 80% of the carbon
footprint of most IT equipment, has a
large global warming impact and can
result in total cost of ownership savings.
In the EU, rule 106/2008 states that
Energy Star for Desktop PCs is to be
used as a minimum efficiency measure
for all public sector procurement.
Machines don’t have to be registered,
but they should be more efficient than
the standard to be procured with
public money.
Energy Star aims to certify the most
energy-efficient 25% of equipment and
is reviewed and updated regularly to
encourage efficiency improvements. The
latest version, Energy Star 5.0, applies to
all computers made after July 1, 2009.
To qualify for Energy Star 5.0 devices
must use at least 30% less energy than
was required under Energy Star 4.0.
Energy Star 5.0 splits equipment
into four categories: A, B, C and D,
representing single, dual, triple and
quad core systems respectively. It uses a
metric called Total Energy Consumption
(TEC) – an estimate of how much
electricity you’ll use per year, in KWh.
TEC assumes your machine is off 55%
of the time, on 40% of the time and
in sleep mode 5% of the time. For a
category B (dual core) machine to pass
Energy Star 5, it would need to use less
than 175KWh per year.
Energy Star has recently launched
a specification for Servers v1.0, which
identifies the most efficient server
equipment. This is scheduled for
regulation in the EU around September
2009, when it will become the minimum
standard for server procurement.
Ask your suppliers for the TEC of
Energy Star certified desktops: some
products on the market beat the
standard by over 60% and can offer
great energy savings. For example,
equipment from eco-computer maker
www.binfo.co.uk
Peter Hopton,
managing
director of
Very PC.
VeryPC (www.very-pc.co.uk) significantly
exceeds the standard and TEC numbers
are published openly on their website.
Ecological Standards
All the ecological standards listed below
have Energy Star accreditation as a
minimum requirement. However, many
are based upon legacy applications under
Energy Star 4.0. EPEAT, for example,
will not remove non-Energy Star 5.0
qualified products until January 2010. So
when buying equipment, it is important
to check that it meets the more rigorous
Energy Star 5.0 standards.
“
…some
products on
the market
beat the
standard by
over 60%…
EPEAT (Electronic Product
Environmental Assessment Tool)
EPEAT (www.epeat.net ) is a US standard
managed by the Green Electronics
Council, an initiative of non-profit
charity The International Sustainable
Development Foundation. At the time
of writing, EPEAT certification was only
open to organisations with an office in
the US and so should not be used for
EU public sector procurement.
EPEAT is a multi-tiered standard:
Bronze certification is awarded to
devices that meet certain mandatory
requirements (most of which are a legal
requirement in the EU anyway); and
Silver and Gold to PCs that meet the
specified number of optional criteria.
It should be noted that the optional
criteria include key areas addressed by
The Department for Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) as a minimum
specification for green procurement,
meaning that an EPEAT Gold product
might not meet
the minimum standard
outlined by DEFRA! In
addition, many optional criteria are
quite gimmicky, allowing manufacturers
to score points for ‘Own Brand Solar Cell
Accessories’ for example, instead of the
elimination of carcinogenic fire retardants
identified by the EU and DEFRA.
Blue Angel
Blue Angel (http://tinyurl.com/ln59ya) is
a German standard for the certification
of ecological content of IT equipment. As
you would expect from Germany, where
environmental issues are taken very
seriously, the standard is well thought
out, methodical and detailed.
Blue Angel includes many of the
serious optional requirements of
EPEAT and lines up nicely with DEFRA’s
recommendations. If a product has a
Blue Angel label, all you need to do is
ensure that the manual is printed on
recycled paper and it meets the DEFRA
recommendations.
Blue Angel is available to all
computer makers that sell in the EU, but
uptake with manufacturers is low.
Quick Wins
Quick Wins (http://tinyurl.com/
krouhf) is the formal name for DEFRA’s
recommendations for ecological
procurement. Updated annually, it
divides products into three categories
– Minimum Standard, Best Practice
and Class Leader – each of which has
more stringent criteria. Quick Wins
is the definitive standard for green
procurement in the UK.
