Making workplace technology more sustainable can quickly become a conversation about what to replace.
Should older printers be changed? Should more processes move online? Should devices be consolidated? Should more energy-efficient technology be introduced?
Those may all be valid questions. But they are rarely the best place to start.
A better first question is:
“What are we using today, and where are resources or effort being used unnecessarily?”
Understanding the current environment gives you a clearer basis for deciding what should stay, what could work better and where investment could make a meaningful difference.
Measure before you change
Sustainability objectives can quickly turn into technology projects.
The risk is making decisions before establishing a useful baseline.
Start with what you can understand about your current workplace. Look at print volumes, paper use, the number and type of devices you operate and the processes around them.
Then ask what those numbers actually mean.
A high print volume does not automatically mean you have a print problem. A large device estate does not automatically mean you have too many devices.
The important questions are why those resources are being used and whether the environment still reflects what the organisation needs.
That shifts the conversation from reducing technology for its own sake to improving how the workplace operates.
Start with print and paper
For many organisations, print is a practical place to start because it offers tangible things to examine.
How much are you printing? How much paper are you using? How much printing is double-sided? What is it costing? Which teams and processes are creating that demand?
The objective is not simply to print less.
Some documents need to be printed. Others may be printed because the underlying process hasn’t changed, information is difficult to use digitally, or employees follow a workflow designed around paper.
That is why Managed Print and Document Services should look beyond individual devices.
Understanding volumes, usage, paper consumption and document processes can help establish whether the current print environment remains appropriate and where there may be opportunities to optimise it.
Does your device estate still match the way people work?
Workplaces change faster than technology estates sometimes do.
Teams move. Hybrid working changes office occupancy. Processes become digital. Departments grow or contract. Yet printers and multifunction devices can stay where they always have.
So another useful question is:
“Do we still have the right devices, in the right places, for the way our people work today?”
The answer is not automatically to remove or replace equipment.
Devices may need consolidating or reconfiguring. In other cases, the current estate may already be appropriate.
The point is to make that decision using evidence rather than assumption.
Sometimes the opportunity is upstream of the printer
Looking only at the device can mean overlooking why something is being printed in the first place.
Consider a process where information is received digitally, printed for checking, manually updated, scanned and then sent somewhere else.
Changing the printer does not necessarily address the inefficiency.
Changing the process might.
Document capture, digital workflows and automation can help organisations reconsider how information moves between people and systems. With the right process in place, that can reduce unnecessary printing and repetitive manual activity at the same time.
This is where sustainability and operational efficiency can support the same objective.
Reducing unnecessary resource use does not have to make work harder. Done properly, it can remove steps that never needed to be there in the first place.
Look beyond print when the evidence takes you there
Print and document processes provide a tangible starting point, but they are part of a wider workplace technology environment.
A closer look may reveal opportunities involving automation, IT infrastructure, cloud services or collaboration technology.
The same principle should apply in each case:
Understand first. Change second.
Newer does not automatically mean better for every organisation, just as keeping existing technology indefinitely is not necessarily the right answer.
Consider what you have, how it is being used, the outcome you need and the evidence supporting the proposed change.
Technology investment should follow business requirements rather than lead them.
Be careful with simple sustainability claims
Measurement matters, particularly when organisations need to demonstrate progress against sustainability objectives.
But a single generic number doesn’t always capture environmental impact well.
Different devices, consumables, configurations, usage patterns and energy sources can produce different results. A simple environmental equivalent can look compelling while hiding the assumptions behind it.
A more useful starting point is information you can understand and interrogate.
What are your print volumes? How much physical paper might that represent? What does your device estate look like? How much repetitive document activity exists? What does printing currently cost?
Those measures will not provide a complete environmental assessment.
They can, however, tell you where it may be worth looking more closely.
Five questions to ask about your workplace
Before deciding what technology needs to change, ask:
- How much are we printing, and what is driving that demand?
- Are we using paper as efficiently as we reasonably can?
- Does our device estate still reflect how our organisation works?
- Are manual document processes creating unnecessary printing or repetitive activity?
- What evidence do we need before deciding what to optimise, automate or replace?
You do not need a full sustainability audit to start asking better questions.
You need enough information to identify where a closer look could be worthwhile.
Create your Sustainable Workplace Snapshot
Our Sustainable Workplace Savings Calculator helps you take that first step.
Using information about your print environment, device estate and document workflows, it creates a snapshot of potential areas to investigate. It can explore annual print activity, estimated physical paper use, a print-reduction scenario you choose, an indicative annual print-cost opportunity and the scale of repetitive document activity.
The purpose is not to promise a saving or manufacture an environmental number.
It helps you understand what you have, identify what could work better, and decide what deserves a closer look.
Try our Sustainable Workplace Savings Calculator
Where that snapshot identifies an opportunity, a Pinnacle Workplace Sustainability Review can examine the actual environment in more detail and help prioritise practical next steps.