Office Equipment Buying Guide
A quick guide to strategic product selection

As the use of electronic technology becomes increasingly necessary for small and large businesses alike, the demand on high performance machines such as computers, photocopiers and printers increases. This in turn requires business owners to not only purchase more energy-efficient equipment in an effort to minimize operating costs, but more importantly, to encourage employees to operate office equipment in a more energy-conscious manner, and to dispose of electronics responsibly.

Energy efficiency

Office equipment directly and indirectly consumes energy. It directly consumes energy when it is on – whether it is in use or in standby mode. It indirectly consumes energy by generating heat that requires air conditioners to work harder to provide temperate conditions within the workplace.

The most effective way to save energy with your office equipment is to turn all machines OFF when they are not in use. Energy loss by equipment that is in “standby mode” is significant and the small surge of power used when a device is turned on is vastly smaller than the energy used when a device is left on at all times (even in standby mode). Be sure to clearly label any switches or equipment that must be left on, and turn everything else off.

For greatest savings, turn equipment off at the power source when not in use overnight, on weekends and on holidays. Power strips with switches make this convenient. Also, plug-in timers are helpful because they automatically turn equipment off at the power source at certain times of day.

Ensure that all equipment is turned off by the person who leaves the office at the end of each workday, and then turned back on by he/she who needs to use the machine first. This will ensure that if a piece of equipment is not needed for one, two or three days, it simply remains off until needed again. If fax or other machines need to be left on 24 hours a day, ensure they go into “sleep mode” when not in use.

Set-up power-saver features on all your equipment. Check the set-up when you install new equipment and then periodically thereafter to ensure that the power-saver functions are still working.

Computers

• Disable screen savers: more than half of the energy use of a desktop computer system is attributable to the monitor. A common misconception is that screen savers save energy. However, a screen saver will not only draw power for the monitor but will also keep the CPU from shutting down. Save energy by turning monitors off at all times the machine is not in use and discourage the use of screen savers.
• Activate power management tools: the power management capability places the computer and monitor in sleep mode when not in use. While in this mode, computers consume up to 90% less electricity than when fully operational, and remain available essentially on demand (i.e. the system does not have to be rebooted). A simple touch of any key on the keyboard or movement of the mouse is enough to bring computers out of their sleep mode. 
• Use laptops: the most energy efficient computer/monitor combination is a laptop unit. Laptops use a maximum of 15 watts (compared with 80 to 160 watts for desktop PCs), and automatically go into sleep mode after several minutes of inactivity.

Printers

• Use “print preview” - this feature will reduce the number of printed drafts.
• Use the duplex feature - it takes 10 times as much energy to make a piece of paper as to print an image on it. The duplex feature enables print jobs to use both sides of a sheet of paper, reducing paper use by 50%.

Copiers

• Run copies in batches to decrease the time your copier spends in the high-powered mode.
• Reduce copy size. Large originals can be reduced and reprinted on smaller paper. The end result is less paper and energy use.

Fax machines

• Ensure the fax machine is in sleep - not standby - mode.

Features to look for in new equipment

Duplex

Duplex printing allows you to print on both sides of a piece of paper, greatly reducing the amount of paper you use to get your print jobs done. Ensure that your next printer, copier, fax, or multi-functional device has the duplex printing option.

Sleep mode

When an electronic unit goes into sleep mode, it reduces the amount of energy it is using. Ensure that your next printer, copier, fax machine, computer, etc. has this feature.

Laser

Although cheaper upfront, inkjet printers will cost you more over the long run because their ink cartridges are expensive and run out often. The general rule of thumb according to experts in the printer manufacturing industry is that the cheaper the printer, the more expensive the disposable costs for refills. According to Lyra Research of Newton, MA, the cartridge replacement market is now worth $21 billion annually. HP, for example, makes over $10 billion a year from ink cartridge sales, and Lexmark earns over $2 billion from ink supplies, more than half its total revenue.

Remanufactured toner and inkjet cartridges

Each year, millions of empty toner and inkjet cartridges used in printers, fax machines, and copiers are thrown in the trash, destined for landfills and incinerators. The typical used toner cartridge weighs about three pounds and is composed of 40% plastic, 40% metal and smaller percentages of rubber, paper, foam and toner. The plastic is made of engineering-grade polymers and takes at least 1,000 years to decompose. However, approximately 97% of these combined components can be recycled or reused. Buying locally remanufactured toner and inkjet cartridges, and recycling empty cartridges, is an easy way to reduce the environmental impact of these discarded products.

The quality of remanufactured and/or recharged laser printer toner cartridges has improved dramatically since these products were first introduced more than ten years ago. High-quality remanufactured cartridges now undergo a process that renders cartridges equivalent in performance, print quality and page yield to new models and that meet all original equipment manufacturer (OEM) standards and specifications.

Soy-based ink

Ink or toner cartridges with agri-based ink such as soy-based ink reduces adverse impacts on indoor air quality due to the volatilization of VOCs that may be present in petroleum-based ink and toner.

An alternative to fax machines

With email becoming the mainstream form of communication, fax machines are becoming less necessary. In most business settings, fax machines typically have to be left on at all times, which wastes energy and costs money. Fax machines also require the use of paper, which also wastes natural resources and costs money.

