All businesses generate waste and use a considerable amount of electricity for their daily operations, with dire consequences for the environment. While eliminating your carbon footprint altogether is an impossible task, there are several simple changes that you can make at work to reduce your impact on the environment.

A recent McKinsey study shows that 43% of business executives are open to aligning sustainability with their strategic business objectives – up from 30% in 2012. Making sustainability part of a company’s core values makes it easier to implement its principles company-wide, and is a great first step towards a greener workplace.

Ahead of Clean-up and Recycle SA Week taking place from 12 to 17 September, office technology specialist Epson shares a few helpful tips to build more environmentally-conscious, productive and ecologically-responsible businesses.

1. Avoid wasting paper

Encourage attendees at meetings to share a hand-out copy between two people, if it is not absolutely necessary that each person have their own. You can also invest in an interactive projector to complement printouts and turn ordinary meetings into productive, energetic and highly collaborative sessions. Many of the latest interactive projectors also have smart capabilities, allowing you to email and share information, data and notes to everyone in attendance once the meeting is done, to keep everyone on the same page.

2. Scan rather than print

Sometimes only a printout will do, but there are times when a high-quality scan serves the purpose just as well, presenting a more cost-effective and efficient solution too. With a good, portable scanner, or even a mobile scanner app, you can easily capture and share documents wirelessly via email. With more recent models, you can also use a scanner to capture a document in very high quality, which then allows you to edit text and imagery with user-friendly software like Adobe Acrobat.

3. Use eco-friendly office equipment and supplies

Many office supply companies are developing more environmentally-friendly and easily recyclable products for green-conscious offices – from recycled pens and pencils made from sustainably sourced materials, to manual paper shredders that eliminate the need for electricity. Epson’s innovative refillable ink tank systems printers are another useful addition to the office, allowing you to reduce the cost and constant disposal of consumables while using minimal energy and reducing the overall environmental impact of the printer.

4. Check your printer settings

Saving the planet is as easy as reading a printer manual to proactively manage paper usage. Be sure to check that the settings on your printers, scanners, photo copiers and fax machines are programmed to return to a default single-print function after someone has used it. You can also save paper by choosing to print on both sides of the paper, invest in an inkjet printer instead of a laser printer, and by using the draft or “quick print” mode where possible.

5. Recycle and upcycle where possible

Play your part and protect the environment by ensuring all your business’s old electronics and office equipment are disposed of in the correct way. Purchase products that carry recycling labels on the packaging, or an indication that the company works with a recycling organisation. For instance, Epson has partnered with Partserve to run a recycling programme that not only salvages parts from older machines but also ensures Epson equipment is dealt with responsibly.

Taking steps to reduce your business’s carbon footprint is vital for the conservation of our environment as well as productivity in the workplace. Try these tips and help make this year’s Clean-up and Recycle Week a nationwide success.