Metric Monday: Paper Reduction at UW

The University of Washington has a goal of reducing paper usage university-wide, in line with a Washington state law directing state agencies to reduce paper consumption by at least 30% from 2008-2009 levels and use 100% recycled copy paper.

UW is still working toward those goals, and you can see the progress on our Sustainability Dashboard's paper page. Below, you can that the amount of paper per employee across all UW campuses has steadily dropped since the law was passed.

Paper Reduction week at UW

UW Sustainability is excited to introduce paper reduction week! All week on the blog we'll be highlighting stories of people and groups on campus who have taken steps to reduce paper use, and providing tips and resources for you to do the same. This week is all about reducing the amount of paper we use, going digital and making small changes with big impacts. Reducing paper can save money and time as well as significantly reducing our environmental impact.

Toren's Tidbits: An Interview with UW sustainability mascot on Paper reduction

Stuffed Sqwatch with the UW Sustainability logo.

I was fortunate enough to have the privilege of interviewing Sqwatch, our UW Sustainability mascot, and get his thoughts on office paper reduction. He's a busy guy but we were able to chat with him for a few minutes!

Toren: Sqwatch, Thanks so much for joining us today. We’re excited to chat with you about paper reduction since after all, you are a Paper Reduction Pro. So Sqwatch, why should we reduce paper?

Sqwatch's Secret #4: Paperless Meetings

Meetings and paper go hand in hand – whether it’s passing out printed agendas or meeting notes. But, what if there was a way to transform the way meetings are conducted and at the same time, reduce the constant use of paper?

The best way is by replacing paper handouts with e-documents. Technology is everywhere! Get out your laptops, iPads, iPhones, or Android devices. Share agendas and other documents electronically before the meeting instead of printing them out. 

You can find more tips on the Green Office resources page