The Cost of Printing vs. iPads: A Paperless
Student Union at the University of British Columbia
Justin Ritchie, Sustainability Coordinator
Elin Tayyar, VP Finance
Alma Mater Society, University of British Columbia
http://amssustainability.ca
Campus Profile of UBC + AMS Breakdown
UBC Campus
• Located in Vancouver, BC
• 47,000 students, 16,000 residents,
10,000 staff
• The Alma Mater Society is the student
union at UBC
• Has an annual budget of over
$25,000,000 and over 500 employees
• Managed through 5 elected student
executives and oversight provided by a
40 person elected student council
• Biggest student union in Canada
• We have over 14 businesses
that generate $9 million in
revenue
• Lowest student fees in Canada
Student Union Building
UBC SEEDS PROGRAM
• Unites campus operations
with academics
• Builds collaborative
partnerships between staff,
faculty and students
• Develops accredited
campus sustainability
projects
• 700 reports, 4000
participants
1st Campus Garden
REAL IMPACTS: first local organic apple in residences, UBC Farm dishes,
biodegradable ware, Furniture Reuse Program, organic weed control, worm
bins, reusable container program & more!
To learn more about UBC SEEDS
Program:
Liska Richer
Coordinator, UBC SEEDS Program, Campus Sustainability
Campus + Community Planning,
University of British Columbia
Email: Liska.richer@ubc.ca
Tel: 604 822 3270
Web: sustain.ubc.ca
Problem Statement
?
Project question to Chemical
Engineering course:
AMS, as an organization, goes
through a lot of paper. Would
providing tablets for all full-time
employees and eliminating printing
be a more sustainable alternative?
AMS Paper usage
•
•
•
•
Over 60 permanent AMS full-time staff
Over 240,000 sheets of paper a year
Total mass of paper = 1,089.6kg
14 printers
Assumptions:
• iPads would reduce paper usage by
2/3 (reduce by 160,000 sheets/yr)
• 2 printers would still be kept.
iPad Battery Life
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Battery Replacement = New iPad.
Cost of battery replacement plan is $134.14/iPad.
Total cost of new batteries = $8,048
1000 full charge/discharge cycles to retain 80% of
original capacity.
10 hrs of life per charge
Total of 10,000 hrs of life
Batteries useful for 5 years to AMS staff.
iPad life = a 10 year time frame
Cost of iPad
iPad 1
iPad 2
IPad Cost
$469.28 (tax incl)
$581.28 (tax incl)
Battery Replacement
$134.14 (tax incl)
$134.14 (tax incl)
Total Cost for 10 years $32,205.2
$42,925.2
iPad Environmental Impact Assessment
Energy Impacts:
• British Columbia uses 98% hydroelectricity, which has a negligible variable
environmental impact.
• Difference between the two alternatives
are small:
Energy usage over 10
years
12 printers (to be
removed)
iPads
3600 kw.hr
4200 kw.hr
iPad Environmental Impact Assessment
Impact
Category
Unit
Global Warming
Potential
Tonnes CO2
eq.
Acidification
kg SO2 eq.
Particulate Matter
kg PM eq.
Ozone Depletion mg CFC-11 eq.
Eutrophication
kg N eq.
Paper
(Over 10 years)
Lower
Bound
6.8
Upper
Bound
67.5
iPad
Lower Bound Upper Bound
4.68
15.6
146.6
42.5
21.8
832.0
24.8
4.8
negligible
negligible
1- via tear down analysis input to MeeUP
2- Apple Environmental report 2010
Paper Reduction Savings
Assume: 1/3 paper will still be printed
Including tax, cost of paper = $48.82/box
With these assumptions:
Annual paper use savings = $1,562.24
10 year savings = $15,624.40
Printer and Toner Savings
10 small printers, 4 large printers
With the institution of iPads, only two of the
larger printers would be kept.
Cost of toner & lease per small printer =
$50/month/printer
10 year savings = $72,000
Energy savings not included (small value)
10 year printing savings = $87,624.40
Challenges
Difficulties in implementing anything, IT
department small, tablet compatibility issues,
more experienced staff are more resistant to
change
Steps taken:
To reduce paper use before purchasing a first
round of iPads, we held several meetings with
our staff to discuss ways to reduce paper use
Engaged the full time staff throughout the
process. Staff are much more conscious of
printing.
Next Steps and Core Value
Questions
Several staff are currently using iPads
• Integrating it into our IT systems; staff are gradually
getting used to iPads
New Centre for Interactive Research for Sustainability
building experimenting with iPads, and using cloud
computing.
• Environmental/climate control through their iPads.
We are currently building a new 255,000 sqft LEED
Platinum student centre, the most sustainable Student
Union Building in the world
• Most upgrades and changes are pending the
completion of the building.
Other AMS Projects
New Student Union Building
• Award-winning community consultation process
• Most sustainable Student Union Building in the world
• Fully functional roof-top garden
• LEED Platinum/Living Building Challenge
Micro-Brewery
• Will be in the new SUB. Will be getting most
ingredients from the 24 hectare Farm located on the
UBC Campus
• First student owned and operated micro-brewery