Waste minimization… reducing, reusing, recycling

IISD has had a waste minimization strategy in place for many years based on the three Rs—reduce, reuse, recycle.

Measurement Method

• Number of pages printed is tracked at each office printer.
• Vetting of office supplies to determine if they can be reused and/or recycled.
• Number of bags of recycling generated/year.

Progress

Reduce:

• printing and photocopying are defaulted to be double-sided;
• publications usually published electronically and as print-on-demand using new digital printing technology (see below: Focus on IISD Publishing Services); and
• document management system developed, which eliminates duplication and ensures only necessary documents are stored.

Reuse:

• refillable products (e.g., kitchen cleaning supplies) used whenever possible; and
• used paper is made into scratch pads.

Recycle:

• Paper, glass, cardboard and aluminum cans are recycled.

We have taken steps to reduce waste at printers by posting signs reminding staff to pick up their print jobs right away to prevent their being forgotten and reprinted and to ask the library to print one copy of .pdfs of reports and publications, which can then be circulated to staff. In addition, we will be doing a "Think Before You Print Campaign" to raise awareness among staff about ways to reduce the number of print jobs.

Focus on IISD Publishing Services

In accordance with institutional policy, IISD Publishing Services continues to produce publications on paper made with a minimum of 20 per cent post-consumer waste. The institute also continues to promote sustainability by publishing all materials on the IISD web site at no charge to the user, thereby reducing the demand for printed copies of our work.

Over the past year, IISD Publishing Services has been exploring digital printing technologies. Digital technology allows publishers to produce shorter runs of books at a reasonable per-unit cost. Up to about 500 copies, digital printing is proving to be an economical alternative. Further, the technology allows for affordable reprints, in the event that an original print run is exhausted. A key feature of the new technology is that IISD is able to publish professional books without feeling the obligation to achieve the economies of scale of offset printing by producing more copies than we require.