Having a holistic plan

Once on the playing field, resellers need much more than a one-dimensional green game to be successful. It is no longer sufficient to simply label something "eco" and identify one positive element in a product.

"What we do basically is look at the design, use, disposal and manufacturing of the product in a kind of holistic manner," HP's Dickens said. "That's really important as otherwise you might be missing some environmental tradeoffs. For example, for us it's really important to link the recycling piece back to the design piece."

It's an improvement loop that both Planet Ark and ACF suggest the channel should keep up to date with.

"Don't just look at the consumables, look at the design of the multifunction device or printer, look at what a manufacturer is doing and look a little bit behind what they are saying for the substance," ACF's McLean said.

HP's Dickens also advised the channel to ask searching questions of the vendors to get the whole picture because that is exactly what users are doing.

"Really look at the environmental impact of the product you are buying throughout the lifecycle to avoid missing any environmental tradeoffs from design, manufacturing, use and disposal," Dickens said.

"And also look for credible suppliers; look for companies that can demonstrate a long history of environmental programs. Scratch beneath the surface around recycling services. We encourage our customers to really ask questions about what happens to that product when we surrender it to them."

Kyocera's Vella also recommended the channel question their clients in order to tailor a solution that significantly reduces waste and provides total cost of ownership and environmental benefits.

"Ask those qualifying questions about the customer's environment," Vella said.

"With a few leading questions you'd probably find very quickly that the customer is creating a lot of waste."

And that is waste nobody finds attractive, and the earth certainly doesn't need.