Peter Davey writes – As Hollywood stars swap their luxury automobiles for hybrid or even electric cars and school-aged children throughout the world learn about the myriad benefits of recycling, the topic of sustainability is clearly gaining mass awareness and acceptance.
Despite this fact, corporate America is still behind the curve as it relates to operating more sustainably. According to reduce.org, the average American worker prints about 10,000 sheets of paper annually. A recent one-year survey by Toshiba Tec Corporation found that up to 90 percent of this paper is either recycled or disposed of.
Aside from the obvious environmental implications, there is a pretty high dollar expense associated with this trend. The cost to print each page fluctuates from a few pennies to 50 cents depending on whether the copy is in black and white or color. When doing the simple math for an office of 100 employees, this expense may run as high as a half million dollars a year.
Considering the inherent ecological and dollar cost associated with this process, a strategy should exist to monitor this process. As more and more C-level officers are embracing a Six Sigma approach to operating their businesses, it stands to reason they will begin adopting processes and procedures surrounding their respective organizations’ printing practices.
By installing a document management system, businesses may eliminate much of this waste. Through the installation of such a system, organizations may create, archive and distribute documents within a digital environment thereby significantly reducing its output.
As a result, employees throughout any company – in the same office or even a continent away – may collaborate on the same presentation, contract or marketing brochure at any time or place to become more efficient and ecological.
Though most companies will probably never be viewed as cool and hip as Leonardo DiCaprio or Alec Baldwin in an attempt to making our planet more sustainable, these same businesses may have more impact in accomplishing this mission.
To learn more about Document Management and how it can help your organization, contact MCC’s Document Solutions Division today.