How going paperless reduces your company's carbon footprint
While it is clear that using paper significantly reduces productivity and increases costs, relying on paper also poses a significant risk to the environment. Going paper reduces your impact on forests and reduces the amount of waste that is dumped in landfills. It reduces energy use and helps reduce the impact of climate change, as it reduces your company's carbon footprint.
In this article, learn about the importance of going paperless in your company for the environment.
Important statistics about paper and the environment
According to environmental advocacy group The World Counts, global production of paper and cardboard reached 420 million tons in 2021. This corresponds to a global population of 7.9 billion people who use two pieces of paper every hour. Despite the growing interest in digitization, it is time to double down. Eliminating or reducing card usage, World Counts also points out depressing statistics you may not have thought about:
It takes 2-3 times its weight in trees to produce one kilogram (2.3 pounds) of paper. If everyone used 200 kilograms (441 pounds) of paper a year, there would be no trees left on Earth. It takes 10 liters (2.6 gallons) of water to produce paper. One A4, 55 percent of the world's paper supply comes from freshly felled trees.
Although the cost of one sheet of paper is almost negligible, its use and production exact a much higher price from our environment. From forests to offices, paper not only contributes to problems such as deforestation, water pollution, and air pollution, but it also wastes many resources. Precious natural resources, such as clean water, oil and energy.
Furthermore, the process of grinding wood into paper production requires chlorine and produces dioxins, one of the most toxic secondary pollutants generated by humans.
Here are some facts and statistics to support this statement:
(500 leaves) require 6% of one tree.
Global paper use has increased by 400% over the past 40 years.
It takes 10 liters of water to produce one A4 sheet.
55% of the world's leaf supply comes from freshly cut trees.
The average cost per page wasted is $0.06.
It takes 2-3 times its weight in trees to produce one kilo of leaves.
Paper waste represents about 26% of solid waste in landfills.
The comforting thing among these facts is that most environmental experts agree that companies can reduce their carbon footprint by going paperless.
What is the carbon footprint?
A carbon footprint is defined as the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) or greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted into the atmosphere due to personal or corporate activities, and is often measured by the weight of carbon released into the air, land and water.
The main causes of the carbon footprint are food, consumption, transportation, and household energy. The lower the carbon footprint, the more environmentally friendly your business becomes. The carbon footprint of an individual is negligible compared to a company, and some companies, such as transportation and manufacturing, have a huge and unavoidable carbon footprint.
However, there is something every organization can do immediately to reduce its carbon footprint, which is going paperless.
How does going paperless reduce your carbon footprint?
Leaf production and consumption is growing at an alarming rate, which has a significant negative impact on the environment. Notable harmful side effects of the carbon footprint on the environment include:
Climate change
Forest loss
Toxic acid rain
Melting glaciers and polar ice
Coastal and ocean acidification
Air, water and land pollution in urban areas
Depletion of natural resources
We produce approximately 420 million tons of paper and cardboard annually, however, it is not only the amount of paper produced that is harmful to the environment; It's also how they're made. The process of producing the leaves includes:
Huge size of trees
Manufacturing
Transportation emissions
Water consumption
Cost and pollution resulting from recycling
Environmental benefits of going paperless
All environmental scientists agree that the continuing increase in paper production and use will soon turn into a global crisis if individuals and companies do not take the necessary steps to reduce the use of paper. The environmental benefits of going paper include:
Reduce waste
While more than 50% of business waste consists of paper, paper also makes up more than 25% of solid landfill waste. Additionally, paper production itself creates a huge amount of waste, so switching to a zero-sum office Paper can help reduce these side effects of paper production.
Reducing deforestation
Forests are essential to our lives, but unfortunately, we cut down millions of trees every year just to make sheets of paper. According to the World Wildlife Report, the pulp and paper industry accounts for 13-15% of all wood consumption globally.
Human-induced deforestation destroys vital ecosystems for wildlife and humans, dramatically increases the risk of soil erosion, and contributes to climate change. Going leafless gives you a huge opportunity to save forests and impact the environment positively.