Green Ticks
The Green Tick mark is issued by
The Office of Government Commerce
(OGC) and exactly follows DEFRA’s
recommendations outlined in Quick
Wins. The Minimum Standard is marked
with a tick and Best Practice is marked
with a tick and a plus. To date no-one
has achieved Class Leader, so we don’t
know how Green Ticks will commend a
product that does.
Eco Flower
Yet to be released, Eco Flower is
otherwise referred to as the ‘Common
European eco-mark’. Eco Flower is an
EU mark aimed at solidifying elements
of Quick Wins and Blue Angel in a
common European standard.
sustainabletimes 17
18. steps to greener PCs
7
PCs and associated peripherals
account for almost one
third (31%) of the energy
consumed by information and
communication technology
(ICT), giving businesses plenty
of scope for efficiency savings.
Here, Gartner suggests 7 steps
that every business should take
to improve the environmental
performance of PCs throughout
their life cycle.
the exclusion of specific toxins by a
given date.
3. Set Realistic Goals
Companies often set unrealistic goals for
PC energy reduction. A blanket goal of
‘50% reduction’ sounds good but may
be unachievable because different parts
of an organisation will have different
starting points and be able to implement
different practices. It is important to
define localised goals for specific target
user groups or business units.
1. Survey Your Environment
Understanding current energy use is
crucial in assessing progress. Gartner
advises against relying on vendorprovided figures for PC hardware draw
and instead advocates the use of a
simple power meter, which will provide
a basic understanding of how much it
costs to power PCs and the savings that
organisations can accrue if they start
managing their power states.
4. Budget for Tools to
Reinforce the Policy
Free tools to manage power settings
are available but may not always be
effective. Power management tools can
support the enforcement of policies
on energy use and reduce energy
consumption without compromising
security and desktop support. Although
power management tools are relatively
inexpensive and often fully recover their
costs in energy savings, they should still
be budgeted for.
2. Create a Policy
A policy document should start with a
statement of enterprise intentions
linked to a set of goals and key
performance indicators (KPIs), such as
increased energy efficiency, highest
vendor environmental standards and
5. Establish Reporting and
Auditing Mechanisms
Many companies have been
disappointed by a lack of impact on their
monthly power bills directly attributable
to a PC power efficiency program.
However, even when power savings
are negligible, the ability to report
on emission reductions will become
increasingly important. Gartner advises
enterprises to purchase a power auditing
program, typically included as part of a
power management tools package.
6. The Right PC for the Right User
Different PCs have very different power
consumption levels and equipping users’
systems with the right configuration
and capacity can be an important step
in reducing electrical usage. Although
newer PCs and monitors are more
efficient, companies should not use
power savings as an excuse to replace
systems earlier, but should ensure that
when systems are replaced, power
management features are implemented
as part of the deployment process.
7. Disposal
PC disposal is probably the toughest
issue to deal with because it can involve
additional expense, particularly in the
current economic downturn, when
markets for recycled materials have
crashed. Enterprises should carefully
balance their environmental principles
with the potential costs.
The full Gartner report ‘Seven Steps
for Greening PCs’ is available on
Gartner’s website at
http://tinyurl.com/ksa9jv
LG joins forces with NComputing
to simplify desktop virtualisation
LG Electronics has joined forces with
desktop virtualisation specialist
NComputing to lower the cost and
environmental impact of computing
for a wide variety of organisations
from schools to internet cafes and
telesales departments.
The company’s new LG Network
Monitor comes ready to be used with
NComputing technology that allows
18 sustainabletimes
“
…lower
computer
hardware
costs by
60%…
as many as 10 users to share the
processing power of a single desktop
PC, thus saving the cost of buying and
running 10 separate computers.
