Your Office Spring 2011

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IN THIS ISSUE:

Social Media, Your Business and the Environment

The official magazine of the Canadian Office Products Association

Spring 2011Office

Up Close and Personal with Elizabeth May

The official magazine of the Canadian Office Products Association 5

Published for:Canadian OffiCe PrOduCts assOCiatiOn 402 - 2800 Skymark Ave Mississauga, Ontario Canada L4W 5A6 Telephone: 905.624.9462 Fax: 905.624.0830 [email protected] www.copa.ca

MeMBersHiP serViCes Sam Moncada President Jo Anne Falkenburger Director, Operations Ana Maria Sierra Events & Membership Coordinator

COMMuniCatiOns Arlene Allen Editor, Membership Communications eduCatiOn TOPIKSource www.TopikSource.com

Published by:MatriX GrOuP PuBLisHinG inC.Return Undeliverable Addresses to:52 Donald Street, Suite 300Winnipeg, MB R3C 1L6Toll Free: 866.999.1299Toll Free Fax: [email protected] www.matrixgroupinc.netPublications Mail Agreement Number:40609661

President & CeOJack Andress

senior PublisherMaurice [email protected]

editor-in-ChiefShannon [email protected]

editorsKaren [email protected] SchroederAlexandra Walld

finance/administrationsShoshana Weinberg, Pat Andress, Nathan Redekop

director of Marketing & CirculationShoshana Weinberg

sales Manager - WinnipegNeil Gottfred

sales Manager - HamiltonJessica Potter

sales team LeaderRob Choi

Matrix Group Publishing inc. account executivesAlbert Brydges, Rick Kuzie, Miles Meagher, Ken Percival, Benjamin Schutt, Brian Davey, Jim Hamilton, Chantal Duchaine, Gary Nagy, Brian Macintyre, Bruno Fucchin, Garrett Friend, Aaron Enwright, Wayne Earle, Peter Schulz, Declan O’Donovan, Trish Bird

Layout & designCody Chomiak

advertising designJames Robinson

©2011 Matrix Group Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of the publisher. The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of Matrix Group Publishing Inc.

Greetings6 A Message from the

President of COPA, Sam Moncada

6 A Message from the Chair of the Board, John Fullerton

7 Why Should You be a Member of COPA?

Cover Story8 Up Close and

Personal with Elizabeth May

Features11 Don’t Get Left Behind14 The New Face of

Customer Service

16 Respecting the Out of Office Message

18 The Truth About Paper

COPA News & Views19 COPA Wake Up!

Breakfast Series & AGM

19 COPA Stars Gala & Fundraiser

21 COPA’s Annual Golf Tournament and Registration Form

20 Buyer’s Guide

Office

Spring 2011

8

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ContentsTable of

6 Your Office n Spring 2011

understanding the return on investment of a well-run social media campaign. There are several valuable and informative piec-es in this issue of Your Office to show you how social media not only gives a great re-turn on investment, it now surpasses most traditional media. (For more information, send requests to [email protected].)

Starting a social media plan can be challenging and as the office products industry starts down this path, it requires some know-how, a lot of creativity, per-severance and follow-through. But don’t worry, COPA is here to assist you with the knowledge base and we are here to help members get engaged.

Sam MoncadaPresidentCanadian Office Products Association

every day and stay on for a minimum of 55 minutes. In Canada, an astronomical 40 per cent of the population has a Facebook account—the highest percentage in the world!

Eighty-five per cent of Canadians are linked to the internet. If you want to reach your consumer, ask yourself this: What is my company doing to reach my customer through social media? If you are doing nothing, then you might want to re-think your “go-to” market strategy. There are new methods of reaching your target consum-er. Are you getting your story out to inter-ested users with 21st century methods? It is something we all need to consider.

John FullertonVice President, SalesOffice Products Sales & Logistics (OPSL)Chair of the BoardCanadian Office Products Association

what they need, where they are and what makes them work. Knowing your cus-tomer has always been important, and it is now easier than ever to reach out to them and create brand awareness by increasing your visibility.

Social media helps build new rela-tionships, networks, strengthen existing relationships, create brand awareness, inform customers about new products and services, get feedback from clients to improve your business and customer rela-tions, increase customer loyalty and target them more effectively, win new clients, generate direct sales and establish a repu-tation as a forward thinking company.