Reduce water use
Making paper requires a huge amount of water. Even producing a single sheet of paper requires more than 3 gallons of water. Forecasts indicate that many areas of the UK will face significant water deficits by 2050. Saving water can help tackle climate change, by... By eliminating leaves, you are saving water on already dry land.
Low carbon dioxide
Producing paper requires a huge amount of energy, and it is estimated that turning one tree into 17 reams of paper emits about 110 pounds of carbon dioxide, which pollutes the atmosphere. In addition, paper transportation and distribution often relies on fossil fuels that emit Of carbon.
Furthermore, decomposing paper releases methane, a more toxic gas. One study found that processing invoices digitally can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 63% per transaction. Furthermore, one tree absorbs about a ton of carbon dioxide. over the course of 100 years, which means going paperless could significantly reduce carbon emissions.
Steps to digitization
If you're wondering how to reduce your carbon footprint, the following steps can help:
Go to your document management software
One of the best ways to go paperless is to turn to document management software like Doc.Suite. It allows you to capture, manage, share and secure all your paper documents in a central location. You can access your documents anytime, anywhere using any browser or mobile phone through the app. Android or iOS.
Using document management software will not only significantly reduce your company's carbon footprint, but it will also help you save on paper costs.
Scan paper documents and convert them to digital documents
Another effective way to get rid of paper is to scan documents. With a digital scanner, you can store all your documents electronically.
Digital documents are easier to manage, faster to locate, and much more secure than paper documents. You can also send them all instantly to the people who really need them, never having to worry about losing them.
To simplify the document scanning process, it is highly recommended to choose a document management system with built-in scanning software.
Use web forms instead of paper forms
Electronic web forms are a great way to promote paperless sustainability. They are easier to create, fill out, store and manage. With electronic forms, you can collect important data quickly and more effectively to speed up your business processes.
A seamless, paperless data collection process significantly reduces the cost of handling collected data and promotes a “greener environment” in your organization.
Sign documents digitally
One of the most common reasons for keeping paper is the need for signatures. However, if you create your digital signature and save it in the cloud storage of a document management system, you will never have to print a copy again. In other words, signing documents digitally allows you to confirm your signature without paper.
Additionally, digital signatures protect you from document forgery and similar scams, speed up the approval process, and help with regulatory compliance.
Share documents online
Finally, share the necessary documents online. This not only has a positive impact on the environment, but also makes collaboration faster and easier. Using public sharing links is the safest way to share documents with other people online, and is more reliable and secure than traditional file sharing methods. Online, such as email attachments, File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and third-party sharing sites.
Benefits of going paperless
From the environmental level to the economic level, the benefits of going paperless are great. Here are the most important reasons why your company should adopt a paperless office:
Low carbon footprint
Better organization of documents
Reducing operational costs
Better cooperation
Simplifies workflow
Speed up approval processes
Data backup and disaster recovery
Compliance with regulations
How DocSuite helps eliminate your company's carbon footprint
DocSuite can help reduce your company's carbon footprint through several means:
Online
Office applications can be used to enhance online collaboration, reducing the need for printing and paper consumption.
Digital file management
DocSuite can be used to store and manage files digitally, reducing reliance on paper documents and reducing paper consumption.
Online meetings
Online meeting applications provided by DocSuite can be used; To organize meetings online, which reduces the need for travel and thus reduces the associated carbon emissions.
Improving production processes
DocSuite can be used to analyze production data and improve efficiency, which contributes to reducing resource overconsumption.
Distance working
Thanks to technological advancements, DocSuite can support remote working and the shift to more flexible work models, reducing the need for daily travel for employees.
With these capabilities, DockSuite can play a role in reducing your company's carbon footprint by improving efficiency and transitioning to more sustainable operations.
So, are you ready to go paperless? Start your journey today with DocSuite and enjoy a variety of paperless benefits, try an instant demo and see how much it can benefit you.