For a simpler installation, LG’s
monitor has embedded NComputing
circuitry so that the user’s keyboard and
mouse can be plugged directly into the
screen. In conventional installations,
these accessories must be attached to a
separate plug-in box.
LG estimates that customers of
LG Network Monitors with embedded
NComputing desktop virtualisation
technology can lower their computer
hardware costs by 60%, electricity costs
by 80% and maintenance costs by 90%.
Reducing the number of PCs required
saves space and lowers heat emissions
for a more comfortable working
environment, while the ability to power
the monitors via Cap 5 and 6 LAN
cables instead of a separate power line
gives great flexibility in space planning.
LG Electronics
GREENinitiative
award
Sustainable TIMES
SUMMER 09
One of the first organisations to
take advantage of LG’s solution is
Barry Island Primary School in Wales.
Its new networked ICT solution uses
LG Network Monitors and virtual
desktop software to provide all children
with a monitor, mouse and keyboard at
their desks.
Teachers now have the ability to
monitor each pupil’s work from the
host PC without needing to go to each
individual computer. By easily switching
between screens, they can also
showcase a pupil’s work to the entire
class via an interactive whiteboard.
Furthermore, the ability to provide
computing at pupils’ desks at low cost
has removed the need for a separate
ICT suite, enabling Barry Island Primary
School to create a new classroom for
30 additional pupils.
www.lge.com
marco.manzi@computacenter.com
0845 6038997
0870 903 9500
19. advertorial
Comms technology
can improve working patterns
to cut costs
One of the positive effects of the
current recession is the way it has
forced companies to examine their
working practices for more efficient,
cost effective methods of doing
business. Many current working
practices are accepted uncritically
because that’s the way it’s always
been done. We accept round-trip
commuter journeys of 100 miles
or more as normal, but until the
mid-twentieth century spending
several hours a day travelling to
and from work would have
been unthinkable.
For office workers
the most importan
important
reason for travelling t
to
a central place of work is
to interact easily with work
colleagues. There is of course
the traditional ‘presentation culture’
which requires you to show your boss
that you’re hard at work so he can
admire your commitment and keep an
eye on the slackers. But in a challenging
economic climate are these really
compelling reasons for maintaining
large office blocks, providing company
cars and paying city centre salary
scale weighting?
www.binfo.co.uk
Successful businesses always examine
working practices critically to see if there
is a better way of doing things that
reduces the cost base. Modern voice and
data communications technology now
provides the means for breaking down
traditional working patters to produce
a better work-life balance and reduce
overheads.
So what are the new technologies
that will allow employees to change
their working patterns? Well, one answer
is hosted telephony. Spitfire now offers
a hosted telephony service with phone
system functionality provided remotely
by Spitfire. Called SIP Communicator™,
it only requires SIP compatible handsets,
making the service an extremely costeffective solution for business start-ups
and small businesses that are growing
and anticipate moving premises or are
spread over multiple sites. Crucially in
this difficult time for business credit, it
requires no upfront capital expenditure
and as a service provision, it is a
completely tax deductible cost.
SIP Communicator™ has been
designed as an end-to-end service
and is ideal for small start-up SMEs
and multisite operations such as retail
branch networks or small businesses
employing home workers. Where a
business has home workers or workers
in many different locations, then SIP
Communicator™ provides real business
and economic benefits because staff
can call each other free of charge and
incoming calls can be routed to any
location.
SIP Communicator™ offers all the
usual phone system features of holding
and transferring calls, but has a number
of additional benefits. The system
can be configured via the Internet,
allowing change of feature set-ups as
and when required, without incurring
any engineering charges. Multiple hunt
groups can be set up for incoming calls
to ring telephones simultaneously or
sequentially. SIP Communicator also
provides voice mail, auto-attendant and
conference call functionality.
Users can be located anywhere
and provided with phone numbers for
any location, so an employee based
in Glasgow can have a London phone
number and vice versa. (Spitfire can
provide geographic numbers for any area
in the UK, as well as non-geographic
numbers such as 0800 and 0845 if
required).
