IT Week: As environmental manager at printer vendor Ricoh UK, do you really believe that firms can do more to protect the environment without raising their costs or harming efficiency?

Tom Wagland: Energy consumption [is a big issue]. Having lots of printers in one place is not the most efficient way of doing things, and with the software available, firms should be considering multi-function devices [MFDs]. Whereas before they had to invest in expensive stream printers, now they can print to MFDs and benefit from printing and energy savings. There are also paper savings to be had. [For example], using templates to create letterheads saves investing in additional paper, as does duplex printing; and MFDs give the option of scanning and distributing [documents] electronically. Most users print off documents like emails but by using our devices you can share documents without having to do this.

How can IT managers justify the high initial outlay for MFDs?

By the running costs alone – a laser printer comes in at around 3p a copy, while an MFD [can print] for about 0.6 or 0.7p. There are significant savings in copy and servicing costs and in consumables. Laser consumables are so expensive they have generated a whole new industry selling refills. If IT managers looked at these costs and those [cut] by consolidating equipment onto MFDs they would see huge savings.

What about the problems of disposing of IT kit?

Some IT equipment poses a big issue when it comes to disposal. There are lots of schemes for companies to send old kit on to worthy causes but this is [often tantamount to] dumping the stuff. However, the impending WEEE directive will not let you do that – you will only be able to export working systems. For IT manufacturers this is a big issue, and they have a lot of accountability for the IT waste that ends up in landfills. Our Green Centre is based around asset recovery and equipment recycling – it's a facility where engineers, dealers and customers can return [useless] kit so it can be disposed of in the right way. The printer industry is traditionally bad from an environmental point of view but there is zero waste from this facility.

Are IT managers' views of print devices and green issues changing?

They are becoming more aware. In the past they would buy hardware and not consider ongoing running costs. They were more focused on the usability of the hardware and software than the environmental impact. There were large numbers too, with almost a laser printer to a desk in some cases, which shows that no consideration was given to energy consumption. Some of the blame lies with the manufacturers, who are aware of the environmental aspects, but sometimes are not forthcoming in explaining it. For example, the popularity of flat-screen televisions has been driven more by [promoting] the quality of the screen than the fact that it consumes just a fraction of the energy of traditional devices.