Environmental impact policies concerning paper use ignored by three-quarters of businesses, according to global study.
Research by independent information analysts, AIIM, has found that 21 percent of organisations are increasing their paper consumption, with more than three-quarters admitting to ignoring environmental impact policies concerning reducing paper use, despite growing environmental concerns.
The study, titled Paper Wars 2014 – an update from the battlefield, involved businesses from a number of countries from around the world. It found that while 56 percent of respondents indicated that they have an environmental impact policy covering reduced use of paper in place, less than a quarter actively promote it; although respondents estimate that within five years, all-digital working would halve paper storage space in their offices from 14 percent to seven percent.
Reasons for continuing to print given by respondents include printing personal paper copies to take into meetings, and printing documents to add a signature, while 50 percent indicated that they print copies for reading offline or when away from the office; particularly in order to review and mark-up.
47 percent of respondents said they continue to print as they feel there is a lack of management initiatives, with 44 percent giving the perceived need for physical signatures as one of the main reasons why there is still so much paper being used in their business processes. Furthermore, the study found that there was also felt to be a general lack of understanding of paper-free options.
Legal and finance departments were found to be the most resistant to paper-free working, followed by those working in HR and general administration.
John Macini, President of AIIM, commented: “What will it take for businesses to get the message that overuse of paper must stop? It has a negative impact on both their business and the environment.
“Millions of unnecessary sheets of paper are printed every single day, but reducing reliance on paper means organisations can respond to customers faster, be more productive, save on storage and have a significant impact on the world we live in. We can’t eliminate paper altogether but we can all be much smarter about using less.”
Among these findings, the study showed that 60 percent of organisations that have committed to reducing paper have seen return on investment (ROI) on their paper-free projects within a year, with more than three-quarters seeing ROI within 18 months. Respondents indicated that the biggest benefits to reducing paper have been being able to give a faster response to customers and noticing an increase in productivity.
Mancini said: “If helping to save the planet isn’t enough for some organisations to reduce their use of paper, then perhaps the myriad business benefits enjoyed by those who have can be a factor. The fact of the matter is we need to use less paper. The paperless office will probably never arrive but achieving paper-free processes is a realistic goal for any business and there are many ways to capture, manage and store information digitally.”