Reporting on Print Without Overstating It
An environmental report that overstates print savings can bring unexpected questions from auditors or clients, so use numbers you can defend.
Last updated: September 2026
Printing appears in environmental reporting through three measurable things: paper consumed, electricity used by the devices, and consumables returned for recycling.
Everything beyond those is estimation.
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Tell us how your fleet runs today
Quick formThree numbers you can defend
- Pages produced, taken from device counters rather than estimated. Counter readings are measured rather than assumed.
- Electricity used, which can be taken from published device consumption figures applied to actual running hours.
- Consumables returned, where the manufacturer operates a return programme and issues confirmation.
- Anything presented beyond these should be labelled as an estimate, because that is what it is.
Changes that reduce the numbers
Double sided by default, which halves the sheets used on any two sided document.
Secure release, because uncollected jobs are never produced at all.
Right sizing devices, since an oversized machine draws more power for the same work.
Fewer devices, where consolidation allows it, because idle power is per device rather than per page.
Claims to avoid
Percentage reductions with no stated baseline. A number with no starting point cannot be checked, and readers know it.
Carbon figures derived from a chain of assumptions, unless every assumption is stated alongside them.
Supplier claims repeated without a source. Where a manufacturer publishes a figure, cite the manufacturer.
Under Australian Consumer Law, an environmental claim has to be accurate and substantiated in the same way as any other claim about a product.
A practical starting point
- Take twelve months of counter readings as a baseline before changing anything.
- Make one change, such as double sided by default, and measure the same counters after a full quarter.
- Report the actual difference with the baseline stated next to it.
- That is a defensible number, and it is more useful than a larger claim nobody can verify.
Common questions
How do I measure the environmental impact of office printing?
Use pages produced from device counters, electricity from published device consumption applied to running hours, and consumables returned through a manufacturer programme.
Anything further should be labelled as an estimate.
What reduces print related environmental impact most?
Double sided by default halves the sheets used on any two sided document.
Secure release helps because uncollected jobs are never produced, and right sizing devices reduces power drawn for the same work.
Can I claim a percentage reduction in print waste?
Only with a stated baseline and real counter readings behind it.
Under Australian Consumer Law an environmental claim must be accurate and substantiated in the same way as any other product claim.
Are toner cartridges recyclable in Australia?
Major manufacturers operate return programmes for their own consumables.
Ask which programme applies to the devices you have, and keep the confirmation, because that is what makes the number reportable.
Related reading
If the way the fleet runs today is costing time, you can compare managed print services against a plain printer lease.