Green Issues in Office Stationery

Stationery contributes significantly to the huge amount of plastic and paper waste generated in the UK each year: but it doesn’t have to be that way. From 2010 to 2060, the amount of pulp and paper that is consumed and produced globally is expected to double. In order to make this statistic a reality, a total of 386 million hectares of forest were lost around the world between 2001 and 2019. As awareness around deforestation increases and becomes a global issue, more and more office stationery brands are considering the impact of the products they create, and seeking to ensure that they are as sustainable as possible. Doing this by limiting the environmental footprint they create.

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The Environmental Impact of Stationery

Stationery is often created using unsustainable resources such as trees that aren’t then replanted or plastics that travel around the world with a huge carbon footprint: that’s without even considering the huge amount of packaging waste that often accompanies these kinds of products. This is an issue that has been experienced within business environments for many generations, since the onset of the industrial revolution: we need stationery to operate successfully, but we are using vital resources in order to secure it. Stationery can provide huge social and economic benefits, but how do we balance the environmental pay off of this?

Many offices have attempted to go paperless in a bid to reduce their paper waste, but for many more businesses this simply isn’t possible. If you can’t go paperless then you can also consider recycling the paper and other stationery products that you do use and the best option of all is to only supply your office with environmentally friendly stationery, wherever possible.

What is Environmentally Friendly Stationery?

Environmentally friendly stationery is often constructed using recycled materials wherever possible; wood pulp, recycled paper and spent grain are often reused in this way. It isn’t always realistic (or affordable) to always select recycled products, so another alternative is to look for products that are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) who will replant a tree for each that is removed, and only supply products from well maintained and sustainable locations.

Environmental sustainability covers more than simply the materials that your stationery is constructed from. Brands such as Office Stationery are able to reduce their carbon footprint by being one of the leading stationery suppliers in the UK; supplying stationery supplies in bulk, helping to minimize both unrecyclable plastic packaging usage, and the airmiles involved in ordering several deliveries instead of just one.

Conclusion

Deforestation is continuing at a rapid rate, and in order to temper this many businesses are focusing on sustainability when selecting their stationery and office supplies. There are many factors to consider, and many ways of doing this whilst continuing to stick to your budget and focus on your business needs, but focusing on green issues in your office supplies doesn’t have to be as difficult as you might think.