How Can Businesses Reduce the Environmental Impact of Workplace Technology?
Businesses can reduce the environmental impact of workplace technology by first understanding how their existing print environment, devices and document processes are being used.
A practical starting point is to measure what you can: print volumes, paper use, double-sided printing, the number and use of printers and multifunction devices, and repetitive document activity. This can reveal where resources or effort may be used unnecessarily before you decide on optimisation, automation, consolidation, or replacement.
The aim is not simply to use less technology. It is to make better-informed decisions about the technology and processes already supporting the organisation.
Five Areas Every Business Should Review
Every workplace is different, but five areas provide a useful starting point.
- Print volumes
Understand how much is being printed and what is driving that demand.
- Paper us
Review how physical paper is being used, including the role of double-sided printing.
- Device estate
Consider whether the number, type and location of printers and multifunction devices still reflect how people work.
- Document workflows
Identify manual or repetitive processes involving printing, copying, scanning, rekeying or moving information between people and systems.
- Measurement
Establish what information you need before deciding what to optimise, automate, consolidate or replace
What Good Looks Like
A more sustainable workplace technology environment is not defined by having the fewest devices or eliminating print. It is one where technology and processes are understood, appropriately configured and aligned with how the organisation actually works.
In practice, that can mean:
- Clear visibility of print volumes, paper use and relevant costs
- A device estate that reflects current workplace requirements
- Print policies and settings that support efficient use of resources
- Document processes that avoid unnecessary physical and repetitive steps
- Evidence used to guide decisions about optimisation, automation or replacement
- Environmental claims based on appropriate data rather than generic assumptions
- A clear way to measure improvement over time
The objective is to make informed improvements, not reduce technology for its own sake.
How Managed Print and Document Services Can Help
Managed Print and Document Services can help organisations understand the relationship between print, devices, documents and the people using them.
Rather than looking only at individual printers, a review can consider print volumes, device use, paper consumption, print policies and the document processes creating demand.
This can help establish whether the current environment still reflects what the organisation needs and where there may be opportunities to reduce unnecessary printing, optimise the device estate or improve the process around the document.
Sometimes the opportunity sits upstream of the printer.
If information is received digitally, printed for checking, manually updated, scanned, and then sent elsewhere, changing the print setting or device may address only part of the problem. Improving the process itself may be the more meaningful opportunity.
How a Workplace Sustainability Review Helps
A Pinnacle Workplace Sustainability Review takes a closer look at the organisation’s actual environment to identify practical opportunities for improvement.
The approach is straightforward:
- Understand
Establish what technology, print activity and document processes are in place today.
- Measure
Review available information such as print volumes, paper use, the device estate and relevant workflow activity.
- Identify
Highlight areas where resources, cost or manual effort may be used unnecessarily.
- Prioritise
Decide which opportunities deserve closer investigation based on the organisation’s requirements and desired outcomes.
- Improve
Develop practical next steps. These may involve optimisation, process change, automation, consolidation or technology investment.
Managed Print and Document Services provide the natural starting point. Where the evidence points beyond print, Pinnacle can also explore Automation and Workflow, Managed IT and Cloud Services, and Audio Visual and Collaboration as part of the wider workplace technology environment.
What's Typically Reviewed
The scope depends on the organisation, but a review may consider:
- Print volumes and usage patterns
- Physical paper use and double-sided printing
- Printer and multifunction device estate
- Device location and utilisation
- Print and document costs where available
- Print policies and working practices
- Manual and repetitive document processes
- Opportunities for document capture, digital workflow or automation
- Areas where more detailed environmental measurement may be appropriate
Create Your Sustainable Workplace Snapshot
If you are not sure where to begin, the Pinnacle Sustainable Workplace Savings Calculator provides a practical starting point.