The good thing is, social media is cost effective and has endless possibili-ties, and it takes less time to reach out to customers. Most companies have trouble

away from force-fed media and creating their own entertainment options—op-tions that are available to them through the various social media internet sites.

In the past decade we have seen the explosion of internet sites that feed the individual’s hunger to create their own entertainment experiences—sites like Facebook, My Space, LinkedIn and You-Tube.

A few facts that I have discovered by browsing on-line: YouTube gets over 2 billion video views per day!—which is double the views that network prime time television gets in a day. YouTube has 24 hours of video being uploaded every minute. During an average day, the typical YouTube user watches at least 15 minutes of video. These are huge numbers.

What about Facebook? How about 400 million active users, of which, half sign on

As COPA contin-ues to change, so does the office products world. We now

have access to people, places, tech-nologies and information with a single click of a mouse. There’s a whole new world to engage, interact with and inform using on-line tools. In today’s business, social media offers an easy, affordable and effective way to connect with your target audience and create brand awareness. Whether you run a large corporation or a small-scale business, you can no longer ignore the importance and benefits of social media.

Social media helps to create a level playing field for all organizations. Market-ing tools help you connect directly to your customers and provide clear ideas as to

How do you de-liver your messa-ges to your cus-tomers? How do

you increase your market share? How do you increase your sales? These are ques-tions that I’m certain we ask ourselves every day.

In the past the answers were more flyer exposure, catalogue listings, consumer advertising, sales blitzes, sales contests or increased calls on your key accounts. While these different strategies all have been effective in the past—today’s con-sumer is an elusive animal. Magazine and newspaper sales are way down. TV viewer-ship is well off from their 1970’s peak BBM numbers. So what are you to do?

If traditional methods of reaching your target market are not working, then com-panies have to ask themselves why? The answer is because customers are turning

A Message from the President of COPA

A Message from COPA’s Chair of the Board


Your Success is our First Priority!

For more than 75 years, COPA has united the Canadian office products

industry, responding to the needs of its members with innovative and relevant

initiatives. Today, COPA continues to build on that underlying philosophy

to ensure that “your success is our first priority.” COPA is delivering valuable

benefits and savings through:

Complete details are available at www.copa.ca

Cost Savings ProgramsBusiness Compliance Standards: An online MSDS •management system and e-learning courses.Card Transaction Services: Exceptional rates for VISA •and Master Card, plus low debit card fees.Courier Services: Some of the best rates with courier •companies.Electronic Ordering: EDI streamlines, increases •efficiencies and eliminates order errors.Freight: Reduce costs using consolidation, supply chain •and LTL solutions.Fuel and Maintenance Discounts: Savings for a single •vehicle or an entire fleet.Group Benefits: A customizable insurance solution for •any group size.HR Management: Professional advisors, lawyers and •labour relations experts.Insurance: Home, auto and travel insurance.•Property Leasing and Purchasing: Expert consulting for •lease negotiations, property purchases and more.Telecommunications: Telephone services, electronic •conferences and webinars.

Communication, Education and TrainingResearch: Quarterly Canadian data on the industry.•COPA Websites: Get up-to-date information on news, •programs and events, and connect to the online product training centre.Leadership & Participation: Take a lead ership role on •the Board of Directors, COPA committees and member forums.Industry Update Newsletter: Emailed weekly to over •2,000 industry professionals.

Networking and EventsGolf Tournament: A great networking opportunity.•Industry Awards: COPA Stars Gala honours the best •that our industry has to offer in products, services, companies and industry indi viduals.Scholarships: The office products industry supports and •benefits from the COPA Scholarship Fund.


as the information became available, I started tweeting about it while having it posted on my website. I got an immediate reply back from a Liberal Party candidate who was very concerned as well.

We also use Facebook. We like to set up a specific event so people can sign on to that. It also allows us to share information through our supporters. Social media is a great way of opening up lines of commu-nication with constituents, the media and those across party lines.

QWhat is the importance of using social media to reach potential

voters?

AI think what we’ve seen around the world is the abil-

ity of Facebook to unite and mobilize people to achieve social change. Since we are all about making significant change in the world, we need to use everything we can. First, Barack Obama got the edge through social media.

