According to a recent survey, 81% of consumers expect companies to be environmentally conscious. That number of people increases every year, and a great way to show your commitment to environmental sustainability is going paperless in the office.
Going paperless helps support environmental sustainability, and it makes consumers more likely to buy your products.
As a print vendor who has been in the business for over 35 years, STPT understands how important it is to balance your office’s print needs with concerns for the bottom line and environmental health.
In this article, we will explain in detail the top four reasons your office should go paperless, including the primary financial and environmental benefits for employers and employees alike.
The Top 4 Reasons Your Office Should Go Paperless
Here are the four most important reasons your office should consider going paperless:
1. It Will Save Your Company Money
Going paperless, money saver or time waster?
All the time spent searching for lost documents or recreating them ultimately costs your company money, so while it does take time to set up a digital office environment, doing so saves you more time and money in the long run.
Going paperless can save your business nearly $50,000 per year.
Not only does going paperless in the office allow your business to reduce spending on printer paper and other supplies, it can also save your company money by reducing the costs of storing and distributing paper documents.
Going paperless or reducing unnecessary paper use also has the added benefit of improving document organization strategies and making business operations more efficient, which saves you money by encouraging more workplace productivity.
2. It’s Good for the Environment
How does going paperless help the environment?
Did you know that, on average, one tree takes in around 2,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide, a toxic air pollutant that causes global warming and negatively affects human health?
If we were to save a million trees, then we would improve our air quality tenfold and decrease the prevalence of forest fires and lung disease.
According to a 2021 Forbes article by Eugene Xiong, “digital transformation reduces negative environmental impacts like natural resource consumption, pollution and waste.”
By going paperless, your office makes a lasting positive impact on the environment by preserving the lives of millions of trees.
Trees are used to make paper, but they also provide oxygen and remove dangerous pollutants from the environment. The more trees we have, the better our air quality, so one key aim of going paperless is usually to offset the environmental issues associated with deforestation (the clearing of forested land.)
According to National Geographic, deforestation has dramatically changed the way our world looks. Nearly half of the forests in eastern North America were cut down between 1600 and 1900.
According to Xiong, we throw away enough paper every year to equal 1 billion trees, and paper manufacturing also produces harmful gasses, like sulfur and carbon dioxide, which increase pollution in our environment.
As pollution increases, productivity decreases. Around 1.2 billion workdays are lost every year because of air pollution, and employees who breathe in polluted air are much more likely to get sick or experience reduced cognitive performance.
The paper production process also creates a large amount of carbon dioxide, a dangerous greenhouse gas and air pollutant. Producing less paper would decrease the amount of dangerous CO2 in our environment.
If we are using less paper that means fewer trees are being cut down, and if fewer trees are cut down, then our environment is cleaner, and our air is less contaminated.
Reducing your paper waste saves trees, decreases deforestation, and helps conserve energy, and the first step to becoming an eco-friendly company is practicing environmentally friendly habits, like reducing paper waste and conserving energy in the office.
3. It’s Good for Employers
Aside from the obvious financial benefits of using less paper, there are many reasons why going paperless is a good thing for employers.
First, if all your documents are digital, that makes them easier to organize, and a more organized workplace ultimately saves you time and money.
People spend up to 6 months of their lives just looking for lost items. Better organization makes the work process more efficient so your employees can get more work done.
If all your office’s digital files are contained in an online repository like OneDrive or Google Docs, then your employees can access vital information with ease, which encourages collaboration and consistent work ethic.
Tracking data across digital platforms also makes it easier to quantify how much work is being done, and it allows you to track how much paper you need. Digital documents can also be accessed from anywhere at any time, which increases productivity overall.
4. It’s Good for Your Employees, Too
Okay, so we’ve established that going paperless is good for your business. But what are the benefits of going paperless for your employees?
If all your files are managed in an online system, then employees don’t have to spend so much time looking for them, which frees up more time for vital work functions.
And digitizing documents for storage frees up office space by removing large cabinets and filing systems that are bulky and hard to maintain, and this space can be utilized by employees.
Rather than your office being filed with drab, gray filing cabinets and stacks of papers, employees can enjoy more green space in the office.
Green space also comes with the added benefit of increasing employee productivity; productivity has been shown to increase by up to 31 percent for companies that have dedicated green spaces for their employees to enjoy.
Freeing up office space for employees also allows them to personalize their workspaces, which leads to higher rates of creativity, job satisfaction, and employee retention.
Do I Need a Printer for My Paperless Office?
Strictly speaking, no.
You do not necessarily need a printer for a paperless office, but having a multifunction printer will make the process of going paperless and maintaining your paperless office much easier.
One of the primary ways to effectively go paperless is to switch from printing, copying, and storing paper documents to primarily using document scanning services.
You can scan documents in a variety of ways; there are PDF scanner apps for your phone, and there are dedicated scanning devices, like the Xerox DocuMate 6440 ($649) scanner, that can handle large volumes of scanning daily without offering printing options. This is a good choice for a smaller office that is dedicated to going as paperless as possible.
However, one of the best options is going to be to retain at least one multifunction printer on-site for the purposes of scanning old paper documents for digital storage.
A multifunction printer, like one of the Xerox VersaLink or AltaLink printer models for example, allows you to scan, fax, and copy and is specifically designed for small workgroups. A printer like the Xerox VersaLink C405 ($1,099) would be a good option because it is multifunctional and is equipped with Xerox ConnectKey technology so you can easily manage and enhance digital workflows.
The VersaLink C405 can print up to 8,500 pages per month, but it is also uses high-quality scanning technology to make paper documents digital.
Another option to consider is the Epson WorkForce EcoTank ET-3750 ($350), which is designed to maximize sustainability practices and make them easy for users to access. The WorkForce EcoTank is a cheaper option for an office on a budget, but it is important to note that it only prints up to 5,000 pages a month.
If you’re using a multifunction printer or scanner to go paperless, then you should also consider these sustainable printing practices: print on both sides of the paper, use print preview to ensure your document is correct before printing, check to see if your Xerox printer has Earth Smart settings and enable them if possible, and use eco-friendly printer paper.
Going Paperless At Work, Where Do We Start?
Going paperless is a big undertaking.
That’s why STPT wants to use our industry expertise to help you decide the best way to implement environmentally friendly practices in your office.
Whether you need a new multifunction printer with scanning capabilities or recommendations for good document management software, our team at STPT is ready to assist you.
Now that you’ve considered the benefits of going paperless, you may be interested in officially setting up your paperless office.
If you’re wondering how to go paperless, our comprehensive guide goes through the entire process step-by-step. Click the link below for more information.
