Paper is a large part of our day to day working lives. Many companies may not consider how much time, energy, and material it takes to produce, distribute, use, and dispose of paper. Research carried out by The Climate Group found that 28% of consumers in the United Kingdom are strongly concerned about climate change and showed demand for services that would allow them to reflect their climate change concerns in their spending.

Global paper production totals more than 400 million metric tonnes each year, with some 422 million metric tons of paper consumed annually. The role of paper remains important in the digital age, as it is still used daily for many purposes worldwide. Even though many companies are starting to go paperless, there is still a long way to go before they lose their dependence on this traditional medium.

When paper is not recycled, 80% of it ends up in landfill. The decomposition of paper in landfills creates methane which is 23 times more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide. Landfill has been found to contribute to as much as 50-75% of the total carbon emissions over a typical paper lifecycle.

Deforestation is one of the main environmental issues relating to paper production. Cutting down trees has a significant effect on global warming. It both adds carbon dioxide to the air and removes the ability to absorb existing carbon dioxide that we exhale. Trees produce oxygen for us to breathe; they also absorb heat-trapping greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.

Over 40% of all global wood harvest is used to make paper. Is it worth it to cut down our life saving trees for this product?

Scientists have recently warned that a critical part of Antarctica's "Doomsday glacier" is expected to change dramatically in the next 10 years. It is being melted from below by warm ocean waters, and massive fractures are also forming across the surface. The reasoning behind the name is due to the threat its melting would pose; a complete collapse could raise sea levels by 60cm. This can have devastating effects on coastal habitats, lost habitats for fish, birds, and plants, and can cause destructive erosion and flooding. Even life farther inland is threatened because rising seas can contaminate soil and groundwater with salt.

WHAT CAN BE DONE?
Many companies are now modifying their processes to reduce paper waste and are seeking renewable sources of paper to reduce their contribution to climate change.

Recycling: Companies can implement recycling processes into their workplace and ensure it is mandatory that paper is recycled. 100% recycled paper requires no trees to produce; and the trees left standing can pull carbon out of the air, reducing the impact of CO2 emissions. Manufacturing new paper out of recycled paper requires less energy than making paper out of wood. Production of 100% recycled paper uses 50% less energy, and so significantly reduces the greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere.

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"The role of paper remains important in the digital age, as it is still used daily for many purposes worldwide. Even though many companies are starting to go paperless, there is still a long way to go before they lose their dependence on this traditional medium. When paper is not recycled, 80% of it ends up in landfill. The decomposition of paper in landfills creates methane which is 23 times more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide."

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Shredding documents can be time consuming; time that can be used on business-essential tasks. By outsourcing your document shredding to Storetec, you can have peace of mind that 100% of shredded paper documents are fully recycled in the UK. All paper waste is delivered to a paper mill where it is recycled into newspaper prints or kitchen and toilet rolls. You can also have assurance that sensitive and confidential documents are disposed of securely and in accordance with British Standards.

Consider implementing digital processes: Streamlining processes and going digital can help to minimise unnecessary use and waste. You can scan your paper archive into digital format for on-going access, to free up office space and back up important documents. Rather than printing documents, documents can be accessed digitally via a cloud-based document management system such as FreeDocs. FreeDocs also contains a host of workflow capabilities such as e-signing, which carries the same wright as physical signatures, reducing the need to use paper.

Become a born-digital company: 'Born-digital' relates to materials that are created in a digital format rather than physical. This includes websites, email, digital photography, electronic records, etc. These differ from materials that exist physically, that must be digitised, such as paper records, manuscripts, photographs, and so on. Due to the digital-era, many companies already exploit digital technologies as a core-competency; but for many companies, paper is still very prevalent. Employees can implement this themselves by using Photoshop or InDesign to create drawings instead of drawing them by hand and send emails rather than letters. These documents can easily be managed in a workflow digitally in a system like Storeteec's own FreeDocs document management system, where digital documents can be uploaded directly for on-going access.

MAKE A CHANGE TODAY
Now is the time we change our habits in order to expect a more sustainable future for generations to come. If you have a spare hour today, why not have a quick review of the documents stored on your desk and ask yourself, can I access these documents digitally instead? These efforts may seem small on your part but imagine if every company made these changes. Overall, it will contribute significantly to the impact of climate change.

Awarded BPO/Outsourcing/Bureau Business of the Year in 2021, Storetec can assist your business in the seamless transition of going paperless. We understand that businesses are legally obliged to retain certain records. We can work with you to review your archive and decide on the documentation which must be retained and what can be destroyed and recycled.

If you're concerned about your corporate responsibility to reduce paper waste and transition to a digital archive, please do not hesitate to contact Storetec today.

More info: www.storetec.net