Using information about your print environment, device estate and document workflows, it can explore:
- Annual print activity
- Estimated physical paper use
- The effect of a print-reduction scenario you choose
- An indicative annual print-cost opportunity, where a cost per impression is provided
- The size of your current printer and multifunction device estate
- The annual scale of repetitive document activity you identify
The results are estimates designed to identify potential areas for further investigation. They are not an audited environmental assessment, guaranteed financial savings, or predicted business outcome.
Can Small Workplace Changes Deliver Measurable Results?
Yes. A focused improvement can have a meaningful effect when it addresses a frequently repeated task.
For example, a multi-site optical group supported by Pinnacle had a fragmented document workflow that regularly required clinicians to leave patients to retrieve paperwork.
After reviewing how clinicians worked, Pinnacle helped redesign the process through device consolidation, secure follow-me printing, one-touch release and integration with the organisation’s optical software.
The new workflow saved up to 10 minutes per patient interaction, equivalent to approximately three hours per day per site.
The lesson extends beyond print. Repeated inefficiencies are often worth investigating because small improvements can add up to meaningful operational gains.
Pinnacle’s wider customer case-study library provides further examples across workplace technology, cloud, collaboration and workflow improvement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where should a business start when making workplace technology more sustainable?
Start by understanding the current environment. Review print volumes, paper use, the device estate and document processes, then identify where resources or effort may be used unnecessarily. This provides a stronger basis for deciding what should change.
Can Managed Print and Document Services support sustainability?
Yes. Managed Print and Document Services can help organisations understand print volumes, device use, paper consumption and document processes. This can identify opportunities to optimise the print environment and improve the processes creating print demand.
Does double-sided printing reduce paper use?
Where appropriate, double-sided printing can reduce the number of physical sheets required because it prints information on both sides of the paper. It is also worth asking why documents are being printed and whether the underlying process could be improved.
Should businesses reduce the number of printers?
Not automatically. The appropriate device estate depends on print volumes, workplace layout, employee requirements, working patterns and device capabilities. The better question is whether the number, type and location of devices still reflect how the organisation works.
Can improving document workflows make a workplace more sustainable?
Potentially. Manual document processes can involve unnecessary printing, copying, scanning, rekeying or moving information between people and systems. Improving a suitable workflow may reduce unnecessary resource use and repetitive activity.
Is going digital always more sustainable?
Not necessarily. Moving a process from paper to digital changes where resources are used, but it does not, by itself, make the overall process more sustainable. The decision should consider the existing process, the technology involved and the business outcome required.
Does sustainable workplace technology mean replacing older equipment?
Not necessarily. Replacement may be appropriate where technology is inefficient, unreliable, unsuitable or no longer meets requirements. In other cases, reconfiguration, consolidation, better working practices or process improvement may be more appropriate.
Why should businesses be careful with generic carbon estimates?
Environmental impact can vary by technology, device model, consumables, configuration, usage, energy source, and calculation scope. Where detailed carbon measurement is required, the assessment should use appropriate data and methodologies for the actual environment being assessed.
What should businesses measure?
Useful starting measures can include print impressions, estimated physical sheet use, double-sided printing, device numbers, relevant print costs and time associated with repetitive document activity. These measures provide a baseline for identifying where closer investigation may be useful.
What is the Pinnacle Sustainable Workplace Savings Calculator?
It is a practical self-assessment that uses information supplied by the organisation to create a Sustainable Workplace Snapshot across print and paper, the device estate and document workflows. Its outputs are estimates for further investigation, not guaranteed savings or an audited environmental assessment.
Ready to Take a Closer Look?
Understanding what you have is the first step towards deciding what could work better.
A Pinnacle Workplace Sustainability Review can help you:
- Review print volumes, device use and paper consumption
- Identify inefficient or repetitive document processes
- Prioritise opportunities for optimisation or process improvement
- Explore where automation or wider workplace technology could help
- Build practical next steps around your actual environment
Understand what you have. Identify what could work better. Prioritise the changes that matter.