Around 70% less water and 60% less energy is required to produce paper from recycled fibers compared to virgin fiber paper. Blue Angel certification ensures that no environmentally harmful chemicals, such as chlorine or other optical brighteners, are used in the manufacturing process. A study by the Federal Environment Agency in 2023 repeatedly confirms the environmental benefits of switching to recycled paper (https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/publikationen/aktualisierte-oekobilanz-von-grafik-hygienepapier).

The annual paper atlas published by the Recycled Paper Initiative shows that many German universities have already switched completely to recycled paper with the Blue Angel for environmental and climate protection reasons(https://www.papieratlas.de/hochschulen/). The TUD has also defined increasing the use of recycled paper as a measure in its sustainability strategy.

In the core assortment of the online shop for office and business supplies, the category of 80 gr copy paper therefore only includes paper with 100 % recycled fibers signed with the Blue Angel. In the entire online shop, the provider also marks environmentally friendly items with the eco-tip.

Overall, a decrease in paper consumption can be observed at the TUD: In the period from 2012 to 2023, the annual consumption of copy paper at the TUD was reduced from 102 tons to around 35 tons (see TUD environmental report) . This trend will intensify in the coming years. It is therefore all the easier to switch completely to recycled paper for printing and copying.

The Environmental Protection Group offers a training course of approx. 60 minutes regarding the procurement of sustainable office materials as part of the online training series "University Workplace". The training (online or on site) can also be requested from the Environmental Protection Group() if there are enough particicpants (at least 5 people).

Contact:

Dr. Ines Herr
+49 351 463-39493