If you were told to guess the number of trees cut down every year, what would you say? You might be shocked to know that a whopping 15 billion trees are currently chopped down every year due to deforestation. The sad news is that the number can increase even higher in the upcoming years.
Dependence on paper-based products is responsible for more than 14% of global deforestation, which invites problems like climate change, reduced crop production, increased greenhouse gases, soil erosion, flooding and other natural calamities.
If companies start implementing a paperless office for managing and sharing their documents, deforestation can be significantly reduced.
The pollution problem due to paper production cannot be solved just by recycling, as the process leaves more waste and pollutants that can be found in ocean beds and other bodies of water.
An added benefit to this shift in work is that your company can attract more customers by taking the environmentally-friendly approach.
According to various surveys, it is clear that over a third of global consumers want to switch to eco-friendly brands, and even more people are willing to stop buying from companies that harm the environment.
The pollution problem due to paper production cannot be solved just by recycling, as the process leaves more waste and pollutants that can be found in ocean beds and other bodies of water.
Decrease Deforestation, Improve Our Air
Only 17 reams of paper are produced from one tree that takes over 100 years to grow. Globally, more than 50% of paper comes by cutting down virgin forests.
The most obvious benefit of going paperless is saving billions of trees, which would boost the availability of oxygen in our atmosphere. Along with oxygen, trees are also responsible for removing dangerous pollutants like carbon monoxide, ozone, and sulfur dioxide from the air we breathe.
Trees also are responsible for reducing soil erosion which prevents water from being polluted during floods. Many animals such as birds and mammals depend on trees for their food and habitats, making decreasing deforestation even more vital if we want to keep our planet's biodiversity.
Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
By transitioning from paper to digital, companies can directly reduce their carbon footprint due to two primary reasons:
- If trees are not chopped down to produce paper, the carbon dioxide to oxygen conversion rate would significantly improve. It is estimated that one tree can convert up to two tons of carbon dioxide to oxygen in its lifetime.
- During paper production, a massive amount of 49.90kg of carbon dioxide is produced and released into the environment—which would take about two years to be absorbed by a single tree.
Moreover, "the transportation of timber from the forest to sawmills, to manufacturing companies, and finally to end-users, consumes significant amounts of fossil fuel." Cutting down on paper use would also cut down all the waste generated by its supply chain.
As you can see by now, going paperless would have a positive domino effect.
Decreasing Air and Water Pollution
During paper production, harmful air pollutants like carbon dioxide, sulfur oxides, and nitrogen oxides are released into the atmosphere. These pollutants are responsible for acid rain.
However, here's sadder news: Paper made from 1 billion trees is wasted every year. It has been found that over one-fourth of the waste found in landfills is from paper-based products. It is alarming, especially because when paper decomposes, methane gas is formed—which is 25 times more harmful than carbon dioxide.
Other than the paper itself, the ink and cartridges used for it also are very harmful. They contain toxic chemicals that, if not disposed of with the utmost care, can pollute the environment.
It's said that "70-80% of cartridges are used once and disposed of, contributing to hazardous waste in landfills (...) that would take around 600 to 8,000 years to decompose." and even when burned, toner and ink cartridges become poisonous for humans, contributing to lung issues.
The pollution problem due to paper production cannot be solved just by recycling, as the process leaves more waste and pollutants that can be found in ocean beds and other bodies of water.
Dependence on paper-based products is responsible for more than 14% of global deforestation, which invites problems like climate change, reduced crop production, increased greenhouse gases, soil erosion, flooding and other natural calamities.
Other Benefits of Going Paperless
We know you care about the environment; otherwise, why would you be reading this? But you might also be worried about the potential negative impact the process of going paperless could have on your business.
There is a silver lining in all of this: Your business goals and eco-friendly goals can be aligned. Digitizing your business can help you manage it more efficiently and easily than before.
Here are just some of the reasons you need to start moving away from paper and embrace technology fully:
- Your team would be able to collaborate more effectively, increasing their efficiency.
- It would be effortless to share access to documents and organize them neatly without using many resources.
- You won't have to spend money on paper, ink, cartridges, filing folders, printers and cabinets.
- Passwords and authentications make digital files safer than paper documents.
- Your employees' workstations would be more spacious, and your office would feel decluttered and more comfortable.
- Backing up digital files is simpler, cheaper, and more practical than paper files.
Paper use generally doubles every five years for an average company which is very alarming. Every year, more trees are lost than planted, and we need to do something about it. Making your office paperless won't solve the problem immediately, but it is undoubtedly a step in the right direction.
We need to show the benefits of going paperless first hand so more companies and entrepreneurs can do the same. Let's be the change we want in the world.
Sid Soil is the Founder & CEO of DOCUDavit Solutions. DOCUdavit is the leading provider for secure document imaging, EMR conversion, document/data management, and storage solutions for Canadian businesses and retiring lawyers and doctors. Since DOCUdavit's inception in 1994, Sid and his teams have worked with over 600 medical practices, 200 law firms, multiple corporations, and 10 government departments. They also received the 2020 Canadian Business Excellence Awards for Private Businesses.
Like what you're reading?
Subscribe to our FREE newsletter and we'll deliver content like this directly to your inbox.