Saving the planet, one copier at a time?

Corporate America has embraced going green, but mostly as far as it can be used as a marketing tool. You don't hear as much about what a business operation can actually do to minimize its impact on the environment. But Xerox Corp. is doing something to change that, at least among its customers. Yes, we're talking about your printer and copier. Those things use energy, you know.

Anyway, Xerox has introduced a Sustainability Calculator designed to gauge how much energy their copiers, printers and fax machines use, how much paper they use, how much greenhouse gases they produce, and what those numbers would look like with a more efficient piece of equipment. At least that's the goal, and it's designed specifically for businesses.

"It provides customers with actionable recommendations to help them achieve their 'green' objectives and in doing so realize cost-savings and efficiency gains that come with an optimized office environment," said John Kelly, the company's president, in this press release.

But some aren't reacting positively to the new online calculator idea. The Wall Street Journal's Environmental Capital blog links to a critical posting in Earth2Tech. The WSJ blog writes, "if Xerox can convince customers to replace existing machines with new 'multi-function' products that do it all, customers save on energy, paper, service, and inventory." And, the blog concludes, "Xerox sells loads of snazzy new machines."

-- Scott Streater