With social media now becoming a must for reaching customers, fans and potential busi-ness partners, political parties are realizing the

incredible potential for reaching voters as well. Social media provides a platform for conversations between a political party and their constituents. It helps potential voters and the media stay informed about the latest issues and events and provides a forum in which people can use their polit-ical voice, which is needed now more than ever. Your Office sat down with Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party of Canada, and found out how she uses social media to keep in touch with who matters most: you, the voter.

QHow do you use social media to reach your constituents?

A I use social media to not only reach my constituents but also the gen-eral public and the media. A lot of

the news media follow me on Twitter. Take for example the fall of the Mubarak regime in Egypt, I was able to tweet a response faster than a press release or statement. I use Twitter quite a lot to respond to imme-diate events.

Right now, the Canadian Radio-televi-sion and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is considering changing standards in regards to truth in broadcasting, which will allow broadcasting of intentionally false and misleading information as long as that information “does not endanger, or is not likely to endanger the lives, safety or health of the public.” We (the Green Party) are very concerned about this. As soon

Up Close and Personal with Elizabeth MayBy Karen Kornelsen


through email, the website and Facebook. It’s interactive and incredibly dynamic.

Q How has social media changed politics?

A It has changed politics in the way that things happen a great deal faster. In the world of email,

Twitter and Facebook, if you don’t re-spond within 24 hours, they think you have died! You have to respond within 24 to 48 hours. With political events and 24 hour news channels, everything happens so fast. With CNN, CTV News Net—those channels regard a story posted at 10 a.m. as old news.

Social media definitely quickens the pace of politics. But you have to be careful, you have to take time to reflect and not just have a knee-jerk reaction. Sometimes we will take up to 24 hours to reflect on an important event and to take a political position. We realize this sometimes makes us later than other parties but the pressure to respond fast can increase the likelihood of being

So too has Mayor Naheed Nenshi if you look at the recent election in Calgary. His use of Tweets and Facebook in mobilizing his campaign was amazing. It is a very im-portant part of communication.

QWhat are the benefits of using social media?

A The traditional way of com-municating with constituents, the media and other parties was

through newsletters and mailings. From 1989 to 2006, I was the executive direc-tor of the Sierra Club of Canada. In this time, we saw tremendous change as to what was available to us to reach our membership. We initially just had hard copy newsletters and made phone calls; then the shift began to using the inter-net. When we started up a web page, it revolutionized how we reached our constituency.

Social media is also an interactive mode of communication. I spend a large part of every day answering questions that come to me from members, the public and the Green Party. They send me questions

Elizabeth May is the Leader of the Green Party of Canada and one of our country’s most respected environmentalists. She is a prominent lawyer, an author, an Officer of the Order of Canada, and a loving mother and grandmother.

Elizabeth was an active community organizer from a young age, as a teenager in Nova Scotia, she led a campaign to prevent herbicide spraying on the forests of Cape Breton Island.

Elizabeth graduated from Dalhousie Law School in 1983. In 1985 she became active with the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, as well as representing Pollution Probe and Friends of the Earth. During this time May helped found the Canadian Environmental Defence Fund with the aim of funding groups and individuals in environmental cases.

Elizabeth became senior policy advisor to then federal En-vironmental Minister, Tom McMillan, in 1986, where she was instrumental in the creation of several national parks, includ-ing South Moresby on Haida Gwaii. She was also involved in

negotiating the Montreal Protocol to protect the ozone layer along with new legislation and pollution control measures.

In 1989, Elizabeth became the Executive Director of the Sierra Club of Canada, and for the next seventeen years she built one of Canada’s leading environmental organizations.

At the Green Party of Canada’s national convention in August 2006, Elizabeth was elected the party’s ninth leader. In Septem-ber 2009, Elizabeth moved to Sidney-by-the-Sea on Vancouver Island, BC and was nominated as the Green Party’s candidate for the riding of Saanich – Gulf Islands.

In 2009, Elizabeth released her seventh book, Losing Con-fidence: Power, Politics, and the Crisis in Canadian Democracy. She has led a decorated and distinguished public career, but her work has just begun!

If you would like to meet Elizabeth, and find out more about her; she is accessible. Drop in the office or connect online. Don’t hesitate to ask Elizabeth a question! Make history in Saanich-Gulf Islands by supporting Elizabeth and her campaign.

