Why Paper Choices Matter and What You Can Do About It

Take a guess at the number of pages the average worker uses in one year? According to reduce.org, it's a shocking 10,000 pages of paper per year. With that being said, paper choices matter.

As explained in our business sustainability programs, producing paper from virgin fiber is both energy and water intensive. It releases significant amounts of greenhouse gases into our atmosphere. By choosing to use less paper and paper with recycled content you are making the choice to save wood, water and energy, and cut pollution and solid waste. The costs savings add up and the environmental impact goes down.

Small business resources are available to assist in making better paper choices. One option includes Environmental Defense Fund's Paper Calculator. We frequently use this tool in our business sustainability consulting because it helps to quantify the benefits of better paper choices by showing the environmental impacts of different papers across their full lifecycle.

Take it a step further and move towards a paperless office. A long term benefit to incorporating sustainable business practices of going paperless re-orients thought processes of workers and business approaches to view other areas of the business with a sustainable mindset. In addition, the sustainability concepts learned at work are often implemented at home expanding eco awareness beyond the workplace.

Following are some paperless office solutions offered in our business sustainability consulting:

Zumbox is the first all-digital online alternative to the traditional paper postal service, and if you have a street address, you can already start using it. Note, Zumbox is not email. It is based on permanent street addresses.
CRM, Customer Relationship Management, is definitely the Swiss Army Knife in the business plan toolbox for small businesses committed to increase sales, improve efficiencies and build a sustainable business. The benefits of small businesses using a CRM system to build business sustainability include the development of better relations with your prospects, customers, and stakeholders.
Document Management Software: Look for a web based document system that meets your compliance, workflow, document management, online forms, and portal delivery needs. Other attractive features include detailed history tracking, audit reporting, version control, and scanning/capture capabilities. The benefits you can expect are numerous: increased productivity, eliminate storage space, reduce expenses, work remotely, and increased security and better disaster recovery protection.

Becoming a paperless office can be part of a sustainability plan or be an independent environmental action taken to reduce the business' carbon footprint. For strategies and tips to becoming a paperless office, download our white paper here.

Mindful attention to paper sourcing, consumption, and disposal or going paperless can help save money and reduce environmental impacts. Both benefits to the bottom line and our natural resources.