For years, many organizations have prioritized digitization in their records management initiatives, but paper is far from dead. According to a recent Access survey, over 80% of organizations still manage more than half their records in physical format. That’s a lot of paper!
With Earth Day coming up on April 22nd, it’s a good time to evaluate the environmental impact of your organization’s records management practices. Paper production contributes significantly to deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, and energy consumption. There are many ways to reduce paper usage in the office that benefit the environment— and your organization.
In this blog post, we’ll explore ways to reduce paper usage in the office, including prioritizing born-digital records, enabling digital access, and following retention and disposition guidelines. When you reduce paper usage, you’re promoting sustainability and helping your organization improve its overall records management practices.
Once you learn how to reduce paper usage in the workplace, you’re one step closer to making a positive impact on the environment. Considering a typical office worker uses about 10,000 sheets of paper in a year— enough to fill a nine-square-foot filing cabinet— every step taken to reduce paper usage by becoming a digital-first organization has an impact. In addition to the environmental benefits of preserving forests, reducing carbon emissions, and conserving energy, reducing paper use is beneficial to your organization from a business perspective.
During a recent webinar, Ian MacPherson, Business Development Executive at Access presented the benefits of transitioning into a digital-first organization and reducing reliance on paper. He explained that “If you take the time to develop a well-planned digital transformation, organizations will see the benefit through increased compliance, improved collaboration across the organization, enhanced security, cost savings, and operational efficiencies.”
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The National Archives defines born-digital records as “records that have been natively created in digital format (rather than digitized from paper records).”
Essentially, these records are created, maintained, and accessed digitally. With born-digital records, there’s zero paper use. By not creating paper records in the first place, your organization can reduce its reliance on paper and improve efficiency.
Digital records also allow for improved collaboration and communication as they can be accessed and shared across different platforms. Additionally, digital records can be easily searched and retrieved. When you reduce paper usage, you’re reducing the time and effort required to locate specific information.
Enabling digital access to records can help reduce the need for paper copies. By providing employees with digital access to records, they can access and review documents without needing to print them. This can help reduce paper usage and save money on printing costs. Additionally, digital access can improve security by reducing the risk of physical documents being lost, stolen, or damaged.
For physical documents that are stored offsite, a Digital delivery scan-on-demand service allows you to access those documents quickly and without creating additional paper copies. In addition, digital delivery is faster and more cost-effective than physical delivery, and it reduces the number of delivery trucks on the road emitting greenhouse gases. It’s a win-win for business and the environment.
Retention and disposition guidelines are important aspects of records management. Retention guidelines help ensure that records are retained for the appropriate amount of time and are disposed of properly when no longer needed. By following retention guidelines, your organization can reduce the amount of paper it retains and improve efficiency.
When disposing of physical records at the end of their retention period, partner with a shred provider that also recycles. Ensuring that recycling is part of your secure document shredding process is a great way to support corporate green initiatives and reduce waste.
By prioritizing born-digital records, enabling digital access, and following retention and disposition guidelines, your organization can reduce paper usage and improve its overall records management practices— for Earth Day and beyond.
To learn more about how your organization can transition from paper-intensive to digital-first, watch this webinar: The Digital-First Organization: Five Steps to Get There.
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