Why recycled paper is good for every company

21.07.2020 - We all want the best: for ourselves, our family, our employer and - as a major goal - also for our environment and our planet. When it comes to realising these wishes and goals, we sometimes get in our own way a little. Why? Because we are creatures of habit and, despite all our good intentions and against our better judgement, we are trapped in our routines and processes. Yet it would often be so easy to take on social responsibility, to lead by example, to act sustainably and yet economically. One small example of this is the use of recycled paper.

Do you recognise yourself? Even if a change is small and easy to implement, something inside us resists. This is true even if we rationalise the change as positive. This is often the case with sustainability. Since the 2000s, but especially in the past decade, awareness of sustainability has grown exponentially. Waste separation, recycling,_{carbon footprint}, vegetarianism, veganism, Fridays for Future - these are all exemplary terms that the majority of Germans now know the meaning of. And they are close to the hearts of a rapidly growing proportion of the population. Accordingly, everyone knows somewhere that we should have been using only recycled paper for a long time. According to a study from 2010, there is a great willingness among companies to switch to sustainable recycled paper. Today - ten years later - we find that only 14 per cent of all German companies use recycled paper. Why is that? One obvious reason is the aforementioned mental sluggishness when it comes to changes of all kinds. On the one hand, it ensures that old prejudices against recycled paper persist. On the other hand, it makes us feel comfortable when everything at work stays the same as we are used to. What is needed, as always, is a driving force, a driving force so to speak. How about you?

Switching to recycled paper is not difficult at all and has no disadvantages, but many advantages. We have summarised these for you in this article. In most cases, we can also dispel any prejudices. We will then give you some practical tips on how you can encourage a changeover in your company.

Recycled paper can reduce costs

Let's be honest: when it comes to companies, the cost factor is the main deciding factor. There's nothing wrong with that - of course a company has to operate well in order to survive. And in the case of paper, this doesn't even have to be at the expense of the environment. On the contrary, companies can even reduce their costs by using less light-coloured paper. Blue Angel-labelled recycled papers with a whiteness of ISO 70 or ISO 80 are usually five to ten percent cheaper on average than virgin fibre papers. Recycled papers are also the superheroes among papers: They are just as functional and usable as conventional paper, but also conserve our resources and protect the climate. When companies use them in their correspondence, they make a clear statement to partners and customers - literally between the lines. It's great when your company can subtly communicate its environmental awareness without saying much about it. That has class. By the way: If you do need a higher degree of whiteness, recycled paper can easily keep up with conventional paper in terms of appearance.

Recycled paper is a high-tech product of the highest quality

Modern recycled papers are truly high-tech products. They are produced in completely closed cycles, from the waste paper used to the process water and energy used, thus conserving resources and raw materials. If the paper is also labelled with the Blue Angel, this guarantees the highest ecological standard. The Blue Angel is the strictest environmental certificate in Germany. You are always on the safe side with recycled paper bearing the Blue Angel. This is confirmed by DIN EN 12281, DIN 6738 and the new ISO 20494, which they fulfil. Recycled papers can do everything that conventional papers can do and have much better inner values. Prejudices regarding the whiteness, suitability for equipment and also the archivability of recycled papers can be confidently relegated to the realm of fables. Today, there are no reasonable arguments against the use of recycled paper. This is all the more true if your company is based in Germany, where you can source recycled paper of the highest quality via short supply chains. But what other advantages does your company gain by switching to recycled paper?

Consumers expect social responsibility

This is another relatively recent development that is gaining momentum. Consumers increasingly value transparency and sustainability. They want to know where their products come from, under what conditions they are manufactured and what the consequences are. From a purely economic perspective, companies must therefore become more sustainable in order to remain competitive. Because the number of people who don't care about sustainability is falling. And fewer and fewer people are being fooled by greenwashing, i.e. grandiose claims without substance. These trends are particularly evident among the younger generation. Moreover, young people are often politically active and are quick to publicly boycott brands and companies that do not meet their moral standards. In addition to image, your company's social commitment is also becoming increasingly important for your customers, employees and business partners. Modern companies are orientated towards these values and act more sustainably, which does not have to be a contradiction to an economic way of thinking. Because not acting sustainably means that at the end of the day we have to pay the costs of climate protection twice and three times over. We - and future generations.

Getting the ball rolling

This brings us back to the statements we dared to make at the beginning of this article: if your company is still using conventional paper, it is solely because no one has yet taken the initiative to switch. And this is where you, dear reader, come into play. Encourage the changeover in your company! You have all the arguments. The economic advantages and social responsibility are on your side. You can only win. And this is how you can go about it: Collate what information is relevant for stakeholders in relation to the changeover. Make a note of what questions the respective stakeholders might have. Research the answers thoroughly and present them clearly and confidently. If you get the go-ahead for the changeover, it will be fairly unspectacular. Order the types of paper with the Blue Angel that your company needs. You don't need to pay any further attention to storage compared to conventional paper types. The paper's climate protection packaging offers additional protection against temperature fluctuations, but these should not be too high. Despite its high-tech production, recycled paper is a genuine natural product. Ideally, you should give the paper 48 hours to acclimatise after delivery - however, we know from experience that paper is often only reordered when the copier has already run out. It is also advisable to have the devices checked and cleaned by your system technician. Paper jams are often caused by old and hardened feed rollers in the copiers. When you load the new recycled paper into the copiers and printers, fan it thoroughly before inserting it. This generally applies to all papers, by the way, as it makes it easier to feed the sheets and thus prevents multiple sheet feeding.

And that's it - your company can easily switch to 100 per cent recycled paper. As you can see, it's very straightforward. You should encourage the switch, because it's not just a win-win situation, it's a win-win-win situation: you protect the environment by saving an incredible amount of energy and resources. Your company saves money, shows responsibility and improves its image. And you - at the end of the day - will rightly feel incredibly good because you were the person who initiated this important change in your company.

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