Do you have any idea how much paper an industry uses? Studies indicate that between 1% and 3% of a company's revenue goes toward printing costs. And this is not just restricted to the obvious expenses such as paper and printer cartridges, but the invisible costs as well, which include storage space issues and the organization's productivity.
THE WORLD SCENARIO OF PAPER CONSUMPTION
We consume millions of tons of paper around the world, so you can imagine that for this to be produced, a huge amount of pulp, water, and energy was used, as well as a lot of waste discarded after production.
The vegetation also suffers the consequences of paper production, which is deforested to make room for eucalyptus and pine plantations, which are the trees from which the pulp is extracted.
Thinking about the digital world in which we live today it is easier to think of reducing paper consumption, but there are many things that need to be printed in our daily lives such as product packaging, newspapers, magazines, among others.
With the covid-19 pandemic, the growth of paper production has increased even more in some sectors, as people have started to buy much more via e-commerce and also by delivery, which has increased the consumption of packaging and hygiene items.
EFFECTS OF THE PANDEMIC ON PAPER CONSUMPTION
With the large increase in companies working remotely and doing their activities digitally, the use of paper for these purposes has decreased, as people are able to maintain their activities entirely online, so there has been a decline in printing in companies.
And the trend is that this demand for printing paper will continue to fall, despite the resumption of classes and face-to-face work.
It will still take a long time for companies to transform their processes fully digital with no dependence on the use of paper, but the decrease will happen over time with small measures.
Those who have adopted the home office may realize that many times in the office they used to print unnecessary things, and that we can do practically everything digitally.
REASONS TO REDUCE PAPER USE IN YOUR COMPANY
1 - LESS COST
Printing costs are high in companies, ranging from the most obvious to the invisible costs as we talked about earlier.
Think of the amount of paper used for documents, contracts, reports, and notices that could easily be done digitally. In addition to the cost of maintenance of printing equipment, cartridges, and energy used.
2 - MORE ORGANIZATION
Brazil is at a low level regarding good management practices in companies, thus showing that its processes are still very disorganized, and this is totally related to paper.
Papers are lost very frequently, and this leads not only to disorganization, but also to loss of employee time looking for these documents, which can be very important and are not completely safe.
3 - THERE ARE MORE EFFICIENT FORMS OF STORAGE
Besides the physical space that physical documents take up, it is not at all practical and easily accessible to find them in a company.
Opting for the electronic version is a way to have a safer management, since there is no risk of losing the information due to physical issues, and also much more practical for these files, since it is much easier to find the information in digital through cloud storage.
4 - IT IS MUCH MORE SUSTAINABLE
We need to be increasingly concerned about the environment and the impact we cause. Reducing the use of paper in the company has a direct impact on the environment.
We are going through a very serious water crisis, and water consumption for paper production is very high, in addition to electric power, waste production, and deforestation.
Paper has a decomposition time of 6 months approximately, while cartridges and toners can take up to a thousand years, besides the risk of the ink leaking from the packaging and polluting the environment.
Stop to think how much a company can deforest every year? With other options available that are much more sustainable, there is no reason not to be more sustainable.
PRACTICAL TIPS TO REDUCE PAPER CONSUMPTION IN COMPANIES
Simple attitudes can make all the difference to reduce the use of paper in a company, and the first step is the awareness on the part of management and employees, it is necessary to think collectively. For this, create educational campaigns and have this culture very strong in the company, you can even work with goals and actions with rewards.
Try to print only what is necessary and prioritize all communication in digital form, use all the technology we have available to our advantage, with the use of digital documents and contracts, electronic signatures, and platforms for cloud storage.
Before disposing of the paper, try to reuse it in some way, either for drafts or even by sending it to companies that make crafts with recycled paper, for example.
A software is also essential to perform a paperless management in the industry and thus greatly increase your productivity, contact us and learn more!
