What can we do to save money and help the environment at the same time? Becoming a paperless office is one of the options. On the eve of World Paper Free Day (November 6), I’d like to tell you about some simple steps you can take to reduce paper. My recommendations will be especially useful for those who are only looking at making their office more eco-friendly, however, I might give some less obvious tips to those who already uphold environmental principles as well.
You can easily calculate how much money you can save by eliminating paper. Simply add the amount of money you spend every month on paper, cartridges, stationery, and filing cabinets. Don’t forget to add the cost of the employee time needed to locate a paper document among countless folders.
The benefits of going paperless are quite significant for the environment too. It takes approximately 24 trees to produce a tonne of paper. Estimate how many reams of printer paper your office uses every year, and you can easily calculate how many trees can be saved if your office becomes eco-friendly. On average, 4 billion trees are cut down annually for paper production. That’s roughly one percent of the Amazon Rainforest.
Here are my recommendations as to how you can reduce paper at the office or even stop using it altogether.
Replace Paper Planners and Calendars With Online Services
A lot of people use paper organizers, calendars, and sticky notes to plan their day. But today, dozens of services and applications will help you plan your day and not forget a single thing. What’s more, if you use apps like
Scan Documents and Save Them to Cloud Storage
If you’re planning to use a document more than once, it makes sense to save it to cloud storage. In this case, you’ll be able to find it at the click of a button. You won’t have to search dozens of folders and files if it’s been saved to a cloud. Plus, digital documents are resilient to coffee and ink stains. If a colleague asks for a copy of a document, you can just send them a link. It will take far less time than going to the copier, printing a copy, and looking for a colleague to hand it over.
Nowadays, you don’t even need a scanner machine in your office to be able to scan. Mobile apps like
Revise the List of Documents You Usually Print
Each time you send a document to print, think about whether you need a hard copy. We print many documents, such as agendas or presentations, simply out of habit. Emailing them to the participants or attaching them to a Google Calendar event can work just as well. If you find it more convenient to review certain documents as hard copies, keep in mind that you can print them on the other side of the used documents.
Use Mind-Mapping Tools for Brainstorming
If you work in a distributed team, you’re probably accustomed to using
Get Rid of Old Papers and Recycle Them
Paper Free Day is a great occasion to sort out the paper clutter on your desk and bookshelves and to recycle some old documents that are no longer relevant. First, you could get rid of old sales catalogs, user manuals, flyers, and notepads. Each tonne of recycled paper saves 380 gallons of oil, 7,000 gallons of water, and around 3 cubic meters of landfill space.
Some offices have adopted a hot-desking system where employees don’t have assigned desks. This encourages people to be careful with how much they print because they have to take all their documents with them each time they move. You might consider this arrangement for your own office too.
Tell Colleagues About the World Paper Free Day and Find Like-Minded People
Becoming a paperless office is no simple project. Also, it’s not a project you can manage on your own. But if your colleagues understand the importance of this step for your business and the environment, together you can overcome all the challenges. Share ideas and tips as to how you can cut down on paper at the office, research new ways of going paperless, and eventually you will see how small steps can help you achieve great results.