Green Monday prime time to embrace paperless

One week after Cyber Monday is Green Monday, a day dedicated to embracing document conversion services and paperless efforts. For many firms, this day presents a key opportunity to examine their carbon footprint and see what they can do to reduce their impact on the environment.

With paper and printing-related products accounting for nearly 50 percent of North America's logging efforts, and the growing threat of deforestation, it is important for businesses to consider how they can reduce their paper usage. Investing in document imaging services can save firms hundreds of thousands on paper, printing, records archiving and energy costs, let alone the waste created by ink cartridges, paper clips and other byproducts of paper usage.

However, paperless office solutions have so far fallen short of enterprise needs in many cases. Firms often lack certain essentials in being able to truly part with paper and printers. This is why companies need to ensure they are investing in the right scanning hardware and document management software to optimize their systems and provide employees with the resources they need, when they need them.

Even companies that have supplies that cannot go paperless can reduce their workload with appropriate conversion services, online faxing and other techniques.

Green Monday may not be a well publicized "holiday," but it could be one of the most important days of the year for enterprises looking to assist with green efforts, reduce their impact on the environment and help save some of the over 1 million trees cut down for paper creation each year. Even if 5 percent of businesses embrace these efforts, the results could be astonishing, a press release noted. The related benefits, from the reduction of coal usage for energy to the chemicals and other harmful elements involved in manufacturing processes in this industry, will also have a positive impact on environmental efforts.

Rather than limiting interest in technology to Cyber Monday, businesses should invest some time and effort into Green Monday as well, and consider the advantages supplied by going paperless – both in costs and reputation as they work toward making the future a brighter, cleaner place for all.

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