Make copies, plant trees and make a difference

If you have ever worried about the impact printing paper and making copies can have on forests and the environment, you can breathe a sigh of relief.

Radford University has joined PrintReleaf, a technology platform that measures customers’ paper usage and certifiably reforests that usage on an equivalent basis. The agreement was established through Virginia Business Systems, Radford University’s print service vendor.

This is how it works: PrintReleaf measures the amount of paper used in Radford University copiers and printers, and then plants trees, equivalent to the paper usage, in stressed forest areas.

PrintReleaf began tracking Radford University paper use in mid-July, and through December 2018, has offset the university’s paper usage by reforesting 144 trees. In September, PrintReleaf reported that its reforestation rate exceeds 1,500 trees per day.

“Paper use at universities is not going away any time soon, so we continue to take steps to reduce our paper consumption,” said Josh Nease, Radford University Sustainability manager and academic program manager. “PrintReleaf is an innovative program that goes even further, by actually offsetting all of the pages printed from university printers.”

PrintReleaf CEO and founder Jordan Darragh said he is “pleased to welcome Radford University to the fast-growing PrintReleaf family. All around North America, schools and in-plant print operations are finding their use of PrintReleaf to be an effective response to the desire for sustainability and resource replenishment.”

The Radford University Division of Information Technology played a key role in the securing the partnership and has led additional campus sustainability initiatives by purchasing energy-efficient machines and using the PaperCut software to monitor and reduce printing waste.

“Be sure to thank them when you see them around campus,” Nease said. 

Radford University is committed to integrating sustainable practices into all aspects of its operations and engaging students across the curriculum to learn, discover and contribute to positive current and future environmental solutions.