From Guest Blogger Chris Rowson: Paperless Alternatives in the Workplace
Every business has a huge obligation to reduce the carbon footprint of their operation. Thankfully many businesses are starting to take that seriously and realise the financial benefits of doing so from good brand PR and cost saving benefits. One of the areas in which all businesses can easily improve upon is their usage of paper, most of which is unnecessary. For the last 20 years the term ‘paperless office’ has been used however despite the advances in workplace technology it is still yet to be achieved by the majority. Here are some well-known but underutilised technologies and services that could eradicate the need for paper and the devastating effects of deforestation.
E-Billing
Why would any business wish to go the expense of printing bills, enveloping, franking and distributing bills to their customers, not to mention the carbon footprint that this causes? There are masses of electronic billing solutions available to businesses often within their existing CRM (customer relationship management) system. At the click of a button your users will receive their bills sooner, pay sooner and reams of paper will be saved.
E-Doc Sign
We have all seen and had to print terms and conditions or other legal documentation to sign and return to a 3rd party. With the existence of electronic document signature services the hassle and carbon cost of this can be extreme. Electronic document signing services such as those offered by Adobe e-sign services are very affordable, very easy to set up and administer and probably make your organisation deliver a more professional looking service. Going green paying off in more ways than one.
Email Marketing
Try not to think of email marketing as the annoying regular mailshots that some companies obsess with. Email marketing is a proven low cost, low effort and paperless means of reaching your audience with an appropriate level of frequency to communicate your news. Pretty much all modern email marketing platforms offer you that extra bonus of knowing who engages with your communication – who opened the email, who clicked, how many times they read it etc. A smart business can use that information to target them further and close a deal for example. How do we know if letters via post reached their intended destination and were opened after their long carbon fuelled journey in the postal network? Email marketing is a no brainer isn’t it?
Ecards
In the US, Cannada and the UK in particular, greeting cards are a traditional method of spreading goodwill to clients, prospects or members of staff. However, the growing trend is towards holiday ecards for business rather than the paper cards that typically end in the bin. The carbon footprint of an ecard is typically 8g CO2 as opposed to 29g CO2 for a paper equivalent and that’s without the postal leg. Once again the financial cost, ability to measure the success of the project and low effort make sending an ecard the obvious choice for the smart green thinking business.
Does anybody still think paper is required in the office?
