Going Green
Posted: Monday, May 03, 2010
by Prudence Helders
ALL-STATE LEGAL
How can your firm be greener? Truthfully, there is no one solution - it is a process that is ongoing and requires flexibility and commitment on various levels. There are many shades of green and your firm needs to decide how much time, resources and budget you are willing to devote to the process.
If you are just getting started or need a refresher of cost effective, easy to implement initiatives, below are just a few ways that you can be more environmentally friendly with the products you use every day.
These types of materials reuse existing material reducing the requirement for new raw materials and significantly reduce the amount of waste that makes its way into landfills.
Engraving is solvent and VOC free making it the most environmentally friendly process for producing your stationery.
Though it provides permanence and prestige to your image, it can often be produced for pennies more than printed, thermographed or even computer generated stationery.
Cotton is one of the most environmentally friendly materials used to manufacture paper used for letterhead.
Cotton is a naturally and quickly renewing resource that the EPA considers to be recycled material. You can even choose a paper that contains a portion of tree-free, recycled cotton along with PCW material.
Choose vendors and suppliers that demonstrate their commitment to the environment.
Many suppliers have green certifications, such as FSC chain-of-custody or offer products that not only are made with recycled and PCW content, but also are SFI certified. Often these products cost little to nothing to switch to, but greatly help our environment.
Even small changes make a difference...
- Change the standard print font to use less toner and paper
- Replace traditional light bulbs with energy efficient bulbs
- Turn monitors off when not in use
- Print drafts and internal documents double- sided
- Start a recycling program for plastics, glass and paper
Next Step
If you've already chosen to go green with ASL, thank you for your business. Please continue to discuss with your account manager your plans for greening your business and your materials. We pledge to continue to research and introduce new environmentally responsible products to meet your needs.
If you haven't yet decided to use the single source advantage of ASL, just give us the opportunity! We offer a broad selection of environmentally responsible products and the expertise to help you identify and purchase the products that will best fit with your firm's needs.
Call your ASL account manager today at 800.222.0510 and be sure to ask for our "Green Ideas from Law Firms for Law Firms" white paper, which includes over 100 ideas for programs and initiatives that you can implement to help your firm be greener! And don't forget to visit www.aslegal.com/greenpractices to find out more about what ASL is doing to protect the environment.
Since 1946, ALL-STATE LEGAL has been dedicated to providing law firms with an extensive array of award-winning engraving and printing services for stationery and marketing materials, and a complete line of legal specialties that translate into a single-source advantage that others just can't match. With employee-owned commitment, ASL is dedicated to developing products that make it easier to run your law office, consistently communicate your unique brand and help your firm to be environmentally friendly.
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