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Printing Reduction in Blackman’s Tax Department

The Environmental and Community Outreach (ECO) Committee at Blackman issued a challenge to the Tax Department this year to reduce its printing-paper consumption by 35%. By April, the department nearly doubled the target, and achieved a 67% reduction! If this trend continues, the annual savings would equal 1.8 million sheets of paper or 200 trees.

This massive reduction was due in large part to the completely paperless review process used by the professionals in Blackman’s Tax Department. The paperless review process is a culmination of technical training, efficiency best practices, and new technologies.

The results (as shown below) demonstrate that this change was embraced quite quickly, with sustained improvement in printing reduction.

2001 Check-in Date	YTD Printing Reduction
31-Jan	40%
15-Feb	47%
28-Feb	53%
15-Mar	60%
30-Mar	65%
15-Apr	67%

Available data regarding the environmental savings linked to trees and carbon dioxide (CO₂) are highly variable. By one estimate, saving 160 trees per year sequesters the amount of CO₂ produced by one average American per year and provides oxygen for 320 people. By another estimate, if every American family planted one tree, it would offset 5% of CO₂ production. And still another suggests that the average person needs to plant six trees per year to sequester the CO₂ produced by his/her automobile’s emissions. Regardless of this variability, the Tax Department made a significant environmental contribution by a simple decision . . . not to print.

The Environmental and Community Outreach (ECO) Committee at Blackman Kallick strives to constantly improve the environmental and social impact that our decisions have on the entire Blackman community and beyond.

This publication is part of Blackman Kallick’s marketing of professional services, and is not written tax advice directed at the specific facts and circumstances of any person and/or entity. Contents of this publication are of a general nature, and you should not act on this information without obtaining professional advice from your business advisor that is appropriately tailored to your individual needs and circumstances. This written advice is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used by any taxpayer, for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed under the Internal Revenue Code.