January 06, 2013

Google, HelloFax and Others Urge You to Go Paperless

It's no secret that paper waste is a serious problem for businesses, but a recent infographic from The Salary Reporter, really put the issue into perspective for me both in terms of the environmental impact of paper waste and the impact on company profits. Some of the revealing facts that it presents include:

- 5.26 million tons of paper waste were generated by U.S. companies in 2010 alone, that's the weight equivalent to 23,377 Statue of Liberty statues

- Most office workers use 10,000 sheets of paper per year, which adds up to a cost of around $80 per employee per year.

- Filling the equivalent of just 1TB hard drive with electronic data instead of using printed material can save up to 50,000 trees per year

Awareness of the impact of businesses' paper waste is growing, and in 2013, a new corporate coalition has formed to help spread the word and urge companies to take steps to reduce the amount of paper they use. Called, Paperless 2013, this group is encouraging companies everywhere to take a pledge to go paperless this year.

The Paperless 2013 Coalition is made up of seven companies and services that offer paper alternatives to companies, including:

· Google Drive, which provides cloud storage

· HelloFax, a paperless, e-mail based fax service

· Manilla, a service for e-billing management

· HelloSign, a method of collection signatures electronically

· Expensify, a website for creating paperless expense reports

· Xero, which offers paperless accounting services

· Fujitsu ScanSnap, a manufacturer of scanners for paper-to-electronic conversion

You can take the paperless pledge at the Paperless 2013 website. Once you make the pledge, you'll be signed up to receive monthly tips from the members of the coalition.

What tools or services does your business use to reduce paper waste? Share your tips the “Comments” section.