Merrill Corporation has made a commitment to consult with our clients and embrace “green,” eco-friendly practices whenever possible. We work diligently to help keep our clients abreast of the latest initiatives and to meet any green goals they have set for their businesses or firms.
In our Document Service Centers, we help our law firm clients work toward the American Bar Association and Environmental Protection Agency “Law Office Climate Challenge,” if a firm decides to pursue that initiative.
The challenge, created by the ABA Section of Environment, Energy and Resources (SEER), in conjunction with the EPA, recommends that firms reduce paper use, save energy and follow certain best-practice guidelines for law offices. [See off-site link below.*]
We work with firm management to meet any firm-directed green initiatives, as well as incorporate best practices developed within Merrill’s extensive portfolio of clients.
DSC Eco-Friendly Procedures
As part of our day-to-day DSC activities, we use more than 65 percent recycled paper and also stock and use 30 percent post-consumer recycled paper. We offer double-sided copying to reduce paper waste, encouraging firms to set this as an automatic default. Waste materials are routinely shredded or recycled as part of our services on site.
We also provide in-house electronic services (document scanning, job submission, repository services, etc.) to many of our customers, further reducing the need to maintain paper documentation. In some firms, we utilize rules-based workflow technologies, whereby documents are routed to “least-cost” devices, and jobs must be verified before final printing, further reducing waste and preserving consumables and energy.
All DSC cartridges and toner are recycled, and our multi-function-devices are Energy Star®-compliant based on efficient power usage. All devices are set to power down after a certain period of non-use, further saving energy.
In our hospitality services, we also recommend and implement green-friendly measures such as using glasses and cups rather than disposable dishware.
Consulting and Support for In-Firm Green Efforts
Our DSCs can help firms meet internal and external green goals by creating tracking and reporting methods to measure printing and copying usage. Our comprehensive monitoring and reporting tools can provide detailed information, including cost per kilowatt hour, as well as total output cost. This provides law firms with a platform from which they can make educated, well-balanced decisions to improve their business and the environment.
*Learn more about the ABA’s Law Office Climate Challenge here: http://www.americanbar.org/groups/environment_energy_resources/
projects_awards/aba_epa_law_office_climate_challenge/
components_of_the_challenge.html
