Sustainable Times Issue 4

SUMMER 2009

Toshiba MFPs plus

fi rst million prints

now carbon zero

Carbon Zero

Projects supported by Toshiba include the supply of energy-

effi cient stoves in Kenya…

How to stay cool this

summer

Recycled pens

Energy Star 5.0 explained

Desktop virtualisation

Smarter commuting

Lexmark printers can help you save the environment.

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

save the environme

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.

Inkjet, Laser and Multifunction Printing Solutions

It’s been a miserable summer so far, but if recent years are

anything to go by we could be in for a warm September.

For offi ce workers who don’t have the luxury of air

conditioning this is a mixed blessing. But even those who enjoy

temperature-controlled working environments may have to

get used to warmer offi ces, as the British Council of Offi ces

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. As always, the

key message is to plan ahead: taking steps to reduce offi ce

temperatures may not be a priority today, but hopefully next

year you will be thankful you took them.

James Goulding, Editor

04 Agenda Developments in sustainability,

from carbon counters to nappy recycling

10 Green PrintersWhich printing technologies generate the least waste?

14 How to Stay CoolTop Tips for cooler offi ces

Editor James Goulding 01962 771862 [email protected]

Advertising Director Ethan White 01474 824711 [email protected]

Publishing Director Neil Trim 07803 087229 dd 01737 249408 [email protected]

Sustainable Times is a supplement of Business Info Magazine. It is published by Kingswood Media Ltd., 4 New Cottages, Green Farm Lane, Shorne, Kent DA12 3HQ. Tel: 01474 824711. Email: [email protected]

No part of Sustainable Times can be reproduced without prior written permission of the publisher. © 2009 Kingswood Media Ltd.

The paper used in this magazine is obtained from manufacturers who operate within internationally recognized standards. The paper is made from Elementary Chlorine Free (ECF) pulp, which is sourced from sustainable, properly managed forestation.

17 Environmental StandardsThe most important standards for PC purchasers

18 Green IT Gartner’s Top Tips for implementing green IT

20 What’s New Our round-up of the best

new green products

22 TelecommutingCisco releases the results of its own remote working programme

22 Recycled PensFive of the best recycled pens

CONTENTS

CONTENTS

s

On

2

Sweden brought us Abba and IKEA……but they have since set the benchmark for all things design and they seem to be setting the standard for going green too. The Swedish Environmental Council acts as the Secretariat for the EPD System which provides comparable information for consumers on the environmental performance of any product or service. RH Chairs has an EPD certifi cation and guess what, it’s Swedish too.

RH Chairs have EPD certifi cations for their RH Ambio, RH Extend and RH Logic 400 (pictured) chairs and which means all three top-end offi ce chairs meet strict environmental standards. It also means that their chairs are 100% recyclable and have met stringent ‘green’ criteria relating to the manufacturing and production processes.

The recession means consumers are understandably concerned about cost but what comes out of an economic downturn is an understanding that a focus on the environment will essentially drive the economy and drive out cost.

RH Chairs’ customer base has grown rapidly due to superior ergonomic design, environmental awareness and credentials, the ethos of building movement into sitting and a chance to signifi cantly reduce absenteeism. The average employee took seven sick days in 2007, costing the UK economy £13.2billion. Two of those seven

days were attributed to back pain and repetitive strain injury which equals a cost of approximately £3.7billion per year to the UK economy. We owe it to our staff and economy to reduce these fi gures.

RH have created a range of offi ce chairs that encourage movement whilst sitting which improves posture, breathing and oxygenation of the blood – all of which signifi cantly reduce the risk of injury and have been proven to reduce absenteeism and improve wellness and productivity.

All this and a chance to brand your own chairs; RH have designed and manufactured chairs in honour of the Ashes Series (pictured) and is working with one of the world’s largest car manufacturers, motorcycle manufacturers and retail outlets. So when you think about buying a product, take into consideration the design and what the wider benefi ts and environmental impacts are and not just the price tag.

