How is the environmental impact indicator calculated?

The calculation of the environmental impact indicator is derived from all the pages printed in the last 30 days from all the printers managed by the provider.

The values may vary according to the context of production and the paper used, but they serve as a reference, based on the following sources, of the impact resulting from the prints made:

Trees: 8.333 pages produced per tree.
The estimate considers that, on average, a tree produces 16.67 reams of A4 paper, each with 500 pages, resulting in 8,333 pages of paper per tree. While some variables can have an impact on the exact amount of paper produced, such as the type of tree and its size, different studies, in addition to the source cited, consider the same value, reinforcing the accuracy of the estimate.

Liters: 0.401 liters of water per printed page.
The water baseline measures the amount of cooling process water consumed or degraded during the entire life cycle of paper production. For the estimate, a standard type of paper used in office and/or commercial printing is considered. The reference values identified are then converted into liters of water/printed page.
KW: 0.02901 kilowatt-hours per printed page.
The indicator considers all the energy required during the life cycle of paper production, including, for example, renewable and non-renewable energies and the use of cellulose and paper industry resources such as black liquor. The reference values identified are then converted to kilowatt-hours per printed page
Ton. of CO²: 0.0000404191 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per printed page.
The value considers the emission of carbon dioxide (or CO²), resulting from the burning of fossil fuels, methane, decomposition of paper in landfills and other short-lived climate pollutants, such as black carbon and organic carbon, which contribute to climate change in the Earth's atmosphere. The calculation basis can also include the loss of forest carbon storage from logged forests.

Sources:

Environmental impact estimates were calculated using the Environmental Paper Network with Paper Calculator versão 4.0

Cushman-Roisin & Tanaka Cremonini, Data, Statistics, and Useful Numbers for Environmental Sustainability - Elsevier, 2021

More on greenhouse gases:

The CO²e, or CO² equivalent, is a metric used to compare the emissions of various greenhouse gases, based on the global warming potential of each one, defined in decision 2/COP 3, or subsequently revised in accordance with article 5. Carbon dioxide equivalent is the result of multiplying the tons of greenhouse gases emitted by their global warming potential.

For example, the global warming potential of methane gas is 21 times greater than the potential of carbon dioxide (CO²). So, we say that the CO² equivalent of methane is equal to 21.

Source: IPAM Amazônia

More about the sources:

The source of the estimates presented is supported by the Environmental Paper Network, an international coalition of more than 140 non-profit organizations, and is widely known as one of the most reliable and transparent sources of environmental impact estimates.

The scientific basis behind the calculations, as well as additional information about the network, are the responsibility of the authors and can be found in the official links presented throughout the document.