Greening the office with mobile devices

At its core, “Going Green” involves having an understanding about the environment and how our actions affect the world around us. These ideals are moving closer to the mainstream, so that everyone from kindergarten students to C-level executives are familiar with its tenets.

Discussions about the ways in which investments could affect the environment are becoming more common. Take a mobile device management plan for instance. There may not seem to be much of a connection between corporate environmental programs and using an iPad to read office reports, but there is.

Uberflip – a company designs creative PDFs – has released a new infographic that examines just how big the mobile device impact on the environment can be.

One of the first things that may come to mind is saving on paper costs, and you would be right. According to the report, 45 percent of tablet users reported reducing their printing habits, which makes sense – read a report digitally and there is no need to print it out.

Some of the other benefits take a little more digging. For instance, it takes two cups of water to create a digital publication. Compare that to the seven gallons needed to make the average printed book. There is also an effect on carbon emissions. The average 60-watt light bulb emits 48.4 grams of CO2 in an hour. The iPad is responsible for 2.5 grams while the iPhone comes in at only 1.2 grams.

One of the arguments against tablet adoption as a green product is how the devices themselves are recycled. While it is a valid concern – considering the competition is bound paper – many manufacturers including Apple and Samsung have a green production process in place to make the gadgets as environmentally friendly as possible.