Records Management Can Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

One only needs to pick up a paper or tune into the news to hear the warnings that impending environmental breakdown is on the horizon if we do not change our ways now.  Listed below are a number of tips which will help you and your company do their bit to help maintain the environment.

1.    Centralise your printing functions

Look around your office.  Is there a large amount of printers?

Is there a culture of needlessly printing every and any piece of information? 

Just making it slightly less convenient for staff to print everything they like will prevent an unnecessary mountain of paper, energy loss and noise pollution from clogging your work environment.  However this may upset some employees.  So in order to offset the reduction or restriction of printing facilities and maintain a harmonious working environment you could provide employees with modern flat screen monitors which will allow them to preview their documents from their screen without suffering from eyestrain. 

Other means through which you can make your printing functions more environmentally friendly are:

•    Purchase energy efficient printers
•    Make sure the printer prints double-sided and set this as the default. This can halve storage costs as well as paper use
•    Use recycled paper
•    Use the right size of paper. Make sure you have the right paper (size/color/type) loaded in your printer before you hit the print button.

2.    Implement an Electronic Document Records Management System

With the increasing importance of information and the need for auditable trails of records, as well as creating necessary efficiencies through streamlining processes, electronic document and records management (EDRM) systems have become an important solution to these challenges.

The main benefit of an EDRM from an environmental point of view is the reduction of printed documentation.  So instead of printing hardcopy information and posting it to a customer or supplier you can email the information instead at a touch of a button.

3.    Give staff access to your Records management System from home

The daily commute of billions of workers from home to work is one of the largest contributors to the depletion of our environment. That includes you and your colleagues.  Therefore allowing members of staff to work form home will have a positive affect on the environment. There are also addition business benefits to be had. These include:

•    A happy and more productive worker force
•    The spreading of your business continuity risk
•    Reduction in office space needed and thus a reduction of costs

However in order to create a home working environment there are a couple of things that need to be completed, such as the scanning and uploading of all incoming mail to a records management system and a VPN (Virtual Private Network) so staff can access company information from home.

4.    Dispose of Your Information in an Environmentally Friendly Manner

When it comes to the disposal of your information it is a good practice to recycle your information in an environmentally friendly manner.  By recycling your paper, you are supporting the production of many types of recycled paper products.

If your information is confidential in nature, it may be a good idea to use a company who can shred and recycle your information rather than sending it straight to landfill.

The same can be said for your electrical and electronic equipment.  A huge number of electronic products such as computer screens, scanners and printers wear out or become obsolete.

Some components in most electronic products contain hazardous materials, such as lead, mercury, arsenic and cadmium. These toxics are not a problem when consumers use these products, but they can create environmental problems if they are thrown away with other waste. Therefore it is imperative that these items are disposed of in the appropriate manner and not just dumped.

By implementing some or all of the above changes your business can do its bit to maintain the environment.  Who would that through implementing a good records management policy we can help reduce our carbon emissions.

• DMG Group Information
• Document Management Information
• Scanning & Imaging Information
• Document Shredding Information
• Document Management Legislation