Top Four Reasons for your business to become Paperless. Goal 2023
There is an office expense that weighs heavily on businesses. The cost of printing.
The costs associated with printing are staggering. Not surprising, the true costs of printers, toner, ink, storage, supplies, and paper make a significant impact on business profits and environmental health.
You are paying more than necessary for printing. These costs are more than financial since all of these have a direct impact on our health and the environment. Plus, producing ink, eWaste, toner, gas, carbon footprint has been detrimental for many years.
If you’re looking to optimize resources and keep ahead of your competition, you should becoming a paperless or paper-free office as soon as possible.
The good news is that there is a solution that is both cost-effective and convenient to implement, most of which are already in practice by the world’s top-performing companies. Thanks to advancing technology, we have all the tools to make switching to a paper-free business easier than you think.
Here are several reasons why becoming paperless is the future.
Impact on the environment
Almost every office supply item is made from plastic, making it one of the leading sources of plastic pollution.
Printers, for example, are mass-produced and packaged so carelessly that they are almost as disposable as toilet paper. Not to mention, printers, just like other products, will become useless after a few years. This creates a vicious pollution cycle of producing printers only to be disposed of as eWaste in landfills for years to come.
Business are paying for products, at the expense of the environment.
The energy costs to mass-produce these disposable products grow exponentially every year. Gas, fuel, and heat are included among the costs that drive up the prices and environmental impact associated with printing.
Recent studies show that fish located near the Great Pacific Garbage Patch are consuming massive amounts of microplastics, making this plastic waste problem an issue for the food chain.
Burning eWaste also causes respiratory issues due to humans inhaling its fumes.
Even if you switch to “recyclable” and “eco-friendly” inks, toner, and printers, you will find that most “recyclable” plastics end up in landfills as eWaste. And most eWaste is deposited in unfortunate countries who cannot afford to make sure companies who produce and consume eWaste. It’s an open secret in the industry that recycling doesn’t offset as much as not producing the pollutant in the first place.
The good news is, reducing your carbon footprint does not need to be at the expense of company performance. In fact, going paperless is beneficial for both you and the environment in the long run. By cutting down on printing, you are actively helping to reduce pollution and the carbon footprint your company leaves behind.
Plus, there is also a developing market for conscientious consumers that choose sustainable companies. By switching to a paperless setup, you empower yourself and other people to reduce their environmental impact.
The costs grow every day
If your office expenses look like this:
- 20 employee office
- A printer on every desk
- 20 reams of paper per quarter
- A Multi-function center
- 20 file cabinets
- Banker box storage
- Staplers, paper punches, fasteners, folders, clips
Then your total would could be about $9,000.00 per year or about $750,00 per month. So, if your business switches to a paperless office solution, you could be saving more than $750.00 per month. Not to mention employee productivity. Every time a page is printed and filed in a file cabinet, the page goes from digital format to printed and requires someone to do the work.
In terms of environmental costs, one tree makes 16.67 reams of paper, so a yearly consumption of 40 reams per case will consume at least three trees per year. Take note that just two mature trees can provide enough oxygen for a family of four for a whole year. Likewise, two gallons of gasoline are consumed to produce one ream of paper, which will total to at least 80 gallons in this case.
Not only are you spending more by passing on a paperless setup, but you’re also lagging behind your competitors who’ve already made the switch. This is because paperless companies are found to be more efficient and cost-effective. For example, employees would have faster and more secure communication in a paperless setup. They can streamline tasks and get them done faster and more efficiently.
The opportunity cost saved when switching to paperless is just too great to ignore.
Space and time are limited
Where will you put all this paper you’ve printed?
The standard file cabinet is 300 inches wide and costs around $700. If you need three of these to keep your paper trail every year, that will set you back $2100 and 6.25 square feet of walkable space. The upkeep of maintaining this dead space will grow along with your business.
If an employee takes about five minutes every day to take out a specific document, that will total around 20 hours per year. If you have 10 employees, that’s 200 hours of lost time that could be used for more valuable tasks.
Compare this to the seconds a few clicks will take when you have invested in a good paperless system. Recent advancements in cybersecurity technology ensure that your files are safe and accessible online. This means that you can send the right file to the right person at the right time, even when you’re away from the office.
Obsolescence
Printer become obsolete and often require maintenance to keep your printed documents looking crisp and clean.
Printers lifetime is about 4 to 6 years depending upon usage. It’s disappointing to realize that the price of these products doesn’t necessarily mean that they are the best quality your money can buy.
Printer ink, for example, is one of the most expensive liquids in the world. Some companies manufacture their ink with non-eco friendly materials and some ink cartridges don’t last very long, causing you to buy more once you purchase your printers.
In Conclusion
The above reasons show that switching to a paper-free workplace is the future of modern business.
As evidenced by other paperless companies, ICS already has the tools to help your business become Paper Free in 2023!
DocuSign, eFax, iManage, and cloud storage are some of the affordable alternatives to a paper filled office.
The average American uses more than 680 pounds of paper every year. Using paper will become increasingly costly, inconvenient, Eco-unfriendly, and unsustainable. So consider paperless solutions for your business. The ICS goal, Paper-Free in 2023.
