The first major challenge in implementing the program was assessing the condition of all of ASU’s machines. It was a large undertaking, comprising of 6,000 different units over 4 campuses. A large number of the machines, particularly copiers, were analog and needed to be upgraded to digital.
“ASU had this variety of devices,” said Stephen Agostini, director of solutions marketing for Canon’s Business Imaging Solutions Group. “We needed to understand usage and the needs of the students. From there, we had to take that info and find Canon technology that that best fit ASU’s requirements of sustainability.”
The university found a similar challenge in convincing some faculty to get on board with the plan, Lane said. Not all professors liked the idea of bringing in the new, more efficient technology, particularly if it meant removing their personal office printers.
“Most departments fought it tooth and nail,” Lane said. “Having a printer in your own office was a perk. Faculty didn’t want to give up that perk, when they’re giving up so many other things lately. But now they go along with it because they see the savings.”
Since officially switching to Canon in 2006, the university has saved more than 700 trees and 2.34 million liters of water. This has primarily been achieved by switching to duplex printing – producing images on both sides of paper, rather than just one side.
The number of printers has been reduced by 32 percent, cutting down the use of paper by 48 percent. That’s 107,000 reams of paper no longer used or needed on campus each year. Greenhouse gas emissions at the university have been reduced by 500 metric tons per year.
The university projects saving an additional 3,500 trees, 793,000 tons of Co2 emissions and 3,000,000 liters of water. Even with these strides, however, the goal of complete carbon neutrality could still be as much as 12 years away.
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