How can I use less Paper in my office?
Did you know that the pulp and paper industry is the 3rd largest industrial polluter of air, water, and soil? With chlorine-based bleaches being used during paper production, toxic materials are being released into our air, water supply, and soil.
Just last year, data surfaced that, globally, we used more than 400 million metric tons of paper. And here’s the kicker: the United Nations predicted that paper usage is expected to rise by 50%. The average employee is now using more than 10,000 sheets of paper a year, and once you add in the costs of toner, energy, employee time spent printing, filing and searching for documents, etc., this use can really add up for both the environment and your company's wallet.
So what could we do to help our environment and avoid a climate crash, which according to IPCC reports will happen in the next two decades?
In NKC for the last 3 years we have been introducing the ‘paper-light office’ - an environment that combines technology with traditional working practices to facilitate a more economical consumption of paper. By finding creative ways to forgo the need for physical copies, such as through proactive document scanning and sharing through cloud services.
New technologies have made it easier than ever to take and share notes via the cloud. Applications like Trello, Xero, Google Docs and Microsoft Office allow users to collaborate on documents instantaneously, saving hundreds of hours in productivity
Having a mixture of both physical and digital documents improved our team’s productivity as we are spending less time looking and organising bits of paper. Files can be easily accessed from our desktops, which can be searched for and located quicker. This also ensures documents are kept secure as they can be password protected and accessible to the individual.
Any existing paper files can easily be scanned for easy migration and to ensure everything is in one place. Also, team members’ morale has improved as we are spending less time sorting through physical files and instead we can focus on more important tasks.
Less paper mean also fewer extra costs like ink and printers, so it is a step in the right direction for both the planet and your business bottom line.
Would you like to learn more about how we can help you switch to paper light accounts? Get in touch at enquiries@nkc.ie