That blocky printer in your office has always been relegated to the
far corner — and overshadowed by sleek laptops or ‘big
iron’ servers. Traditionally, the printer and printing has
never been looked at as a strategic procurement in the enterprise.
It has always been considered as a device that you need to buy
because you need to print something. So when it comes to
initiatives like going green and environmental sustainability, what
can the humble printer offer, and are organizational attitudes
towards it changing?
A recent study by Hewlett-Packard and IDC cites that 46 percent of
the organizations say cost rather than environmental sustainability
is the main driver for adoption of Green IT products and services.
On a positive note, 80 percent respondents have policies related to
printer and print management, reducing paper wastage and recycling
printer consumables; yet only 39 percent have a green procurement
policy for the IT department. But, 67 percent respondents said they
are willing to assess their print infrastructure.
HP is doing its bit to change mindsets and attitudes and has
instituted the HP Eco Solutions Printing Awards in India.
At the 2011
awards ceremony in New Delhi on March 8th, Nitin Hiranandani,
Director Managed Enterprise Solutions, Imaging and Printing Group,
Hewlett-Packard India, said, "HP is working closely with
enterprises to drive sustainability, contributing to the
environment and to have an end objective and a plan."
“The Eco Solutions Printing Award reaffirms HP’s
commitment towards the environment. We have partnered with IDC to
honor and recognize some of the (Indian) enterprises who are
leading in this area. They have very clear and exceptional
environment strategies, specifically related to the printing
realm,” said Hiranandani.
The organizations honored for the HP Eco Solutions Printing Award
India 2011 are Essar Group, HSBC and Infosys Technologies.
These
organizations have also adopted Managed Printing Services. By
utilizing advance technology, printing policies and management and
change practices these organizations have reduced energy
consumption, standardized and streamlined their
organization’s fleet of printers more effectively. They have
learned to use consumables and paper supplies and improve workflow
processes, and to change end user behavior about what, when, and
how to print.
None of these organizations however, were willing to give
specifics about how much their energy consumption levels reduced,
or how much they have saved on costs after going green.
The writer was hosted by HP in New Delhi.
About Author
Brian Pereira is a veteran IT journalist based in Mumbai, India. He is currently the Editor at InformationWeek India. Brian has written several articles on consumer and enterprise technology, since 1992. He has also spoken at Forums such as Nasscom, Cloud Computing World Forum and many others. During his career he worked for reputed organizations like Times of India, Indian Express Group, Jasubhai Digital Media and Infomedia18.
More articles by Brian Pereira