PRINT MORE USING LESS! FAO FACTS FAO consumes two million paper sheets every month, the equivalent of 10 tonnes of office paper; and that is excluding official publications. More precisely, in 2008, purchase records show a total of 51,000 reams or 25.5 million sheets or, roughly 9,100 sheets per person (assuming 2,800 regular workers in headquarters per day). We are on the right path, having gone down from 60,000 reams in 2006 and 2007, but we can do better. Collectively, our printing behaviour can lead to a significant reduction in the amount of paper we use. GREEN TIP 2 SOME OF THE EASY STEPS YOU CAN TAKE INCLUDE: •
Print double-sided
Over 75% of the printers on FAO’s in-house network at headquarters have a duplex unit and therefore allow double-sided printing. If you are not sure whether you have a duplex function or do not know where the nearest printer with this option is located, contact your OTC (Office Technology Coordinator). You can set your printing default to double-sided using the following path: Windows Start – Settings – Printers and Faxes – right click on your selected printer – Printing Preferences – Paper / Output – 2 Sided Print – Apply – OK •
Print 2 pages on one sheet (for those with good eyesight!)
When printing a document (Word; Excel; PowerPoint, etc), do not click on the print-option in the toolbar, but go to: File – Print (or use Ctrl.+P). This way you get to the printing options menu and you can select the number of pages per sheet you wish to print. •
Turn off the banner sheet / cover sheet
The banner sheet is the paper that covers your document for privacy reasons when printing on the shared printers (the big Xerox multi-functional devices). On the sheet is the name of the person who ordered the print job and the document title. Unless strictly necessary for reasons of confidentiality, this setting simply results in wasted paper. It should not be necessary for identification of ownership either, as if a document is worth printing, it is also worth prompt collection. On the rare occasion that either of those circumstances apply, the setting can always be changed back. You can turn off the banner sheet using the following path: Windows Start – Settings – Printers and Faxes – right click on your selected printer – Printing Preferences – Advanced – Paper / Output – Banner Sheet: select Off – Apply - OK. •
Help spread the word
For people in your corridor who may not be aware of these options, you can put up one of the attached print-outs next to your shared printer. Or you can keep on hand for sharing with colleagues and friends. Or you could even put a reminder in your email signature block – more on that next week! Green Tips are brought to you by FAO’s Going Green Group (GGG): http://www.netvibes.com/gggfao and FAO’s Climate Neutrality Adviser julie.mackenzie@fao.org