Dave's eco-nomics: Cut the cardfest

'Tis the season to be jolly, and to have your team's signatures stamped onto cards going out to treasured clients and contacts - and straight into their bins.

Hundreds of thousands of trees are pulped each year for Christmas cards. Friends of the Earth reckons we sent about 744 million last year, many of which went straight to landfill. Then there's wrapping paper: 8,000 tonnes of the stuff every year. Of course, Christmas waste is nothing compared to the amount of junk sent year-round to keep the business wheels turning. The difference is, it's entirely pointless. Goodwill to friends or family is one thing, but it's wasteful to post thousands of cards just to maintain your company profile.

Action plan