SIP Communicator™ requires no
capital outlay or in-house technical
expertise and the service is very
flexible - an important consideration for
start-up and expanding companies that
anticipate frequent moves in premises
during the early growth years.
For organisations with a staff working
partly or entirely from home a hosted
telephony service is ideal, because it
allows users to communicate easily
with each other free of charge, while
also providing a professional response
to outside callers. This new technology
means that we are already starting to
see the growth of ‘virtual businesses’
that operate without a central premises
with staff working from home.
Developments such as hosted
telephony are starting to break down
the working patterns of the last
century. Gradually going to the office
will become meaningless, because the
office will be where you happen to be.
Workers will visit a central location for
large conferences and meetings, but very
few people will keep a permanent desk
in an office building. There are powerful
economic benefits for these changes.
If businesses benefit from reduced
overheads, workers will also benefit
from more flexible working patterns
that harmonise the competing demands
of business and domestic life. No
commuting means more productivity
and time for childcare and the gym.
The wasteful use of energy for
business travelling, with its cost to the
environment and the quality of life in
our cities and towns will also be
reduced – a networked world means
everybody wins!
For further information call
Spitfire on 020 7501 3000
or visit www.spitfire.co.uk
sustainabletimes 19
20. What’s New…
Here’s looking at you
Sheffield-based Green PC manufacturer VeryPC has developed a new energysaving application that uses a webcam and facial detection technology to
automate the turning on and off of computer screens. By sensing when someone
is facing the screen and adapting power settings accordingly, PecoBOO is
more responsive than conventional, timer-based power management systems.
This, claims VeryPC managing director Peter Hopton, makes it ideal for modern
computer applications. “If you are watching BBC iPlayer, for example, and your
screensaver is set to kick in after 15 minutes, it will interrupt your viewing, so you
disable it. Once disabled, the setting tends to stay that way forever. PecoBOO is
comfortable and non-intrusive because it will never turn your screen off when
you are looking at it. On top of that, it will save 5, 10, 15 or more minutes for
users who are disciplined enough to keep the default power management
running because it works as soon as you leave the computer, with no delay.”
www.very-pc.co.uk www.pecoboo.co.uk
Recovery position
Antalis has added Steinbeis 100%
recycled papers to its portfolio of
environmental products. The papers
are made entirely from recovered
paper and from next year, when a
new on-site power plant opens, will
be manufactured using bio-mass
rather than fossil fuel. There are five
products in the series, ranging from
Steinbeis ClassicWhite, made using
paper from household collections,
to Steinbeis Evolution White, which
uses innovative technology to create
a flawlessly white paper that meets
the strict Blue Angel environmental
standard. The range also includes
Steinbeis MagicColour tinted paper,
available in five different colours.
0870 532 9015
Take note
Best known for its pens,
BIC also produces a range of
repositionable sticky notes,
including the new BIC Ecolutions
s
Recycled Notes. Made from
80% recycled waste paper, these
e
notes are available in pastel blue or
e
green, in either square or rectangular
gular
blocks. Other new additions to the
range include BIC Multi Notes; vibrant
neon BIC Indexes perfect for tabbing
bbing
documents; and BIC Easy Notes, a
collection of sticky notes and indexes
arranged on a single sheet that can be
inserted into files.
www.bicworld.com
Born in the EU
Ara from Orangebox is claimed to be the
first task chair developed and manufactured in
Europe to achieve Cradle to Cradle (C2C) accreditation.