Facebook StatisticsMore than 500 million active users;•50 per cent of active users log on to Fa-•cebook in any given day;Average user has 130 friends;•People spend over 700 billion minutes •per month on Facebook;There are over 900 million objects that •people interact with (pages, groups, events and community pages);Average user is connected to 80 com-•munity pages, groups and events; Average user creates 90 pieces of con-•tent each month;More than 30 billion pieces of content •(web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each month; Every month, more than 250 million •people engage with Facebook on ex-ternal websites;Since social plugins launched in April •2010, an average of 10,000 new web-sites integrate with Facebook every day; and More than 2.5 million websites have •integrated with Facebook, including over 80 of comScore’s U.S. Top 100 websites and over half of comScore’s Global Top 100 websites.

Twitter StatisticsHas 175 million registered users;•95 million tweets are written per day; •andThey employ over 300 people.•

“I think what we’ve seen around the world is the ability of Facebook to unite and mobilize people to achieve social change.”

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wrong. Because we are careful, we send out reasonable and responsible pos-itions.

There are pluses and minuses to new technology. A plus—people are more accessible. A minus—take a look at Stephan Harper. He has a political party machine that reaches members well but it is not two-way communication. I don’t think he’s staying up late answering questions from members like I am. But back to the plus, people are more ac-cessible and available without a lot of hierarchy.

Q What is the future of politics and social media?

A Politics in terms of Canada and the United States is grim be-cause of the use of negativity,

fear mongering and attack ads to drive voter turnout down. People are so dis-couraged, they don’t vote. It’s wrong to say the public doesn’t care. When I talk to people, they aren’t voting because they are angry and their non-vote is a way of protesting the negativity in pol-itics.

The future of democracy is at stake and politicians are to blame for the decline of voter turnout. We need to spread the word through social media. It matters to get out and vote, not just for me.

Using social media in a campaign is a way to empower people. Social media got people out on the streets of Cairo to fight for their rights. We need to do what we are privileged and entitled to do, which is get out and vote.

Elizabeth May writes all her own blog entries and Tweets.

Elizabeth May spoke at COPA’s Environmental Symposium on April 7th, 2011. If you missed it, make sure to check out next year’s symposium. It is a wonderful opportunity to hear valuable opinions and advice from leading sustainability organizations!


and of course, your everyday working man or woman. Depending on how you want to use Twitter, you can see what people are talking about or try to get in on the conversation.”

All of this may seem a little overwhelm-ing if you’ve never used Twitter or Face-book before but once you get started, you’ll realize that it’s not only easy, but can be lots of fun. But don’t forget, like with any new venture in your business, you need to constantly keep an eye on what’s going on and you need to update your so-cial networking pages.

Ducharme says there are several desk-top dashboards out there that you can use to keep an eye on all of your social net-works in one place. Some are free while other more advanced programs charge a monthly fee. With these dashboards, you can actually schedule Tweets and Face-book posts at any time without physically being on the site.

“Depending on what you want to accom-plish, you can update once or twice a week to up to five times per day,” says Ducharme. “But I wouldn’t go farther than that, especially if every post isn’t unique with a new message each time. At the same time, don’t be afraid to post something similar every other day because not all your “fans” or followers are online all the time.”

If you’re uncertain of using social net-working sites to communicate with your cus-tomers or the general public, Ducharme says give it a try!

“You’ll never know unless you try. Don’t get discouraged if your page isn’t being “liked” by the hundreds or if you’re not being followed in droves at first,” Ducha-rme says. “It may take weeks or months to build up your following. Do your research and if you put in some good planning, you should get a decent return on your invest-ment of time, if not a great one.”

Twitter, it is helpful in driving our audience to a website,” she explains. “Unlike Facebook that is an entity all its own, Twitter limits users to 140 characters or less per Tweet. This way you can use a type of “teaser” to have your followers driven to a website where they may interact with what you have to offer there. Tweets are a quick and simple way to get your message across.”

So how do you get started?To get started using Facebook, Ducha-

rme suggests making your own personal ac-count first if you don’t already have one. This way you can peruse Facebook pages to get an idea of what types of ideas are out there and she says by doing this, you can get used to the layout and tools that it has to offer.

