Despite a supposed ‘digitalisation’ strategy, Switzerland’s Federal Assembly in Bern has ordered enough printer paper to build a tower eight times the size of Everest.
The Federal Assembly in Switzerland’s Bern has gained headlines after ordering 600 million sheets of paper despite having an ongoing ‘digitalisation’ strategy.
The order, out via tender recently launched by the Federal Office for Buildings and Logistics (FBL) in Bern, seeks a supplier capable of delivering around 600 million sheets of paper over the next five years.
That is equivalent to building a paper tower a staggering 70km high – eight times the height of Mount Everest.
Though some critics wonder about the environment impact, the FCO points out that paper consumption within the federal administration has fallen sharply in recent years.
Twenty years ago it exceeded 15,000 sheets per employee per year.
Although the Confederation no longer tracks this figure as closely in the digital world, the amount ordered suggest current consumption stands at around 3,000 sheets per employee per year.
This represents a significant drop compared to the early 2000s, but paper use still accounts for nearly 8 percent of the federal administration’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Some have criticised the order but say such volume is still understandable given the sheer size of the workforce in Bern and the number of documents to be produced and printed.
“The tender is understandable,” said Green Party National Councillor Gerhard Andrey.
“An administration with 40,000 employees managing an annual budget of 90 billion francs inevitably produces a large volume of documents.”
Nonetheless, Andrey still feels that “600 million sheets over five years is still a considerable amount.”
