Do you know how much paper your business uses annually? Do you wish you could save money and resources? Although though most businesses are unsure of the exact amount they spend on print costs every year, they all wish they could lower that number regardless of what it is. Plus, wasted resources contribute to overspending, environmental pollution, and unnecessary surplus.
Stacking up Against the Stats
Take a look at how you stack up against the numbers, provided by Statistic Brain:
- The average person in North America uses 504.84 pounds of paper per year.
- Although the United States comprises 5 percent of the world’s population, it is responsible for 30 percent of the world’s paper consumption.
- And, the US produces 2.7 times as much paper as the second highest producer.
- Forty-five percent of office paper ends up as trash by the end of the day. Even if that paper is recycled, that it a staggering amount of wasted resources.
- The average office document is copied ten times.
- The average office worker uses 10,000 sheets of paper annually.
Even if your business is based outside of the US, there is no doubt that paper usage and waste is a global problem. And, while we know that paper is necessary even in a digital document environment, there is always room for reduction.
Reducing Waste with Document Management
With document management, you can organize your documents and reduce your reliance on paper files. Rather than copying a document several times, you can scan and share it digitally with anyone, anywhere. And with document management file stress will be a thing of the past since all of your hardcopy documents will be converted to digital and stored in a secure, central repository. You will also improve your records retention, enhance your compliance measures, and reduces extraneous paper and supply waste.
If you still need to use paper for business functions, reduce waste by scanning and emailing items whenever possible and making double-sided printing the default on all your printers. Implement incentives to reduce reliance on physical paper files and reward employees for reducing waste. When printing, always use post-consumer recycled paper.
While the business sector may never fully kick the paper habit, there are certainly practical measures that companies from every industry and country can take to help minimize the global paper problem. If you are interested in enhancing your workflows and eliminating waste, contact us to learn more about how document management can facilitate these goals.
