What the Numbers Mean

Cutting 10 reams per month avoids 60,000 sheets a year — the output of about 7.2 trees, 12,600 gallons of water, 2,700 kWh, and 1,320 lbs (0.6 tons) of CO2. Across a typical office, going paperless is one of the fastest zero-cost wins in a sustainability report.

The Per-Ream Numbers

Figures come from standard paper-lifecycle averages: ~0.06 trees, 105 gallons of water, 22.5 kWh of energy, and 11 lbs of CO2 per ream. And when paper does end up in a landfill, it decays into methane — far more potent than CO2 — so every sheet avoided pays twice.