Jorgen Josefsson,Country Manager UK at RH Chairs.

www.rhchairs.co.ukTo try an RH Chair before you buy visit: www.rhchairs.co.uk

Or call: +44 (0)208 6839930

04 sustainabletimes 0870 903 9500

greenAgendaSolar-powered reading lightMy 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

How much do your

PCs cost?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 fi gure. This can then be used to work out the overall cost of specifi c 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 fi rewalls. This ensures that all IT assets can be managed in real time.www.netsupportsoftware.com

Stay dry with roof tiles made from nappiesThe fi rst 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 fi rst 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 fi gure that highlights the importance of developing alternative uses for post-consumer nappies.” www.smallplanetbuilding.com www.knowaste.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 fi rst Small Planet roof tile

Photo: Brandon Barrett

Carbon counter keeps going upDeutsche Bank is aiming to instil a

sense of urgency into the climate-

change 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 real-time tally of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, based on measurements developed by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

The fi gure 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

sustainabletimes 05www.binfo.co.uk

Proponents of Software as a Service

(SaaS) frequently refer to its

environmental advantages, but how

great are they and where do the

benefi ts lie?

In order to fi nd 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 air-conditioning, 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 benefi ts of NetSuite’s offering include lower levels of paper use and e-waste and increased productivity.www.netsuite.com/green

A is for AberdeenActive, 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 self-suffi cient 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 Certifi cate (EPC).

greenAgenda…

Energy management at the workstationHerman 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 Offi ce 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

The cloud is greener, claims NetSuite

In a whirlVisitors 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


Cross-charging fi res enthusiasm for green ITFour out of fi ve 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 effi cient 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 refl ect 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 effi cient products: two-thirds said they would pay at least 10% more, while 41% are willing to pay at least 20% more. www.symantec.com

greenAgenda Greenpeace holds manufacturers to

account 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

fl ame retardants (BFRs) from

computer products (excluding servers

and printers) by the end of 2009.

Greenpeace claims that both materials are hazardous and create signifi cant 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 signifi cantly 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

Prius commitmentPart of the marketing campaign for

the new Toyota Prius hybrid car,

these 18-foot high ‘solar fl owers’

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 fl owers’ petals and stems.

Toyota’s campaign also features bus shelters with solar-powered fans that circulate air within the space.

These installations refl ect 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.

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 fl eet 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.

The problem of toxic e-waste is

predicted to become more acute

in the next six years before fi nally

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

E-waste to peak in 2015

Printing solutionsas easy as

Introducing Print Solutions that put you completely in control. Control your workfl ow, through

web based monitoring systems. Control your costs with our Toner Save feature which can

extend toner life by up to 30%. Control the operation with intuitive user interfaces and easy

to understand troubleshooting guides. With Samsung Print Solutions you can save both time

and money. Now with 0% fi nance, it’s 100% affordable.

Contact us now on 0845 270 9550 or visit

www.samsung.com/businessprinter or further

information and to fi nd a supplier in your area.

© 2009 Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.

Control Workfl ow Control Cost Control Operation

0%

Finance*

*Terms and conditions apply, please visit www.samsung.com/printerfi nance for further information.


greenAgenda

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 fi ve devices (whittled down from eight by ZDNet Labs) was fi eld 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

Sealed with a clickCustomers 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 specifi cations (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 fi rst 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

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

Deforestation is everybody’s businessThe 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 fi nancial

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 offi cial 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 infl uential 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 refl ected in their future value, and for investors to pick potential winners and losers.”

One of FFD’s fi rst 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 identifi ed 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

Eee PC best for developing world

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 fi ve in Germany, and that UK consumers have the lowest awareness of the WEEE Directive and producer recycling initiatives.

In response to these fi ndings, Dell is urging government bodies to do more to publicise the free recycling initiatives available in the UK and advising consumers to fi nd out more by looking for recycling information on manufacturers’ websites, calling their local council or visiting recycling websites such as www.regeneration.org.

Brother acts to preserve rainforest

P2P Magazine | Spring 09 | 17

What percentage of recycled plastic is used in the Blue Avery EcoFriendly Desktop Accessories range?

AVERY

To enter, simply email your answer to:

[email protected]

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.


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 two-sided 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 refl ected in a second lifecycle assessment Lexmark has produced for one of its small offi ce/home offi ce inkjet all-in-ones, the Lexmark X7675 Professional.

Based on a user printing 228 single-sided 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-of-life 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,

metal pins, cogs and plastic toner reservoirs, this represents a signifi cant 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 benefi t 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 effi ciency, 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 fi nd out more, see the next issue of Sustainable Times.

