Pilot Begreen - pens made with recycled materials
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Begreen - the range of writing instruments made with recycled materials |
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Click here to view product range.
Click here for press release and Pilot Begreen Office Audit results |
The range covers many categories; including ballpoints, gel and rollerball pens as well as mechanical pencils, spotliters, markers and erasers. The BegreeN range makes no compromise on quality or performance of the pens with all of the range manufactured by Pilot to ensure the same quality you expect as the rest of the standard Pilot range. The range follows the ISO 14001 standard in manufacturing. The percentage of recycled material of each pen is based on the total weight of the pen (excluding the ink). Helping the planet doesn’t have to cost more as most of the Begreen range are close to the same price as the standard range equivalent. The Begreen range of environmentally friendly writing instruments allows you to make your own contribution to being environmentally friendly. Begreen is the attitude to adopt and is the range that is positive to our planet. The Begreen range has proven itself overseas by winning the Environmental Responsibility category in the OPI European Office Products Awards 2006, showing the real commitment that Pilot has towards environmental issues. How recycled pens are made:
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Just Arrived! 'Kids teaching kids'
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The first batch of Arron and Richard Wood's "Inspiring the Next Young Environmental Leader - Kids Teaching Kids - Addressing Our Environmental Crisis" book is here! |
“Arron and Richard Wood’s successful method of engaging youth on the big environmental challenges facing our planet is truly inspiring. They bring renewed hope for encouraging activism by future generations. This book is about the evolution of Kids Teaching Kids and its relevance as an effective formula for educating young people and motivating them to take action in |
Press release
[19/02/08] NO IMPROVEMENT ON ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT CARD FOR AUSTRALIAN BUSINESSES – NEW RESEARCH
Despite the millions of dollars being spent by the government on trying to make Australians more aware of their impact on the environment, a new study released today has shown very little has changed when it comes to our office behaviour over the last 12 months.
The annual Pilot BeGreen Office Audit, released on the eve of National Business Clean Up Day, has found that many Australian businesses are still not implementing simple practices that could significantly reduce their impact on the environment. For instance, just as many Australian businesses are using continuous air conditioning (seven-in-ten) and leaving the lights on at night (one-in-ten) now as they were a year ago, adding to the negative environmental impacts caused by Australian business.
Environmental expert, Arron Wood is disturbed by these findings. “Climate change has attracted significant attention over the last year, with the environment becoming an increasingly high priority on the nation’s agenda, so I’m surprised and a little alarmed to find this has had little effect on the behaviour of Australia’s office workplaces,” Arron concedes.
And it appears Australia’s office workers have made no real major changes to their day to day behaviour either, with the national Pilot BeGreen Office Audit finding that:
- No less than 36 percent of office workers still admit to failing to turning off their computers every night, extending energy usage into the night when it is not needed.
- An overwhelming 86 percent of office workers are unnecessarily printing off hard copy documents rather than proof reading them on screen, contributing to excess paper waste that can easily be avoided.
- Only 23 percent of those surveyed have ever used a pen or writing instrument made from recycled material.
“With no real inroads being made by corporate Australia in tackling these environmental issues, I believe environmentalists and government agencies need to shift their focus. A lot of the attention over the last 12 months has been on individuals and large industrial organisations but we really need to start challenging corporate Australia to start making simple changes that make a real difference if we are going to change the status quo,” suggests Arron.
“I mean changes do not have to be difficult or expensive. It doesn’t take much to open a window, shutdown a computer or order recycled stationery products,” he added.
But it’s not all bad news. Slight improvements have been made in office recycling. Office workers are now more likely to be putting recyclables in the recycling bin on a regular basis (85% up from 73% a year ago), are more likely to work in an office that only uses recycled paper (33% up from 25% a year ago) and are more likely to have a bin for recycling paper (86% versus 80% a year ago).
“Recycling is a positive step towards helping the environment, but there is certainly more we can do when it comes to choosing office products. Materials such as CD cases which would normally end up in landfill are now being used to make pens and markers, such as those available under the Pilot BeGreen range, meaning the simple act of choosing a pen can have a positive impact on the environment,” Arron suggests.
Arron’s top tips for corporate Australia
- Use a laptop instead of a desktop computer – it uses less energy.
- Switch to green energy produced from renewable sources such as wind and solar.
- Purchase office products made from recycled products, such as pens and markers from the Pilot BeGreen range.
- Transport is a major greenhouse emitter. Look beyond the office and encourage staff to take public transport, ride or even walk to work.
