BYTES Becomes First South African PrintReleaf Partner

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – May 19, 2015 – Bytes Document Solutions (BDS) recently signed an exciting partnership agreement with PrintReleaf that will allow them to enable their customers to reduce their environmental impact.  

Environmental sustainability is no longer just a ‘nice to have’, it is becoming an imperative for the business that wishes to remain not only responsible, but competitive too. The partnership with PrintReleaf provides the perfect opportunity for BDS to do their bit for the environment by providing a solution to their customers that negates the potential negative impact of printing. The concept is simple, yet ingenious. PrintReleaf’s patent pending software, the PrintReleaf Exchange (PRX), connects enterprise printer environments to a network of Global Reforestation Projects.  A reverse calculation has been done on paper consumption to determine the impact on forests, and the results indicate that for every 8.333 sheets of standard letter paper produced, this is the equivalent of one tree (of approximately 12 metres), and that this is the rate at which paper (i.e. trees) that customers consume will be reforested. This means that PrintReleaf consistently has a positive impact.  Trees are planted in locations where it has been deemed that the planet needs them most. Through PRX, paper is automatically measured and trees are automatically releafed across PrintReleaf Certified Global Reforestation Projects on a monthly basis, allowing for the customer’s environmental impact to be continually offset. Paper consumption is measured through technology integrations with Managed Print Services (MPS) print monitoring software applications and OEM databases. These capture the required meter data to drive the PrintReleaf service.  Once trees have been planted as per the customer’s consumption and requirements, PrintReleaf then administers an audit process over a period of approximately eight years. This process tracks the progress and survivability of the trees, and both the customer and BDS as a partner can monitor this, meaning real feedback is obtained on the environmental impact reduction being achieved. Third party verification and reporting services are provided by leading international forestry auditor, SGS International. The verification process is visible to the customer in PRX to provide transparency and certification.

PrintReleaf provides a solution for responsible businesses that wish to play a part in either neutralising deforestation or accelerating reforestation (depending on the origin of the paper used). It seems like an obvious choice, and the following are some of the benefits customers can enjoy:

Reduced environmental footprint

PrintReleaf guarantees to reforest every sheet of paper measured by PRX. By opting in, customers benefit the environment, neutralising deforestation and driving reforestation while strengthening their commitment to sustainable business practices.

Automated sustainability

Developing and adhering to sustainable business practices often requires additional work to implement, measure, report and verify. Print-Releaf provides an easy online means of implementation while automating measurement, action (planting trees), reporting, and verification.

Planting preferred forest

PrintReleaf enables customers to personally participate in sustainable practices. Customers review and decide where to plant their trees across PrintReleaf’s network of Certified Global Reforestation Projects. As trees are planted, customers can track their growth over an eight year period from their own portal.

Impact promoted

Customers can seamlessly connect and integrate their PrintReleaf account with their Twitter and Facebook accounts to promote their impact and participation in sustainable business practices on social media.  When connected, PrintReleaf will automatically syndicate a tweet or post to each platform, respectively, promoting the fact that the customer has reforested their paper consumption.

Of course, benefits are not limited to customers. There are great benefits for BDS. These include:

Competitive advantage

The MPS marketplace has never been more competitive. By adding PrintReleaf to the BDS business offering, competitive advantage is gained by innovatively meeting customer demands for environmental solutions, offering a service that is integrated, engaging and revolutionary and strengthening customers’ Corporate Social Responsibility commitments. All of these factors enable the business to establish market leadership and win more business in what is a highly competitive industry.

Brand visibility

BDS is able to leverage PrintReleaf’s social media integrations to positively build their brand, since PrintReleaf provides customers with a simple integration with both Twitter and Facebook platforms. When customers link their PrintReleaf account to either platform, each calendar quarter their releaf transactions are automatically ‘tweeted’ or ‘posted’, respectively, and reference is made to their partnership with BDS as their PrintReleaf provider. This not only gains added visibility for the brand, but promotes the business’s commitment to sustainability.

When all of these benefits are considered, along with the substantial good that PrintReleaf can do for the environment, it is clear that this partnership agreement is one that is both strategic and worthy of celebration.

About BYTES

BYTES Document Solutions is a leading document management and technology solutions provider that serves over 10,000 customers across Sub-Saharan Africa. Through its independent business units: Xerox, LaserCom and NOR Paper. Bytes Document Solutions is an authorised distributor for sub-Saharan Africa; the largest Xerox distributor in the world, servicing 26 sub-Saharan African countries.  For more information, visit www.bytes.co.za.

About PrintReleaf

Creating a global standard for sustainable forest product consumption, PrintReleaf guarantees to certifiably releaf all forest products consumed by its customers. Founded in 2011 by MPS industry veterans, the PrintReleaf Exchange [PRX] is the first technology platform that measures a customer’s forest consumption and connects them directly to reforestation projects. The patent-pending technology not only measures consumption, but tracks its reforestation partners to ensure fulfillment. For more information, please visit www.printreleaf.com.