Diagram showing the workflow of the PrintReleaf application. Courtesy image.
George Harvey
Forests are among the best resources we have for drawing down atmospheric carbon dioxide. And yet, despite their importance, we cut them down for a wide variety of purposes. Many of these put the carbon dioxide the forest trees had captured back into the air. And so we find ourselves destroying some of our best tools against climate change.
For years, various organizations have engaged in ways to sustain or restore the forests. One interesting solution is a sustainability application called PrintReleaf, provided by Conway Office Solutions. PrintReleaf is an easily adopted, yet sophisticated, means for many companies that care about the environment to reduce their forest footprints to zero. By using it, the people engaged in a printing business, book publisher, university, church, factory, or advertiser can know that for every job they do that requires paper, trees are being planted to make up for the environmental loss of those that are used.
PrintReleaf is a dedicated software package that notes the amount of paper used by a company in real time, as the paper is used. It then assesses the number of trees that need to be planted to make up for the paper. As the paper is used, orders go out for the appropriate number of trees to be planted.
The trees are planted in forests chosen by the customer from areas where PrintReleaf is working around the world. The trees are maintained, and the net number of trees required to cover the customer’s activity is guaranteed to survive. Results can be monitored at any time, and the whole process is certified by SGS International, a leading forestry auditor.
Many environmental issues are sometimes best addressed at the local level. The saying, “Think globally, act locally,” is well known. But the matter of climate change affects all people and all parts of the world in some way. While it might be preferred to replace trees with new ones in the same forest, there are beneficial effects of replacing them farther from home. Doing so provides work and environmental well-being in the places where forests are sustainably maintained. PrintReleaf is working in such places as Brazil, India, and Madagascar, in addition to North America and others.
Many organizations use sustainable operating practices, which are important for reasons ranging from profitability to public recognition. Unsurprisingly, a number of well-known companies are partners of PrintReleaf. Conway Office Solutions, a Xerox company specializing in document management through a number of offices in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Vermont is a partner. Xerox and Toshiba are also partners. Some well-known Vermont organizations seeking to manage their forest footprints through PrintReleaf are Darn Tough Vermont Socks, Vermont State Employees Credit Union, Vermont College of Fine Arts, and Vermont Federal Credit Union.
Kudos to each of them.
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