C2C is a manufacturing philosophy in which the materials used
must either be biodegradable (without depositing synthetic
materials or toxins) or endlessly recyclable in a
closed loop recycling system. Ara is 98%
recyclable and has been designed to make
disassembly and recycling as simple as
possible. At end of life Orangebox will
collect old chairs from the customer’s
premises and take them back to the
recycling facility at its South Wales factory where the chairs
will be disassembled (assuming re-use is not possible) and the
materials recovered to be used again. www.orangebox.com
20 sustainabletimes
Recycled content
The new range of HP Deskjet printers
are the first HP models available
in Europe to be made with a high
proportion of recycled plastic, ranging
from 25% on the entry-level HP
Deskjet D1660 (£29.99) to 50% on
the HP Deskjet D2660 (£39.99). HP’s
lowest-cost wireless-enabled printer,
the HP Deskjet D5560 (£69.99), has
a recycled plastic content of 35%.
The new printers will help HP meet its
goal of using 46 million kilograms of
recycled plastic in printing products
by 2011 (cumulative from 2007).
According to HP, this is the equivalent
of diverting 4 billion plastic water
bottles from going to landfill.
www.hp.com
0870 903 9500
087
21. Tree-free notebooks
Staples has launched an interesting
alternative to recycled paper
notebooks. The tree-free Bagasse
range of notebooks, pads and refill
paper is made from a waste product
of the sugar-making process (bagasse)
that under normal circumstances
would be burnt. Making paper from
bagasse doesn’t just save trees: it also
eliminates CO2 emissions from the
burning of the sugarcane waste. All
products in the range have a bagasse
content of 80%. www.staples.co.uk
New use for farm bale wraps
Cleaning and hygiene product supplier CPD has introduced a refuse
sack that is claimed to have a carbon footprint 35% smaller than
any other sack on the market. Developed by BPI Recycled Products
exclusively for CPD, The Green Sack is
100% recycled with a high percentage
of recycled farm films (such as bale
wrap and crop covers). The farm film
is sourced direct from farms in the UK
and Ireland and, unlike the majority of
the UK’s plastic waste, is processed in
the UK. The Green Sack is available in
a range of styles including refuse sacks,
swing/pedal bin liners, garden and
rubble sacks. www.cpd-plc.co.uk
Carbon cut and
blow dry
Sony
Ericsson’s
green heart
Sony Ericsson has launched the first
phones developed under its GreenHeart
programme. TheC901 GreenHeart and Naite phones have
a 15% smaller carbon footprint thanks to the use of ‘inphone’ e-manuals instead of paper ones; a minimum of
50% plastic recycled content; an optimised display light
sensor that uses less energy; and smaller packaging for
reduced transportation costs. In line with Sony Ericsson’s
commitment to eliminate the use of hazardous chemicals,
the C901 GreenHeart is coloured with waterborne paints
that lower exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).
The GreenHeart programme also encompasses accessories
including the MH300 GreenHeart headset, which uses
100% recycled plastic for four of its five hard plastic parts,
and the EP300 GreenHeart low-power charger (supplied
with the Naite phone). Sony Ericsson plans to roll-out these
innovations to its entire portfolio in 2010 and 2011.
www.sonyericsson.com/greenheart
Savortex has launched what it claims
is the world’s greenest hand dryer,
with the lowest carbon footprint in
its class. The Vortex uses patented
spinning air technology, which
accelerates drying times to 10-15
seconds by breaking up water droplets
on the skin. Because it dispenses with
conventional heating elements, the
hand dryer consumes up to 80% less
energy than market leading models,
produces lower heat emissions
and offers cost savings of 40-80%.
Another benefit, says Savortex, is a
low operating noise of 80dB.
www.savortex.com
Solar back-up for camera users
In a first for the portable solar charger market, the
FreeLoader Pro comes with a CamCaddy power cradle that
can be used to charge batteries from most digital cameras and
video recorders. Another useful feature of the £69.99 backup power supply is a multi-voltage switch that lets you switch
to 9.5V for charging power-hungry DVD and MP4 players. The
FreeLoader Pro’s internal battery can be charged via USB cable or the
integrated solar panels and provides enough power for 5,000 page turns of an e-book,
70 hours standby on a mobile phone or to fully charge a digital camera battery.