Printing without the waste

Xerox solid ink MFPs generate 90% less waste than comparable laser devices

Kyocera consumables are made up of just four parts compared to 60 in an all-in-one laser cartridge

10 sustainabletimes

SIMPLEPRINTING STRAIGHT

RESELLER DETAILS

If ethics are high on your list,take a look at the top of this one

Judging categories: Environment, animal welfare and human rights.

100908580706560555540

BrotherKyoceraLexmarkKonicaEpsonXeroxCanon

DellSamsung

HP

123456789

10

ETHICAL COMPANYINDEX SCORECOMPANYPOSITION

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

RENEW FREERECYCLINGSCHEME

3 YEARS100 OUT OF 100

RUNNING*


Toshiba e-STUDIO6530c

Steve Hewson,Toshiba Marketing Director

Energy effi cient stoves in Kenya

The Carbon Zero

MFP

Toshiba has become the fi rst MFP manufacturer to make all its devices and the fi rst million pages printed on each one carbon zero.

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

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 workfl ows 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 fi nd 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 fi gure 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 fi rst 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

cover story


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 offi ce 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.

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 offi ce environments from small workgroups to large central reprographics departments.

The 455 series is a complete all-rounder, with print speeds of 25 to 45 pages per minute (ppm) and a colour scanner – the fi rst time colour scanning has been available on a Toshiba mid-volume 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 workfl ows.

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 simplifi es 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 fl y 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 offi ce printing.www.thenewblackisgreen.co.uk

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 fl at fee, and it saves customers from having to do their own complicated calculations,” he said.

CarbonZero status is particularly

The new black is greenToshiba’s CarbonZero initiative applies to all

Toshiba MFPs including its eight new black and white

multifunctionals (MFPs).

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 fi ts in well with that too,” he said.

“One of the projects supported by Toshiba is the supply of energy-effi cient 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

e-STUDIO855

e-STUDIO305

Super Sleep mode reduces power consumption to just 1 watt of electricity.

“


The fi rst 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. “

Putting in plumbed, fi ltered water gives savings on cost and carbon miles from deliveries of plastic bottles.”

Ensure blinds are fully operational. They will block the sun and prevent solar gain in offi ces. 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 Offi ces (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 profi le, but it’s important that this is linked to a more relaxed dress code.”

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 offi ce. Here are some

of her key recommendations.

How to Stay Cool this Summer

The main aim is to keep people comfortable and that means having continuity of temperature. Look at the amount of heat generated by offi ce equipment. IT emits a huge amount of heat, which goes straight into the offi ce 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 offi ce 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 offi ces, but it has other benefi ts 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 fi ve fl oors of an offi ce building but by implementing the technology and through clever space planning they only needed three.”

Make sure your lights are turned off. Motion sensors save energy and are good practice. Replace old lighting with energy-effi cient LEDs.”

Make sure there’s a clear policy. You go into many offi ces with air conditioning and see that workers by windows have them wide open. Air conditioning systems are now pretty effi cient, but one of the things that’s holding businesses back from becoming more effi cient is the lack of effective management and proper operational management. That’s a classic example.”

Think ahead. Consider solar gain when you look at the offi ce space. If one part of the offi ce has high solar gain, you could move people to another area of the offi ce 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 offi ce. 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 offi ce to another. It keeps air circulating in the space.”

“

“

“

“

“

“

“

“

“

“

“

“

Claremont Group Interiors uses a Waterlogic plumbed water system in their serviced offi ces. 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 refi llable 500ml and 750ml glass bottles printed with the customer’s own logo and corporate identity.

Sun-blocking window fi lm 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 fi lter: radiant heat up to 22 degrees centigrade is allowed to pass through, but above this temperature the sun’s heat is fi ltered 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 refl ected 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 heat-refl ective technology that refl ects 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 offi ce 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 fl at 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 scientifi c 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 offi ces 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.

“Cool ProductsThe 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 offi ce workers to keep cool, dry and comfortable in hot weather. This is on top of the chair’s strong green credentials, which include EPD certifi cation (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 offi ce 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.


Active participation in protecting

the environment has always been at the top of Olivetti’s list of priorities, as refl ected 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 confi rmed by its ink-jet printhead production facility which has been awarded ISO14001 certifi cation, the international standard for the management of the environment.