If you do have to use a fax machine, we recommend purchasing one that is ENERGY STAR qualified and has the sleep mode and duplex print options that can be automated. This reduces the amount of energy the fax machine will use when left on and the amount of paper it uses when it prints.

If you don’t have to buy a fax machine but want faxing power, we highly recommend online fax services like My Fax. With such online fax services, you can use your scanner to scan a piece of paper, save it as an image and then send it via the Internet to be received on the other end as a fax. When you are expecting to receive a fax, you simply check your account online and the fax appears as an electronic document that can be easily downloaded in your computer and printed out, if necessary. Services like My Fax will email you when you have a fax waiting for you, which makes the whole system that much better.

Environmental impacts of office equipment products

The downside to the electronic boom is the steadily increasing stream of electronic waste (e-waste) generated as a result of the mass consumption of electronics like computers, fax machines and copiers. Part of the reason why the disposal rate of electronics has grown astronomically over the last decade has to do with what experts call "planned obsolescence." That is, some electronics are designed to be disposed of within a relatively short period of time, forcing the consumer to make additional electronic purchases every couple of years. As things currently exist, if one wants to stay up-to-date with new applications and speedy connections, they have to buy new products every 2-3 years. In fact, the average lifespan of computers in developed countries has dropped from 6 years in 1997 to just 2 years in 2005. While this may be good for the manufacturer’s earnings, it is destructive to the environment and the consumer.

Why is e-waste bad?

While electronic products do not cause harm to their end-users (the consumer), those who are responsible for manufacturing and then dismantling and recycling them after they are disposed of, are exposed to highly toxic levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants. These toxins not only adversely affect the humans that are exposed to them, but they also negatively affect global air quality.

Moreover, e-waste is difficult to dispose of, especially in the quantities that are generated today. E-waste either ends-up in a landfill, where its chemicals are leached into the soils; is burned, the process of which releases toxins into the air; or is exported to poorer countries where it is dismantled/recycled in extremely unhealthy conditions, exposing workers (often children and women) to highly toxic fumes and materials.

What is being done to mitigate e-waste amounts and toxicity?

To mitigate the amounts and toxicity of e-waste, organizations around the world are banning the use of high levels of the toxins mentioned above in electronic products. In 2006, the European Union (EU) enforced the ROHS Directive, which bans placing electronic equipment containing more than agreed levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, etc.

Also enforced by the EU in 2006 was the Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive, which requires manufacturers to take back their electronic products after their useful life (other countries including Japan, Taiwan and Korea have taken similar action). Also known as "take-back programs", these measures force designers to plan the construction of products in such a way that make the reuse and recycling of them more cost-effective for the manufacturer. It also forces designers to find ways around the implementation of toxic chemicals in a product’s construction. Ultimately, when manufacturers are required to take back their e-waste, they make better products, with longer life spans and with less toxic material.

Unfortunately, the United States is still far behind the EU and other aforementioned countries in this respect. Only recently (August 2008) has the U.S. Government Accountability Office released a report acknowledging the need for reform. Nothing has moved through Congress to date however.

Do you have a choice/voice?

Yes! You can buy your new office equipment product from a responsible manufacturer. While Eco-rate does not currently feature office equipment products with the exception of computers, you can see how certain brands (manufacturers) are rated in our computer and television categories and then purchase a highly-rated brand/manufacturer accordingly.

Our Environmental Impact and Toxicity Ratings for televisions factor-in how well featured brands/manufacturers are rated according to Greenpeace's Guide to Greener Electronics. Our Environmental Impact and Toxicity Ratings for computers factor-in the brand/manufacturer's compliance with the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT). EPEAT is a system to help purchasers evaluate, compare and select electronic products based on their environmental attributes. The system currently covers desktop and laptop computers, workstations and computer monitors.

Disposal of old equipment

Even more important than maximizing the energy usage of your office equipment is the consideration of the environmental impacts associated with the disposal of it. Office equipment contains some of the most toxic substances known: mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic, beryllium, and brominated flame retardants, among others. When this equipment becomes waste, it is toxic waste. When burned, even worse toxins can be formed such as dioxins and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that can cause cancer and birth-defects.

Background

Every year, an estimated 400 million units of obsolete electronics, including computeres, are scrapped. Four billion pounds of e-waste was discarded in the United States in 2005, accounting for between 2% and 4% of the municipal solid waste stream. As much as 87.5% of this was incinerated or dumped in landfills. Of the remaining 12.5% collected for “recycling,” industry sources claim that about 80% is exported to developing countries where it is processed in unregulated conditions, severely endangering the environment, workers and communities. Pollution created by irresponsible e-waste processing can also come back to haunt those in the exporting countries in the form of air pollution fallout via long-range transport.

e-Stewards

The e-Stewards recyclers are a group of leading North American electronics recyclers and asset managers who have been qualified as upholding the highest standard of environmental and social responsibility. We urge you to make use of these recyclers for all of your e-waste disposal and recycling needs and beware other recyclers claiming to be “green” and responsible.

Dispose of your computer responsibly by contacting an organization near you that has signed the Electronic Recycler's Pledge of True Stewardship commitment. Click here to view the list.

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