[LINK] Environment department used 30 sheets of paper per person per day

[Tom Worthington]

At 03:41 AM 27/01/2009, Michael Still wrote:
>Tom Worthington wrote:
> >... Australian Public Service might like to set a target for the use
> > of paper for all agencies of no more than one sheet per day per
> > person. ...
>
>I think artificial quotas are a bad idea... Perhaps people are printing
>because its required by their job ...

I think it helps to give people an idea of what is expected of them. 
There may well be jobs which use of large amounts of paper, but 
perhaps those jobs should be redesigned so they do not. If you are 
using 30 sheets of paper a day and are told the goal is to use just 
one, it may prompt you think about the way you are working. Why are 
you printing out the correspondence instead of just filing it on the 
electronic filing system the department runs? Why are you printing 
out all the drafts your colleagues are circulating? Why are you 
printing out papers for meetings, when everyone has a netbook 
computer and the meeting room is electronically equipped?



Tom Worthington FACS HLM tom.worthington at tomw.net.au Ph: 0419 496150
Director, Tomw Communications Pty Ltd            ABN: 17 088 714 309
PO Box 13, Belconnen ACT 2617                      http://www.tomw.net.au/
Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Australian National University