Olivetti and 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 fl ow 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 environmental directives in place. In particular the long-life drums and

developers, in their copiers and printers, are highly reliable and productive and this reduces service intervals, maintenance

costs and user downtime. All Olivetti products are manufactured

under ISO14001 and adhere to global standards of responsible packaging which is recycled and recyclable.

Improved Quality and

Reduced Emissions

The polymerised toner technology used to enhance the printing quality of Olivetti’s monochrome & colour solutions is unique in the market and has been designed with the environment and users in mind. Because the toner particles are smaller, than ordinary pulverised toner, with a more uniform shape, image reproduction delivers fi ne lines and small text with clear contours. Photos and illustrations are reproduced more naturally with improved half-tones.

advertorial

their proenvironparticul

deve

coOlivett

under ISstandarwhich is

Improv

Reduce

The polyused to of Olivesolutionhas beeand useparticlepulverisshape, ilines anPhotos more na

Print quality is greatly enhanced with a highly durable print fi nish to ensure long-lasting, better quality professional-looking documents.

Low Temperature Fixing

By making the particles smaller and uniform in shape, toner fi xing can be achieved at a much lower temperature, preventing paper curling or jamming during the fi nishing 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 specifi cally designed to reduce the amount of energy offi ce machines use. With the help of lower fi xing 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

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.

Polymerised

toner

ink-jet printhead production facility awarded ISO14001 certifi cation


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 effi ciency 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 effi ciency measure for all public sector procurement. Machines don’t have to be registered, but they should be more effi cient than the standard to be procured with public money.

Energy Star aims to certify the most energy-effi cient 25% of equipment and is reviewed and updated regularly to encourage effi ciency 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 specifi cation for Servers v1.0, which identifi es the most effi cient 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 certifi ed 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

VeryPC (www.very-pc.co.uk) signifi cantly 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 qualifi ed products until January 2010. So when buying equipment, it is important to check that it meets the more rigorous Energy Star 5.0 standards.

EPEAT (Electronic Product

Environmental Assessment Tool)

EPEAT (www.epeat.net ) is a US standard managed by the Green Electronics Council, an initiative of non-profi t charity The International Sustainable Development Foundation. At the time of writing, EPEAT certifi cation was only open to organisations with an offi ce in the US and so should not be used for EU public sector procurement.

EPEAT is a multi-tiered standard: Bronze certifi cation 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 specifi ed 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 specifi cation 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 fi re retardants identifi ed by the EU and DEFRA.

Blue Angel

Blue Angel (http://tinyurl.com/ln59ya) is a German standard for the certifi cation 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 defi nitive standard for green procurement in the UK.

Green Ticks

The Green Tick mark is issued by The Offi ce 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.

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.

Peter Hopton, managing director of

Very PC.

…some products on the market beat the standard by over 60%…

“

7


1. Survey Your Environment

Understanding current energy use is crucial in assessing progress. Gartner advises against relying on vendor-provided fi gures 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.

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 effi ciency, highest vendor environmental standards and

the exclusion of specifi c 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 defi ne localised goals for specifi c target user groups or business units.

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.

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 effi ciency program. However, even when power savings

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 effi ciency savings.

Here, Gartner suggests 7 steps

that every business should take

to improve the environmental

performance of PCs throughout

their life cycle.

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

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 fl exibility in space planning.

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 confi guration and capacity can be an important step in reducing electrical usage. Although newer PCs and monitors are more effi cient, 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

One of the fi rst 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

[email protected]

0845 6038997

…lower computer hardware costs by 60%…

“

ste

ps

to g

ree

ne

r P

Cs

GREENinitiative

SUMMER 09SustainableTIMES

LG ElectronicsLG Electronics

award


For offi ce workers the most important

reason for travelling 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 offi ce blocks, providing company cars and paying city centre salary scale weighting?

Comms technology can improve working patterns to cut costs

For further information call

Spitfi re on 020 7501 3000

or visit www.spitfi re.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. Spitfi re now offers a hosted telephony service with phone system functionality provided remotely by Spitfi re. Called SIP Communicator™, it only requires SIP compatible handsets, making the service an extremely cost-effective solution for business start-ups and small businesses that are growing and anticipate moving premises or are spread over multiple sites. Crucially in this diffi cult 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 benefi ts 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 benefi ts. The system can be confi gured 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. (Spitfi re 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 fl exible - 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 offi ce will become meaningless, because the offi ce 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 offi ce building. There are powerful economic benefi ts for these changes.

