Paper

ANZ commenced the replacement of paper account statements with electronic statements in June 2008 for customers on an ‘opt-in’ basis. Approximately 14.3 million online statements have been generated since the commencement of this initiative, which has saved around 50 million sheets of paper or an estimated of 250 tonnes being the equivalent of an estimated 6000 trees. Our growing use of electronic statements avoids the need for more than 664,000 sheets of paper every month representing more than double the volume of Online Statements produced when compared with 2010.

ANZ uses “follow you” print technology, which helps to minimise paper consumption and environmental impact. Printers only print when the end-user swipes their office security pass at the device. This serves to reduce paper and toner wastage by preventing accidental prints or paper going missing. Power consumption is reduced by increasing the number of employees per printing device and by enhancing energy-saver modes. All printers have default setting of double-sided and black and white printing. “Follow you” printing is now in operation at ANZ Centre and other key commercial sites in Australia. All our future workplace projects will allow for this environmental improvement.

2012 results

ANZ’s environmental targets for reducing paper consumption:

Office Paper:

Customer Paper:

ANZ’s Australia operation reduced paper that is delivered to customers in the form of statements (including envelopes), brochures and booklets by 6% relative to 2011, which is ahead of the performance required to meet our 2014 target. This is mainly due to success in shifting customer communication away from paper-based communication to digital or on-line channels. The continued take-up and development of digital communication will be a key focus area for ANZ in 2013. Internal paper usage similarly exceeded the estimated annual reduction target, mainly due to office technology changes that discourage unnecessary printing. This resulted in office paper consumption decreasing by 10% in absolute consumption relative to 2011 levels.  

ANZ’s New Zealand operations expect to see reductions in the quantity of paper issued to customers following consolidation within the NZ business and the development of digital customer communication initiatives. Although office paper consumption in NZ reduced compared to 2011, we fell short of our 2012 target. The move to on-line statements and eco-efficient print technology in our offices, however, means that ANZ remains 'on track' to deliver its 2014 customer and office paper reduction targets.

2011 results

Australia

ANZ’s total paper consumption per FTE decreased by 4% in 2011 compared to 2009. Customer paper, representing 75% of paper use, decreased by 2%, despite the very low baseline as set in September 2009. 2010 saw an increase in paper associated with ANZ’s corporate re-branding exercise. The 2010 result also reflected the growth in ANZ’s customer base. Office paper has decreased by 10% as at the end of 2011 compared with 2009, which is an excellent result and primarily due to the introduction of “follow you” printing, a related reduction in the number of printers, and staff environmental education.

New Zealand

Total paper consumption has decreased by 15% in New Zealand in 2011 compared to 2009. Customer paper, which accounts for 70% of the total, has reduced by 11% which has been driven by end-user education. Office paper has decreased by 22% as a result of setting all printers to default double-sided printing. The simplification of bank processes has also assisted with paper reduction. The ‘National Bank Paperless Branch Project’, for example, focused on removing the need to print and store customer files at branches with a shift to central electronic storage; this saved an estimated 15 million sheets of paper. New Zealand has also increased the percentage of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-compliant paper from 24% to 78% since 1 January 2010.

2010 results

Australia

• Paper consumption per FTE is currently up 25%, due to the significant increase in paper associated with ANZ’s rebranding in 2010. Significant reduction activities are required to achieve our target by the end of 2011.

Future initiatives

• Over 2011 we will engage more proactively internally and with ANZ print production partners to agree initiatives to drive down our use of printed materials. We plan to engage with Marketing to explore a variety of initiatives including further promotion of online statements, researching opportunities to reduce print run size and reduce potential waste with smaller print orders as well as investigating other forms of technology for customer communications in lieu of printed materials such as email and sms text.
• A separate project is reviewing current performance in office printing at the ANZ Centre.

New Zealand

• There has been a significant reduction in the consumption of office paper (-14%). An increase in the use of print material (6%) due to rebranding has resulted in a small overall increase of less than 1 per cent. ANZ New Zealand is working closely with suppliers to ensure we meet our two-year target. New Zealand has also been able to increase the percentage of FSC-compliant paper commencing from 1 January 2010, going from 24% to 67%.

2009 results

In Australia, total paper consumption in 2009 was 3,200 tonnes, made up of 808 tonnes of office paper and 2,392 tonnes of printed paper. This represents a 17% performance improvement in comparison to 2008 per FTE and occurred in both office (down 7% per FTE) and print (down 20% per FTE). Over two years total paper consumption was reduced by 751 tonnes, or 22% per FTE. We therefore exceeded our 10% paper consumption reduction target for the two year period to September 30, 2009.

In Australia 22% of paper consumed was Forestry Stewardship Certificate (FSC) chain of custody certified traceable to the paper mill, up from 16% in 2008. Our use of paper made from recycled content fell from 12%* to 6%.

In New Zealand, total paper consumption in 2009 was 1,307 tonnes, made up of 433 tonnes of office paper and 874 tonnes of printed paper. This is a total reduction of 243 tonnes of paper, or 11% per FTE. Paper consumption was reduced by 17% per FTE over the two year period. Initiatives have included the replacement of all printers and photocopiers with more efficient units that print on both sides of the paper by default and that consume less power.

In India, paper consumption per FTE was reported as being reduced by 69%. 

* The 2008 figure has been restated (down from 28%) due to a calculation error.

The future

During the next year, our primary focus will be on activities associated with customer correspondence and in particular the promotion of the Online Statements to our retail customers.

2008 results

In Australia, total paper consumption in 2008 was 3,912 tonnes, made up of 877 tonnes of office paper and 3,036 tonnes of printed paper. This represents a 6% performance improvement and occurred in both office (down 7% per FTE) and print (down 5% per FTE). We are therefore on track to meet our 10% reduction target for the two year period.

In terms of our use of paper in Australia in the past year, we support the use of sustainable sourcing of paper with 16% of paper consumed as Forestry Stewardship Certificate (FSC) chain of custody certified traceable to the paper mill and 28% made from recycled content.

In New Zealand total paper consumption in 2008 was 1551 tonnes, made up of 452 tonnes of office paper and 1099 tonnes of printed paper. This represents an absolute reduction of 95 tonnes of paper, and a 6% performance improvement including both office (down 11% per FTE) and print (down 4% per FTE). All of New Zealand's print and office paper is FSC chain of custody certified traceable to the paper mill.

The future

During the next year, our primary focus will be on activities associated with customer correspondence and in particular the promotion of the Online Statements solution for our retail products.