“Facebook “Pages” are unique to this networking site in a way that you can cat-egorize your page as a business, company, brand, cause, community, etc. You may have several people act as an administra-tor through their personal accounts as well so it doesn’t have to be one person updating all the time,” says Ducharme.

Ducharme also suggests that before you begin your own page, gather all the information that you want to share with potential customers. This can be your com-pany description, logo, photos of recent events or products, videos, awards, etc. You can include almost anything that you want to be seen or heard! Ducharme says try and figure out what type of message you want to get across. By doing all of this before your Facebook page launches, your page will look polished, easy to navigate and professional.

“Getting started on Twitter is a lot sim-pler than getting started on Facebook,” says Ducharme. “What you want to do is begin by following and browsing categor-ies that are similar to yours. You may fol-low businesses, public figures, celebrities

Although the social media phe-nomenon has swept across the globe in the last few years, there are still many people and companies that haven’t got-ten on board. There are many

social media tools that can greatly benefit a person or company such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. Chantelle Ducharme is the online community co-ordinator in the marketing department for the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) and has valuable advice on how to use social media to benefit your business and to make sure you are not “left behind” in this new age of social networking.

Ducharme uses many forms of social media to communicate with APTN’s view-ers. She uses Facebook to interact with their “fans” as well as to keep their audi-ence up-to-date with projects on the web and television. According to Ducharme, social media is fairly important for you as a person or business to keep updated on pretty much anything new and innova-tive. Facebook has millions upon millions of users which could be potential custom-ers or in APTN’s case, viewers. Not to say that everyone will suddenly swarm to your page but there is real potential to reach the key demographic in your area. She says Facebook is also helpful if you want to get an inside look on what your com-petitors are doing by way of social media, advertising and promotion.

Twitter is another great way to connect with the public. “When it comes to using

By Karen Kornelsen

Don’t Get Left BehindSocial networking sites can provide you with incredible

opportunities to reach out to the public, your customers and your

members. To get started can be a fun experience, especially with

the advice of a knowledgeable social media expert.


share photos and join interest groups. Companies with a Face-book presence create an opportunity for their customers to follow company announcements by becoming a Facebook follower.

On a negative tone, the immediate and viral nature of social media sites can be dangerous if a company does not monitor and aggressively manage their online reputation. Social networking allows the public to express their opinion about a product or ser-vice directly to a global audience which has the potential to nega-tively influence what others think about a brand or product. This can have an immediate and direct impact on market share. This has created the need for companies to monitor their public social space to ensure they are positively received in the digital market-place. Recently, Social Media Monitoring (SMM) tools have been developed to help companies monitor their online presence.

Savvy marketers and researchers are aware of the value of so-cial networking. American President, Barack Obama, is known to use social media as a way to gage public opinion and help push his agenda through congress.

American Airlines uses Twitter and Facebook to communicate with its premium flyer program members. The direct nature of so-cial media allows AA to announce special promotions, and provide important information to travelers. Continental airlines developed

Customer service is the lifeblood of any organization to-day and it requires an enterprise focus and innovative approach to maintain customer satisfaction and solicit new customers in today’s competitive landscape.

Technology is playing a vital role in the way or-ganizations interface with their customers and garner

feedback. Historically, technology was situated as a back-office re-source and centrally controlled with customer and product infor-mation stored in proprietary CRM’s and knowledge-bases. Today, product information is not considered proprietary and is readily available online to customers via the internet as a way to permit them direct access to information in a self service model.

Gone are the days of low-tech phone support call centres and scripted Interactive Voice Recordings (IVR) telephone interfaces. Today’s online call-centre solutions offer interactive human-like interfaces designed to enhance the customer experience, in mul-tiple languages, to satisfy customer information needs and help channel their service requests to the appropriate party. This re-duces support costs and enhances customer service.

Today the rapid proliferation of social media networking has dramatically changed the way companies advertise, sell and offer customer service. The evolution of online services presents new opportunities for early adopters and also new challenges. Millions of consumers use social media services like Twitter and Facebook to openly explore purchasing decisions and influence others by sharing feedback about products, brands and companies.