If businesses benefi t from reduced overheads, workers will also benefi t from more fl exible 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 offi ce workersthe most importan

reason for travelling ta central place of work is

to interact easily with work

advertorial

One of the positive effects of the

current recession is the way it has

forced companies to examine their

working practices for more effi cient,

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.

Take noteBest known for its pens, BIC also produces a range of repositionable sticky notes, including the new BIC Ecolutions Recycled Notes. Made from 80% recycled waste paper, these notes are available in pastel blue or green, in either square or rectangular blocks. Other new additions to the range include BIC Multi Notes; vibrant neon BIC Indexes perfect for tabbing documents; and BIC Easy Notes, a collection of sticky notes and indexes arranged on a single sheet that can be inserted into fi les.www.bicworld.com

s

ee or gular the vibrant bbing


What’s New… Recovery positionAntalis 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 fi ve 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 fl awlessly white paper that meets the strict Blue Angel environmental standard. The range also includes Steinbeis MagicColour tinted paper, available in fi ve different colours.

0870 532 9015

Recycled contentThe new range of HP Deskjet printers are the fi rst 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 landfi ll.

www.hp.com

Here’s looking at youSheffi eld-based Green PC manufacturer VeryPC has developed a new energy-saving 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

Born in the EUAra from Orangebox is claimed to be the fi rst 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

00808707 903 9500


Carbon zeroToshiba has partnered with co2balance to make all its MFPs and the fi rst 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

Tree-free notebooksStaples has launched an interesting alternative to recycled paper notebooks. The tree-free Bagasse range of notebooks, pads and refi ll 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

Solar back-up for camera usersIn a fi rst 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 back-up 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

New use for farm bale wrapsCleaning 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 fi lms (such as bale wrap and crop covers). The farm fi lm 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

Sony Ericsson’s green heartSony Ericsson has launched the fi rst phones developed under its GreenHeart programme. TheC901 GreenHeart and Naite phones have a 15% smaller carbon footprint thanks to the use of ‘in-phone’ 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 fi ve 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

Carbon cut and blow drySavortex 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 benefi t, says Savortex, is a low operating noise of 80dB. www.savortex.com

What’s New…

Green Pens


Survey of the month

The benefi ts of telecommutingTelecommuting can increase

employee productivity, work-life

fl exibility and job satisfaction, Cisco

claims in a new report (Teleworker

Survey).

Cisco’s survey of almost 2,000 of

its workforce in fi ve regions around the

globe revealed that Cisco employees

now telecommute on average two days

a week, bringing signifi cant benefi ts 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.

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

benefi ts 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 signifi cant 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

69% said they were more productive

working remotely

1. Pilot B2P No prizes for guessing what the Bottle To Pen (B2P) is made out of. Unlike most recycled pens, which tend to be made from pre-consumer waste from manufacturing processes, Pilot’s retractable, refi llable 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 refi ll). 01628 537100.

2. Pentel Slicci Pentel is another company with a dedicated green range. Its Recycology line includes recycled versions of best-sellers, 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

3. BIC Ecolutions Clic Stic 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 materialwww.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.

5. Mitsubishi Pencil Company Power Tank Eco

The fi rst 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

en (B2P)which from

Pilot’s

BeG

reen

B2P

Pentel Hyper G

Pentel Slicci

BIC

Eco

luti

on

s C

lic S

tic

Paper:Mate FlexGrip Ultra

Power Tank Eco


advertorial

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 fi xtures and fi ttings and utilise them. The quirky interior treatment refl ects 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 fi xtures

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 fi xtures and fi ttings 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.

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.

The New Sustainable

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Wat

t hou

rs p

er li

tre

Flavia

C40

0Si

ngle

Serve

Com

petito

rBe

an 2

Cup

aver

age

Boile

rs

Kettle

s

Flavia

C40

0Si

ngle

Serve

Com

petito

rBe

an 2

Cup

aver

age

Boile

rs

Wat

t hou

rs/H

our

Energy Consumption Comparison Standby ModeEnergy Consumption Comparison Standby Mode

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:

We don’t like our customers having to waste energy boiling water. [It’s not our cup of tea.]

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.myfl avia.co.uk

News & Politics

Sustainable Times Issue 4