- Bring all your household energy and water saving habits into the office. Although it may seem insignificant turning off lights, turning off taps, composting food waste, using less packaging, turning down the heating thermostat and turning up the cooling thermostat when multiplied by all the offices in Australia makes a massive difference!
NB: The Pilot BeGreen research surveys were conducted nationally by telephone, among a representative sample of full and part time office workers aged 18 years and over, by Newspoll (with a sample size of n=371 in Jan 2007 and n=399 in Dec 2007).
For more information please contact Hausmann Communications
Jennifer Williams 02 8353 5712/ 0415 962 850 or jennifer.williams@hausmann.com.au
[20/02/07] NEW RESEARCH FINDS AUSTRALIAN BUSINESSES FAIL WHEN IT COMES TO BEING GREEN
Despite global warming being one of the most important issues on the nation’s agenda, new research released today by Pilot BeGreen has revealed that Australian businesses are not implementing simple practices that could significantly reduce their impact on the environment.
Just days away from National Business Clean Up Day, the inaugural Pilot BeGreen Office Audit* has found that 74 percent of office workplaces always use air conditioning. Similarly one in seven office workers operate in an environment where the lights are not turned off at night, extending energy usage into the night when it is not needed.
Environmental expert Arron Wood is shocked by the amount of businesses that are unnecessarily generating greenhouse gas emissions.
“We live in one of the most beautiful climates in the world so I find it absolutely crazy that we rely on 24 hour air conditioning for twelve months of the year. Air conditioning is a major contributor of greenhouse gas emissions and often accounts for approximately half of an office building’s energy consumption 1,” says Arron.
Alarmingly, the Pilot BeGreen Office Audit also found that only 25 percent of offices are using only recycled paper, and when it comes to office workers, only 23 percent of those surveyed have ever used a pen or writing instrument made from recycled material.
An overwhelming 85 percent of office workers were found to be unnecessarily printing off hard copy documents rather than proof reading them on screen, contributing to excess paper waste that can easily be avoided. No less than 35 percent of those office workers surveyed admitted to failing to turn off their computer every night, adding to Australia’s business generated environmental woes.
Having previously focused our attention on the individual and then large industrial organisations, Arron believes it is time to focus on the office workplace and the simple environmental practises businesses are over looking. Changes need not be expensive when there are already products in the market that use green energy and stationery items such as pens and paper that are made from recycled materials.
“Leaving electrical equipment like computers on all the time attributes to around 280 tonnes of greenhouse gases annually. This can be dramatically reduced by approximately 70% if office workers took the initiative to turn their computers off each night. 2. Or consider using a laptop. A laptop uses much less energy than a desktop computer,” advises Arron.
One in five surveyed for the Pilot BeGreen Office Audit do not have bins for recycling paper in their workplace and almost 50 percent do not have a bin for recycling aluminium cans, plastic bottles and other recyclables, which is of surprise to Arron.
“It has now been ingrained in people to recycle their empty cans and bottles, but if employees aren’t providing workers with the facilities to do so then the potential for office workplaces to make a difference is lost. When it comes to everyday habits in the office there is a lot more we can do to help the environment,” says Arron.
“Your choice of office products is a simple way Australian office workplaces can make a difference. Think about environmentally friendly options like Pilot BeGreen – everything from pens to highlighters and erasers that have been made from between 67 to 100 percent recycled materials. Especially when the Pilot Begreen range costs the same as the non recycled variety. Why wouldn’t you use a pen made from recycled CD cases, which would otherwise have ended up in landfill?” added Arron.
The Pilot BeGreen range won the Environmental Responsibility category in the OPI European Office Products Awards 2006.
Arron’s top tips for reducing the impact of offices on the environment
- Install low energy light bulbs. They use only 20 percent of the energy that a normal light bulb does and can last up to ten times longer
- Switch appliances off at the power point. Even in standby mode energy is consumed
- Regulate air conditioning temperature. For every degree you increase the thermostat in winter your energy bill can increase up to 15%
- Select green energy where it is produced from renewable sources such as wind and solar
- Buy products made from recycled materials – pens, paper, packaging, furniture
*The Pilot BeGreen research was conducted nationally by telephone, among a representative sample of 371 full and part time office workers aged 18 years and over, by Newspoll.
For more information please contact Hausmann Communications
Alexis Bicknell (02) 8353 5731 or 0400 161 598
1 http://www.nedo.go.jp/english/archives/180824/180824.html
2 http://www.environment.gov.au/settlements/publications/government/purchasing/green-office-guide/index.html