The advancement of Web 2.0 technologies and the prolifera-tion of smart phones and broadband networks have created an information rich society which in turn provides new and exciting ways for organizations to socialize with their customers. Smart companies are developing an online presence far beyond web portals and web advertising. Twitter and Facebook are changing the landscape in a mostly positive way as companies are able to use these social networking sites to gage public opinion for their products and services and allow them to adjust their promotional activities and service offerings. Twitter is a web-service that allows members to send messages (called tweets) to each other’s public facing profile page. Facebook users create personal profile pages,

The New Face

of Customer ServiceBy Scott MacNeil

“The advancement of Web 2.0

technologies and the proliferation

of smart phones and broadband

networks have created an information

rich society which in turn provides new

and exciting ways for organizations to

socialize with their customers.”


an iPhone application to help its customers manage their rewards and even book reservations. Another airline was monitoring Twit-ter when it discovered that passengers were blogging about the wait times during check-in at one of its busy airports. The dynamic information allowed the airline to adjust its resources to deal with the backlog. The good news is that the blogger also reported the positive outcome once they were through check-in, showing the value of monitoring a company’s online presence.

Companies can communicate directly with their customer base through customized customer interfaces like iPhone applica-tions. eBay developed a free application for iPhone users that can be used to explore the eBay marketplace and bid on merchandise. eBay users can also interface directly with eBay customer service representatives directly if a problem arises. The application also provides eBay with valuable customer data about trends and pref-erences.

You need to realize that social media is here to stay. More than ever it is about relationships and social media is a relationship-building tool. Approach the development of your social media and customer service campaign by developing a plan to help you reach your target market. Appreciate the value of social media as a way to build your brand and impress upon your customers that you care and will be around for them.

Scott MacNeil is a business transformation consultant that spe-cializes in strategic planning and corporate program management. He is available online through LinkedIn.


the recipient’s timetable. Being able to meet deadlines and reply to e-mails efficiently stems from proper priority management.

Unrealistic expectations about response times, along with a lack of respect for the “Out of Office” message, can lead to frustra-tion, but if you and your employer can define and maintain an agreeable balance between how you manage your work and personal time, it can lead to business success.

“It’s very important for an organization to respect the balance, and what I mean by that is if an organization expects you to reply to work-related e-mails or texts outside of your traditional or expected working hours then you shouldn’t be punished for doing any-thing related to your social life during work-ing hours,” says Abbott.

The balance is different for everybody, he mentions, but ideally, there should be a mu-tual respect between an organization and a person. If you’re answering work-related

“When the mobile environment enables people to be accessible anywhere, anytime, the general expectation is an immediate re-sponse. In our culture, patience is drastically reduced and that expectation often skews what a realistic response time is,” says Jason Abbott, vice-president of business develop-ment with Cocoon Branding in Winnipeg, Manitoba. “Some organizations can respond to someone within minutes, whereas others may not be able to respond for a period of 24 hours, so we need to manage customers’ ex-pectations when it comes to communication through technology like Smartphone usage.”

With companies receiving anywhere from 20 to 200 e-mails per day, the process of reading and responding to those messages can easily cause distractions, pushing more important tasks aside. Abbott says there is a social understanding that if you’re sending an e-mail, it’s because it’s not necessarily urgent and can be responded to in accordance with

It used to be that staying in touch, espe-cially in the business world, was de-pendant on many factors—weekly hours spent in the office, the inability to check voicemail or e-mail while away from your desk, and the desire

to enforce that line between work and your personal life. But with the advance-ment of technology churning out devices like BlackBerrys, Smartphones and wire-less internet access, staying connected to the office almost anywhere you go is easier than ever.

This reality has revolutionized the busi-ness world, allowing virtually everyone to check work-related e-mails from the com-fort of their home or anywhere their wireless device has internet access with the touch of a few buttons. While this can be extremely helpful and convenient, it has essentially dis-solved the line between work and personal time.

By Alexandra Walld

Respecting the “Out of Office” Message

With BlackBerrys, Smartphones and wireless internet access, staying connected to the office is easier than ever. But although this is can be convenient, employees and management need to strike a balance between work and personal time.


deal with your affairs in your absence. The more prepared co-workers are beforehand, the less they’ll need to interrupt you while you’re away.

“One of the pros of technology is that you can spend more time away from the office and take more frequent or longer vacations that you couldn’t take 10 years ago because you can still be accessible to make decisions while you’re away. The con is that your family may view you as the bad guy for spending quality family time doing work,” says Abbott.

