We’ve all heard about the benefits of going “paperless” and the ease with which many companies are making the transition, but it’s rare to hear about the ecological impact of this trend. Most companies that use CRM systems and document management software are thrilled about the impact on their business. They save valuable space by minimizing paper file storage, cut back on payroll expenses, office supplies, copiers, printers and toner. In many cases their data can be accessed from any computer, and employees spend less time searching for information. But there is an important business case for document scanning that often goes unnoticed — a paperless office can dramatically reduce its carbon footprint.
When the computer first became a part of the office environment, software developers had already envisioned a document-free zone where computer terminals would be linked to electronic filing cabinets. Technology experts predicted electronic record handling as early as 1975, when BusinessWeek published its first article about the “paperless office,” but despite this forward-thinking mentality, workers continued to generate paper printouts of every spreadsheet, PowerPoint and Word document. In fact, by the late 1990’s, businesses were moving in the opposite direction. According to InfoTrends, as recently as 2007 the number of office pages copied, faxed and printed in the United States topped a trillion.
In just the past five years, document scanning companies, secure online storage, cloud computing and advancements in telecommunications have made it possible for paper-dependent offices to move boldly into the digital age. The average field sales rep used to print out several copies of a PowerPoint for presentations, send paper invoices in the mail, deliver printed sales kits and take notes on legal pads. Today it is entirely possible for that same employee to leave the office with a flash drive and an iPad, send their invoices via email and take notes into a CRM on their iPad; all without every hitting the “Print” button.
As more businesses look for ways to reduce their impact on the environment, the paperless office is a great way to start. Not only does it cut back on the use of paper, toner, and postage costs; digital document storage allows more employees to work remotely instead of driving to the office to retrieve files.