Eco-apathy rampant in Irish workplace

Trade

Pictured: Maurice Teague, head of Canon business solutions in Ireland

Eco-apathy is rampant in the Irish workplace, to the dismay of researchers. A recent survey showed that more than half (51%) of Irish employees say their company lacks a green policy aimed at cutting environmental impact.

Four out of ten (41%) believe their company’s environmental policy is just for show. And the paper mountain is as high as ever, with an average of 3.8 million pages printed unnecessarily every working day.

The extent of environment apathy emerged in a study commissioned by Canon, which found that 26% of participants believe company bosses should shoulder the burden – and 23% think it should be the government, not them, who should be held accountable for polluting practices.

Where a green policy does exist in Irish companies, 41% said that it’s just for show and has no real meaning to the business and its staff.

Canon Ireland’s Maurice Teague commented: “It is shocking to see just how disinterested Irish workers seemingly are when it comes to doing their bit to protect the environment.”

Teague, who is head of Canon business solutions in Ireland, added: “Every office worker needs to understand their individual impact on the environment, and taking responsibility for improving company policy needs to be a collaborative effort between bosses and staff. Without effective communication of green strategy throughout an organisation, more damage than good will be done.”

The office paper mountain continues to grow despite much publicised technologies such as double sided and secure printing. Each office worker unnecessarily throws away an average eight pages of A4 paper every day, according to Canon’s research. This equates to 7,700 reams of paper. Despite this huge volume, only 24% of offices default their printers to double sided (duplex) printing.

Teague said: “Canon evaluates its environmental impact across all areas of the business. It’s important that large companies lead by example and also practice what they preach.”

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