Our interest in helping companies reduce their environmental impact started in 2008 when we formed our sister company, The Green Office (www.thegreenoffice.co.uk).In the years since, we have been encouraged by the thousands of clients we have who actively try to make decisions that are environmentally conscious when it comes to purchasing those essential office supplies. Many buy recycled paper as a demonstration of their commitment whilst others go much deeper and consider a whole range of recycled, reclaimed or up cycled products and then factor in other considerations such as manufacturing locations, logistical routes and even the manufacturer's records on worker relations.Our analysis of purchasing patterns showed us that clients who traded with us tended to expand their purchasing range from just recycled paper to a complete range of other products off of the back of a positive experience. One of the areas where we experienced growth was the supply of consumables for printers and copiers and this highlighted what we considered to be an anomaly – people were making great buying decisions by choosing recycled paper and then negating the positive elements of that decision by using that same paper in a 6 year old printer or copying device. Whilst this may not seem to be the biggest deal, aged devices have many negative environmental impacts:Higher energy consumption leading to increased costsHigher toner emissionsIncreased decibel levelsNo standby or sleep mode at all or modes that still have high energy consumptionNon compliance with the latest European standards.These are some of the obvious ones but manufacturers also keep less spare parts and consumables in stock for older devices. The end result of that is an environmentally disastrous supply chain operation to simply get your printer back up and running.Hence, Carbon Neutral Printing and our Print For The Planet programme was borne with a real desire to help you make decisions that have a positive impact on our planet.