Paperless office - helping save the planet

I am an advocate of paperless office for 15 years and counting. As the years pass and Global Warming debates heated up, the dream of a paperless office remains a dream to many. Although there have been a lot of effort spent by corporations to introduce paperless offices it somehow doesn't work. Why?

The difficulty until today is that the use of printed materials is an essential part of our working environment since printing press was invented. No matter how much companies try to promote a paperless office there are still items to be printed and we still read a lot of printed materials. It seems that everyone still relies on paper for everything we do at work. Most people still prefers reading a printed materials compared to a monitor display, accountants and book keepers still rely on printed receipts as proof of payment, bills are still sent on paper... and the list goes on.

We all know by now that the use of paper is not at all good for the environment, its not as bad as burning fossil fuel but a little adds up to a greater volume. Furthermore the accountants know that if we avoid printing something we save large amounts in office supplies (pen, paper, clips, staples, glue, etc). So why are we so reliant in printed materials? How can we contribute into making paperless office a reality?

This should be a simple stage approach not a complete overnight change since we can't change our culture and identity overnight. Let's start with the small things such as flight tickets and boarding pass. Electronic tickets has been around for 10 years but we still print the electronic ticket to bring it to the airport for check-in. So how about not printing that ticket and simply check-in online. By doing so we save a few leaves of paper and hassle at the airport. How about the boarding pass? Well today you can use your frequent flyer as identification for boarding, if you don't have one you can use your mobile phone. Mobile phone? Yes! When you check-in online have your boarding pass sent to your mobile phone and then you use your
mobile phone to check in. Its not yet available on all airports but its on the plans. Using your mobile phone to check in also validates the mantra of single device for multiple applications. Just imagine what if you only need your mobile for almost everything you do that requires identification. It is now possible...

Now back to the office, perhaps we can all refrain from printing anything we can view on our computer screen, the display technology has advanced so far that you can customise all your reading requirements in a high definition environment.

How about in meetings? Do you really need to write down everything in a piece of paper? Richard Branson might not agree with me but we can practice the art of remembering what was discussed and agreed during a meeting and saving the environment at the same time. There's nothing wrong in using your memory once in a while, you might find out that it is good for your personal development too.

The new paperless revolution has set-in, are you a part of it? Are you helping save the planet for the future generation? Or do you still live in the past.