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ABOUT US · SUSTAINABILITY

Less waste. More use. Evidence of both.

“Paperless” isn’t a goal worth chasing on its own. The most sustainable map is the one that does the job with the least waste, and the only honest way to know is to measure it.

Work out your print footprint
Hikers and a dog on a mountain trail towards snow-capped peaks
FROM THE ARTICLE “Recyclable is not the same as necessary.”

OUR POSITION

Pixels aren’t automatically greener than paper.

  1. 01

    Recyclable isn’t the same as necessary.

    Paper is widely recycled. But fibre, ink, finishing, printing, packing and transport are spent before a visitor ever opens a map, and stock that goes unused or out of date has already used them.

  2. 02

    Digital has a footprint too.

    Devices need materials and manufacturing. Networks and servers use energy. Detailed 3D needs processing and storage. We don’t pretend otherwise.

  3. 03

    So measure the whole lifecycle.

    The real question is which approach gives every visitor a useful, inclusive experience with the lowest total impact, from resource extraction to end of life.

THE NUMBERS, IN CONTEXT

Every figure, with its label on.

  • 76.4% of paper and board consumed in Europe was recycled in 2025. All paper and board, not visitor maps. European Paper Recycling Council [7]
  • 415 TWh used by the world’s data centres in 2024, around 1.5% of global electricity. Sector context, not the footprint of a map. IEA, Energy and AI [8]
  • 1.3–1.6 kg CO2e per kg of printing paper, cradle to gate. Our calculator uses the low end. Paper only, excluding ink, print, transport and disposal. NC State BioResources
  • 95% less unnecessary paper waste at ZooTampa after moving maps, tickets and membership cards to digital. Provider-reported, across several print products. IAAPA, 2024 [3]

TWO LIFECYCLES

What a fair comparison should count.

A PRINTED MAP

  1. 01 Fibre and papermaking Wood pulp, water and energy, before a single word is printed.
  2. 02 Ink, finishing and print Every redesign, reprint and seasonal edition starts again.
  3. 03 Packing Cartons, shrink-wrap, pallets and void fill, most of it used once.
  4. 04 Transport Fuel for every van and lorry, printer to warehouse to site, and again for every top-up and reprint.
  5. 05 Storage Warehouse and back-office space, lit and heated, until the maps go out or go in the bin.
  6. 06 Handed out, or not Some guide a visit. Some are never picked up.
  7. 07 Out of date A path closes or a café moves, and the stock is obsolete.
  8. 08 Recycling Widely recovered, but only after the resources are spent.

A DIGITAL TWIN

  1. 01 Capture, once A drone flight builds the twin and refreshes your place on Google Maps.
  2. 02 Processing and hosting Energy for processing, storage and serving the twin.
  3. 03 On devices people already carry Visitors use their own phones. Kiosks only where you choose them.
  4. 04 Updated, not reprinted Change a path, a menu or an event once, and every screen follows. No print run, no carton, no van.
  5. 05 Measured in use HypaKnow shows how the map is actually used, so you print only what people still need.
  6. 06 Refreshed when the place changes Recapture on a cadence that matches your site, not the print cycle.

Lifecycle assessment, as recommended by the European Commission under the ISO 14040/44 framework, compares environmental effects from resource extraction to end of life [9]. We’d rather show you both columns than claim a saving we haven’t measured.

THE JOURNEY BEFORE THE VISIT

Every map travels before anyone reads it.

A printed map is packed, loaded, driven, stored and moved again before it reaches a visitor’s hand. Each reprint and top-up order repeats the trip. Most footprint figures for paper leave this part out.

  1. 01 · Fuel

    Petrol and diesel, every drop.

    Printer to warehouse, warehouse to site, and back again for every top-up, reprint and seasonal edition.

  2. 02 · Packing

    Wrapped to be unwrapped.

    Cartons, shrink-wrap, pallets, banding and void fill, made, used once and sent for disposal or recycling.

  3. 03 · Logistics

    Many hands, many miles.

    Couriers, multiple drops across a portfolio, internal moves to every entrance and desk, and collection of old stock.

  4. 04 · Energy

    Kept warm until it’s thrown out.

    Presses and finishing lines, then lit and heated storage at the warehouse and on site, for as long as the stock sits there.

WHAT TO MEASURE

Deliveries a year and the distance of each · vehicle type and fuel · packaging weight per delivery · reprints and top-up orders · storage space and how long stock sits · how old stock is collected and treated.

Convert with the UK Government greenhouse gas conversion factors for company reporting (DESNZ) [11].

THE DIGITAL SIDE, HONESTLY

An update to a twin travels as data: no carton, no pallet, no van. It still uses network and hosting energy, and the capture flight that builds the twin is counted too.

WHERE THE SWITCH WAS MADE

Three places, three different answers.

  • ZOOTAMPA · FLORIDA

    Reinvesting in the experience.

    Moving maps, tickets and membership cards to digital saved close to $50,000 a year, reportedly redirected to manatee conservation. Visitors could still ask for a printed map.

    IAAPA, 2024 [3]
  • CINCINNATI NATURE CENTER · OHIO

    Changing the map when the place changes.

    Map printing fell from $6,000–7,000 a year to around $2,000. When a fallen tree closed a trail, staff posted the warning straight to the digital map.

    Engage by Cell, provider-reported [4]
  • EFTELING · NETHERLANDS

    Evolution, not elimination.

    Nearly halved its printed map volume in 2024, while still offering paper to the visitors who value it on its winding, historic paths.

    IAAPA, 2024 [3]

HOW WE WORK

Our commitments.

  • Capture once, use many times

    One drone capture builds your twin and refreshes how your place appears on Google Maps, Search and Earth.

  • Change without reprinting

    Closures, menus and events are updated on the twin, so nothing is printed just to be replaced.

  • Paper where it’s needed

    We’ll help you keep printed copies and essential signage for the visitors who rely on them, and for offline and accessible access.

  • Measured, not assumed

    We’ll only claim a saving your own numbers support: print volumes, unused stock and how the digital map is actually used.

FOR MOST PLACES, A HYBRID

Print less, and print better.

  • Print fewer maps, sized to real demand
  • Use responsible stock and inks
  • Order in fewer, fuller deliveries, from a printer close to site
  • Keep physical copies for those who need them
  • Keep essential signage
  • Make a lightweight, up-to-date digital map the first choice for everyone else
PRINT COST CALCULATOR What does your print run cost, in money and in carbon? Set your volumes and a carbon target, and see how far cutting waste alone goes.

SOURCES

Case metrics are reported by the organisations or their providers, not independently audited. ZooTampa’s figures cover several print products, not maps alone.

  1. IAAPA: Attractions consider the value of switching to digital maps (January 2024)
  2. Engage by Cell: Cincinnati Nature Center case study
  3. European Paper Recycling Council: European recycling rate, 2025
  4. International Energy Agency: Energy and AI (2025)
  5. European Commission: Life Cycle Assessment and Environmental Footprint methods
  6. NC State BioResources: life-cycle carbon footprint of pulp and paper grades
  7. UK Government: greenhouse gas conversion factors for company reporting

BOOK A DEMO

Love at first site.

We’ll look at your print run with you, and show you what a twin would change, and what it wouldn’t.

Book a demo