www.solartechnology.co.uk
www.binfo.co.uk
What’s
New…
Carbon zero
Toshiba has partnered
with co2balance to
make all its MFPs and
the first million pages
printed on them carbon
neutral. Co2balance calculated how
much it would cost to offset the
carbon emissions associated with
the manufacture, transport, servicing
and disposal of Toshiba MFPs and the
printing of one million pages. All MFPs
bought direct will be carbon zero,
following Toshiba’s decision to absorb
the cost of offsetting. The carbon zero
option, which applies to all MFPs from
desktops to high volume production
devices, is also being made available to
Toshiba dealers. They have the choice
of paying the cost themselves or
passing it on to their customers.
www.toshiba.co.uk
sustainabletimes 21
22. Survey of the month
t’s
Cisco’s global strategic consulting
arm, the Internet Business Services
Group, has calculated that by
allowing employees to telecommute
and telework Cisco has achieved
productivity savings of $277 million
per year.
Telecommuting also creates a
more content workforce, with 91%
of respondents stating that it was
somewhat or very important to their
overall satisfaction levels. Eight out
of 10 said that it led to an improved
quality of life.
Underlining how telecommuting
benefits employer and employee
alike, 60% of the time saved by
telecommuting is spent working and
40% is spent on personal time.
Telecommuting is also enabling
Cisco to achieve significant reductions
in carbon emissions.
In 2008, Cisco teleworkers
prevented approximately 47,320 metric
tons of greenhouse gas emissions from
being released into the environment
due to avoided travel, saving $10.3
million per year in fuel costs.
www.cisco.com
22 sustainabletimes
per G
l Hy
e
Pent
3. BIC Ecolutions Clic Stic
Pentel is another company with a
dedicated green range. Its Recycology
line includes recycled versions of bestsellers, such as the Energel, Superb G
and Hyper G pens, as well as brand new
designs like the Slicci ultra-smooth gel
ink pen, which has a recycled content
of 87%.
www.pentel.co.uk
01793 823333
BIC has become the latest pen
manufacturer to launch a range of
green pens. The BIC ecolutions series
includes pens made from recycled
pre-consumer or post-consumer
materials, including the BIC
ecolutions Clic Stic (62% recycled)
and the BIC Evolution Pencil, a
wood-free graphite resin pencil
made from 57% recycled
material
www.bicecolutions.com
4. Eco-Elements FlexGrip Ultra
Paper:Mate has launched a recycled version
of its best-selling FlexGrip Ultra pen. Part of
the company’s Eco-Elements range, the 70%
recycled ballpen features Lubriglide ink and
a rubberised barrel and grip rings for writing
comfort. The pen is available in black, blue
and red and costs £1.47 for a pack of two.
Paper
:M
ate F
lexGr
ip
Clic Stic
Pentel Slicci
2. Pentel Slicci
69% said they were
more productive
working remotely
Be
o
Pil
1. Pilot B2P
No prizes for guessing what the Bottle To Pen (B2P)
en
is made out of. Unlike most recycled pens, which
tend to be made from pre-consumer waste from
manufacturing processes, Pilot’s retractable,
refillable gel ink rollerball is made from
recycled plastic water bottles. Part of Pilot’s
BeGreen range, the B2P has an 89%
recycled content (excluding ink and
refill). 01628 537100.
B2
lutions
Telecommuting can increase
employee productivity, work-life
flexibility and job satisfaction, Cisco
claims in a new report (Teleworker
Survey).
Cisco’s survey of almost 2,000 of
its workforce in five regions around the
globe revealed that Cisco employees
now telecommute on average two days
a week, bringing significant benefits to
the company.
Almost seven out of 10 (69%) of
the 1,992 employees surveyed said
that they were more productive when
working remotely, and 75% said the
timeliness of their work improved. Two
thirds (67%) said that their overall
work quality improved.