“If you’re on vacation, you need to have a clear set of expectations—it comes back to communication. You need to tell your family you have to take 10 or 30 minutes a day to weigh in on work-related issues or pending decisions. You can overcome a lot of chal-lenges by being up front and if organizations understand that, you can develop proper solutions to help people find that balance between work and personal time.”

messages outside of business hours, you should be able to layer in personal time at work, like checking your Facebook account at 10 in the morning.

“There is a give and take between the two and as long as there is that understand-ing, that’s good. Where we run into issues is when organizations take advantage of people, saying you’ve got to be responsive at all hours, but then they block Facebook on your computer’s network—there’s no mu-tual respect there,” he says.

If you’re going to be out of the office or away on vacation for a few days, your “Out of Office” message should clearly indicate how long you will be away and whether you will have access to your e-mails; if a sender knows you won’t get their message until a certain date, it will help adjust their expected response time.

If at all possible, you should also offer contact information for another person in the office that is trained to problem solve or

“Unrealistic expectations about response times, along with a lack of respect for the “Out of Office” message, can lead to frustration, but if you and your employer can define and maintain an agreeable balance between how you manage your work and personal time, it can lead to business success.”


electricity to the surrounding electric power grid.¹

At the same time, the carbon footprint associated with information and communi-cation technologies is rapidly growing. Con-sulting firm McKinsey & Company projects that computers, data centers, mobile phones and telecommunication networks will be among the largest emitters of greenhouse gases by 2020. Going “paperless” is not free and does have an environmental impact.

In addition, we know that paper is one of the most recycled products in the world. Over 63 per cent of paper in North America was recovered for recycling last year²—that’s impressive. When compared to other materi-als, such as metals (35 per cent), glass (22 per cent) and plastic (7 per cent)³, paper is far and away the most easily and commonly re-cycled product in the marketplace today.

The truth is, with modern environment-ally sound forestry practices, high levels of re-cycling and the sustainable nature of paper compared to other materials, paper is a truly fantastic product. Don’t let people tell you otherwise.

Paper is good. Pass it on.

Domtar—the sustainable paper company with the best paper products, and specialty papers for commercial, digital, and publishing printing.

rendered on paper. Rights are guaranteed on paper. Freedoms are declared on paper.

The problem is that lately it seems as if media choices have been reduced to an “all or nothing” proposition. Email instead of direct mail. Social media over printed advertising. Hello iPad, goodbye magazines. But it doesn’t have to be this way—it’s really a question of balance, knowledge and choice. Both printed and digital media have appropriate places in our professional and personal lives—and both have environmental impacts.

The pulp and paper industry has made an impressive commitment to responsible forestry practices, fuel efficiency and waste reduction over the past decade. In fact, the forest products industry leads all other manu-facturing sectors in onsite electricity gen-eration, meeting more than half of its own energy needs. At many mills, self-generated electricity goes beyond serving onsite pro-duction needs by providing supplemental

Paper has been around for 2,000 years. People love paper because it connects them in so many ways to the important things in life. Something on paper is more

meaningful and lasting. Unfortunately, paper also gets a bad rap. “Think before you print” messages at the bottom of emails combined with corporate cost-cutting cloaked in pro-environmental speak are placing a misguided guilt around the use of paper.

When it comes to the truth about paper, many people can’t see the forests for the trees.

Paper is a sustainable, recyclable, plant-based product that has played an essential role in the development of mankind. Great ideas are started on paper. The world is edu-cated on paper. Businesses are founded on paper. Love is declared on paper. Justice is

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References:¹,² American Forest & Paper Industry³ Environmental Protection Agency

The Truth About Paper


Save the date!2011 Stars Gala and Fundraiser

Thursday, November 3, 2011Avoid the dull and spice up your night! Join us for an evening of celebration,

recognition and philanthropy …

The 2011 Stars Gala will capture the mystery and fun of New Orleans with a Mardi Gras theme. You’ll be entertained with a mouth-watering three-course dinner and cocktails. Enjoy toe-tapping live jazz,

and then get ready to bid at the silent auction supporting COPA member students.

And don’t forget about the BEADS!!! There will be plenty of beads...and if you collect the most, you’ll be walking away with a prize at the end of the night!

