With cashflow dominating many boardroom gatherings at the moment it's easy to assume issues such as the environment will start to take a temporary back seat. However, a key theme running through most environmental campaigns is a general reduction in consumption which, in turn, can have an immediate and positive impact on cashflow itself. From more energy efficient office equipment to refurbishing furniture, savings are there to be made.

There might be a chill economic wind blowing, yet the new product announcements and press conference invitations keep coming. It doesn't surprise me. This is my third UK recession, with the previous two also characterised by rock steady support for new product development. In fact, as production activity dips, designers are freed from their obligation to support their overworked manufacturing colleagues and can focus all their effort on innovation.

As editorial copy pours in for SOU, themes quickly start to emerge. This month, two topics of choice (across all sectors) are cost reduction and the environment. Not long ago it would have been impossible to use these terms in the same sentence: reducing an office's environmental footprint often meant increasing expenditure, not reducing it.

January is notorious for relatively standard editorial comments, with magazine teams thanking advertisers and readers for their support over the past 12-months. Not this January. 2009 will be a year where businesses small and large place their office expenditure under a rather strong spotlight. They won't stop spending, but they will make sure every penny they spend is offering a direct cash saving, improved productivity, or both. Luckily, new office and stationery products are not developed randomly.