Use both sides of paper: When making copies, set your machine to use both sides of paper and cut your consumption in half. If an office uses 15 reams of paper per week, at the cost of approximately $5 per ream, this equates to $75 per week or $3900 per year. If half of the paper was printed either double-sided or two pages per sheet, this would save 3.75 reams per week, which is a dollar saving that equates to $18.75 per week. Over the year, the saving is $975, or 25%

Shred and reuse unwanted paper: Instead of throwing away old documents, shred them and reuse them as packing material in shipments.

Reuse boxes: When you get shipments in, save your boxes so that you can use them again for shipments out, you can also use them for storage.

Offer paper recycling: Put a paper recycling receptacle next to every printer, copier and fax machine so that employees can deposit unwanted paper in them. Discuss recycling with your cleaning crew or appoint a person to bring your paper to a recycling center each week. Currently, only 11 per cent of office paper is recycled in Australia - one of the worst rates in the developed world. The average office worker throws away 50 kilograms of high-grade recyclable paper a year . A typical office tower’s waste contains 55 per cent paper.

Avoid colour printing: Colour printing generally uses more ink, so print in black and white when you can.

Print in draft mode: To conserve even more ink, print in draft mode. It will generally lighten the shade, but you’ll still be able to read your copy clearly.

Buy paper wisely: Create a policy to buy only chlorine-free paper with a high percentage of recycled content.

Consider alternative paper: Think about buying paper made from hemp, bamboo or organic cotton.

Buy recycled toner and ink: Cartridges contribute metal and plastic to landfills, but buying toner and ink that’s refilled can help alleviate this environmental burden. Australians use around 1.5 million laser cartridges a year, leading to around 1500 tonnes of waste – an amount that would cover the Sydney Cricket Ground to a depth of half a metre, every year.

Distribute memos via email: Instead of printing out memos for distribution, email them and let employees decide whether or not they wish to print them.

Store manuals, policies and other documents online: Don’t print out huge employee handbooks. Allow employees to access PDF copies at their leisure.

Reduce margins: Reduce your margin settings so that your printer uses less paper.

Don't get a paper phone book - Instead of getting a paper phone book, use an online directory instead.

Stop paper bank statements - Why waste paper getting your bank statement mailed to you when you can just check it out online.

Pay your Bills Online - If every house in the US did this then we would save 18 million trees every year.