Green Pens
P
n
ee
Gr
BIC Eco
The benefits of
telecommuting
Ultra
5. Mitsubishi Pencil
Company Power Tank Eco
co
nk E
er Ta
Pow
The first green pen from Mitsubishi Pencil
Company to be launched in the UK, the Power Tank
Eco has a barrel made from recycled polycarbonate plastic
and a grip made from resin and re-formed sawdust from the
company’s pencil factory.
www.uniball.co.uk
0870 903 9500
23. advertorial
The New Sust
a
inable
Retail Concept!
POP STORE is a brand new transient retail concept
that is bringing in a host of super-cool designer
fashion brands to selected locations across the UK.
It is unique in its celebration of
the temporary by breaking with
traditional retail convention and
offering a new style of exclusivity;
a one time, limited opportunity to
buy exciting brands and indulge in a
totally different retail experience.
The POP STORE philosophy is that
each store is created in the shell of
a fallen retailer or a disused store.
However, rather than try to hideor
disguise the previous interior, POP
STORE actually embrace the existing
fixtures and fittings and utilise them.
The quirky interior treatment reflects
the modern relevance of the apparel,
accessories, collectibles and art within.
POP STORE is a glittering
gem amongst an all too familiar
background of Shopping Centre
‘High St’ retailers. All their fixtures
are sustainable, creating an interior
that will leave no trace when gone...
Tasteful packing case style hanging
rails and ‘stickle brick™’ inspired
shelving units exemplify the brief
nature of residence that is POP STORE,
but is key to the environmental beliefs
of its founders Brian MacShane and
Sam Clapp.
Brian said, “Many brands take on
retail units and spend weeks converting
them to their corporate or brand styles,
using expensive new materials in the
process in order to try and create
a presence on the High Street.” He
added, “With the environment close
to our hearts, POP STORE is all about
sustainability. We have found a nice
formula that works really well and
our interior style sitting nicely in the
vacant units we take on. And after our
short stay, we move all our fixtures and
fittings on to the next store as is the
nomadic nature of our business.”
After an amazingly successful
launch in June at North London’s Brent
Cross shopping centre, POP STORE
has already lined up shopping centres
like Kingston, Bluewater, Bristol and
Birmingham’s Bull Ring as the brand is
rolled out across the UK.
Their retail brands include:
Christopher Lee Suave, Wildfox
Couture, Fourholes, Le Specs, Insight,
Commune, Gentle Fawn and many
more....
For information please
visit www.pop-store.com or
call 01491 574432.
www.binfo.co.uk
sustainabletimes 23
24. We don’t like our customers
having to waste energy
boiling water.
[It’s not our cup of tea.]
The FLAVIA Creation 400™ is so energy efficient it saves
customers £££s. It is:
• 14% more energy efficient than the
average result for the leading bean to
cup machines tested
• 12% more energy efficient than the
average for a range of leading
household kettles tested
See how it compares against other sources:
Energy Consumption Comparison
Standby Mode
100
Watt hours/Hour
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
80
60
40
20
rs
Bo
ile
C4
00
via
Ket
tles
s
Bo
iler
Sin
g
Co le Se
mp r ve
etit
or
Bea
n2
ave Cup
rag
e
Fla
via
C4
00
Sin
gle
Co
mp Ser ve
etit
Bea or
n2
ave Cup
rag
e
0
Fla
Watt hours per litre
120
Testing carried out by an independent energy testing facility using the European Vending Association Energy Measurement Protocol
Mars Drinks’ Thirsty for Change programme helps your
workplace become more sustainable:
• Use the N-viro cup: the first hot drinks vending eco-friendly
cup to be manufactured in the UK
• Recycle our Filterpacks, stirrers, cups and milk pots via
Save-a-Cup
• Help others by choosing our Rainforest Alliance Certified
drinks, and much, much more…
For more information on how FLAVIA can help you with
your sustainability goals: Tel: 0800 10 40 40
Web: www.marsdrinks.com / www.myflavia.co.uk