Your ticket includes: our specialty menu, live music and entertainment, an entry into our door prizes—GREAT VALUE!

SAVETHEDATE!

COPA WakeUp! Breakfast Series & AGM

When: Thursday, September 29, 2011Topic: Social Media

This event will be a combination learning and golf opportunity at Lionhead Golf & Country Club in Brampton, Ontario—come for the breakfast and stay for the golf! Learn from a leading social media expert how to use tools like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook to grow your network and multiply your business opportunities!


OFFiCE SUPPLiES, FURNiTURE AND LEGAL PRODUCTSDye & Durham (Basics) ................................23

OVERSTOCkiNG SOLUTiONSDistribution M. Gagnon Inc. ......................18

PAPERInternation Paper (Hammermill) ...........................................OBC

QUALiTY MARkiNG PRODUCTSCoscan Industries ..........................................17

QUALiTY OFFiCE FURNiTURELDF Furniture Industries Inc. .....................17

SAFES AND FiLiNG CABiNETSGardex Safes Inc. ............................................10

SCOTCH BRAND PRODUCTS AND POST-iT BRAND PRODUCTS3M Canada ............................................3, 12-13

SUSTAiNABLE PAPER PRODUCTSDomtar ................................................................ 4

TRANSPORTATiON LOGiSTiCSAPPS Transport Group .................................15

iNk & TONER WHOLESALEInkstand ............................................................15

OFFiCE PRODUCTSEsselte Canada Inc. .......................................... 7

OFFiCE PRODUCTS / WiRELESS SERViCEBondy’s Office Pro .........................................20

OFFiCE SUPPLiES / BUSiNESS CASESBond St. Ltd. ....................................................20

3M ERGONOMiC PRODUCTS3M Canada ............................................3, 12-13

COMPONENTS DiSTRiBUTORHudson Supplies ............................................16

ENViRONMENTAL PRODUCTSGreen Imaging Supplies .............................15

iMPORTER/DiSTRiBUTOR OF COMMERCiAL OFFiCE AND SCHOOL PRODUCTSGeocan Imports Inc. ................................... IFC

BUYER’S GUiDE


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2011 COPA Golf Registration - June 23 Members Fee $295* + HST per person | Early Bird Registration $275* + HST (must register and pay by March 29th, 2011)

Non-Member Fee $350 + HST per person* $10 COPA Scholarship Fund Donation Included

Player 1

Name: Tel:Company: Email:

Player 2


Player 3


Player 4

Course Selection


Dinner Only - FEE $90.00 + hst per person


Put us in the same foursome Put us in separate foursomes

North South

Which course would you prefer? (Assigned based on reservation date and availability.)

Sub Total HST (13%)

Total Payment VISA

Master Card

Cheque

Card Number:

Card Holder:

Expiry Date:

HST# R123825366

By checking this box I authorize COPA to charge my credit card the total payment as stated above. I understand that there are no refunds after Friday, May 6, 2011 substitutions only.

402 - 2800 Skymark Av Mississauga, Ontario (C Telephone: 905-624-9462 ext. 223 Please submit this form electronically or fax to: 905-624-0830

Payment

$0.00 $0.00$0.00

!!

2011 COPA Golf Registration - June 23 Members Fee $295* + HST per person | Early Bird Registration $275* + HST (must register and pay by March 29th, 2011)

Non-Member Fee $350 + HST per person* $10 COPA Scholarship Fund Donation Included

Player 1


Player 2


Player 3


Player 4

Course Selection


Dinner Only - FEE $90.00 + hst per person


Put us in the same foursome Put us in separate foursomes

North South

Which course would you prefer? (Assigned based on reservation date and availability.)

Sub Total HST (13%)

Total Payment VISA

Master Card

Cheque

Card Number:

Card Holder:

Expiry Date:

HST# R123825366

By checking this box I authorize COPA to charge my credit card the total payment as stated above. I understand that there are no refunds after Friday, May 6, 2011 substitutions only.

402 - 2800 Skymark Av Mississauga, Ontario (C Telephone: 905-624-9462 ext. 223 Please submit this form electronically or fax to: 905-624-0830

Payment

$0.00 $0.00$0.00

Documents

Your Office Spring 2011