Every year, approximately 100 billion paper business cards are produced worldwide. To assess their environmental impact, we examined four key ecological factors: the number of trees harvested, the volume of water consumed, the amount of waste generated, and the carbon dioxide emissions associated with their production. Each year, the production of paper business cards consumes milions of cubic water, requires millions of trees, and generates millions of pounds of waste. Below, we outline the specific figures from various sources.
Reducing water consumption has a significant impact on preserving the natural environment across Europe, from maintaining healthy river ecosystems to supporting estuaries and bays. Lower water usage means less pressure on water bodies and helps reduce the burden on wastewater treatment facilities, ultimately contributing to a healthier planet.
Recent studies indicate that producing one ton of paper in Europe requires approximately 15,000 liters of water. This is slightly lower than the U.S. average (64,000 liters of water), reflecting regional differences in water management and efficiency standards within the European paper industry (https://www.euwid-paper.com/). In order to estimate the amount of water used in creating traditional paper business cards, we needed to determine the quantity of paper used for business cards each year.
The average business card weighs 1.35 grams. With millions of businesses relying on printed cards for networking, this adds up to about 148,812 tons of paper used annually for business card production in Europe. To understand the impact, we calculated the water usage by multiplying the tons of paper by the liters of water required to produce each ton.
Liters of water used annually: 2,232,180,000
By shifting to digital solutions or choosing more water-efficient paper options, we could significantly decrease the amount of water diverted from European rivers and water bodies, contributing to more sustainable business practices.
The printing process for business cards is less efficient compared to paper made using mechanical or groundwood processes, which leads to more trees being cut down for this type of paper. Premium-weight business cards result in even fewer cards per tree, making the impact more severe. For our research, we used the average paper business card as a reference.
In Europe, much of the paper production relies on softwood trees such as spruce, pine, and fir, which are predominantly sourced from managed forests in countries like Sweden, Finland, and Germany. These forests are often sustainably managed, but the demand for paper products still contributes to a considerable number of trees being harvested each year.
According to available data, one tree yields approximately 20,000 average-weight paper business cards (source: Statistic Brain). Given the millions of business cards produced annually, we estimated the total number of trees cut down for business card production in Europe by dividing the total number of cards printed by the number of cards produced per tree.
The European paper industry is responsible for using a substantial portion of harvested trees, with estimates suggesting that over 400 million trees are used annually for various paper products (source: CEPI Annual Statistics 2022). While a significant portion of this comes from sustainably managed sources, reducing reliance on printed business cards can help minimize the environmental impact and preserve European forests.
By opting for digital alternatives or choosing recycled paper, businesses can play a crucial role in reducing tree destruction and promoting sustainable forestry practices in Europe.
In just a week, an estimated 88% of paper business cards end up in the trash, while only 12% are kept—whether tucked into a contact list, forgotten in a drawer, or sent for recycling. Using the average weight of a business card at 1.35 grams, we calculated the staggering amount of waste generated by multiplying this weight by the billions of cards discarded annually. The result highlights the significant environmental burden of this traditional practice.
