GREEN BUSINESS VIEWS

Posts Tagged ‘paperless office’

Green Business Solutions

I was recently pleasantly surprised to discover yet another great idea for a Green business that allows employees to participate in a Green activity.  It actually applies more to the sustainability issues since it will reduce another demand on our resources and lessen the waste output.  We have all seen the weekly time cards that are hung at the entry area of the every workplace or factory.  One can only imagine the millions of these paper cards that are used every week by businesses everywhere.  Although these timecards are often recycled by the more conscientious businesses, they are also dumped into the trash.  Well, now there is a new biometric timeclock that allows employees to simply have their hands read by the machine and enter a code.  How cool is that?  By the way, it also prevents any co-workers from “clocking in” a late or absent friend.  This would be an obvious Green Practice that would improve sustainability efforts for the company in more than a few ways.

These biometric timeclocks are not expensive, and the savings (ROI) will be very quick. A business knows that the real costs are not just paper savings, but the time and energy it takes to prepare, pass out, collect, and read these cards.   Missing or faulty cards make the time investment even more onerous.  These systems are integrated into the company’s computer system, and information can be sent over the Internet for remote locations.  Smaller desktop models can track even more routine duties, or allow workers doing their job at home to check in.   I do like the idea of allowing workers to participate in an effective and sustainable practice within their daily duties.

Besides the complaint about “Big Brother,” it must be conceded that the biometric timeclock is an idea that offers a near perfect solution.  This concept represents the cumulative process that takes a company toward a more environmentally-friendly workplace.  Green infers a healthier workplace, which the biometric timeclock does not impact.  Sustainability refers to a lessening of demand on our natural resources (including waste disposal constraints).  Therefore, the classic view would that the biometric timeclock represents a low-cost, highly-effective, and sustainable application that should be considered in the larger sustainability plan.

While we are discussing paper, I want to emphasize the huge carbon, pollution, and transportation issue relative to unrestrained paper use.  Paper products compose abut 36% of municipal solid waste (MSW), and the best way to reduce this is not simply a recycling process, but a source reduction strategy.   The reduction of paper use by business is a long-delayed duty that will be very hard to overcome.  Nonetheless, think of the ideas that can be easily accomplished.

Get rid of your fax machines!  Get a monthly eFax service that converts outgoing and incoming faxes into an email format while enjoying the convenience of a fax.  eFax documents need not be printed out, but can be shared with anyone else by forwarding the information.  The cost of the phone line, fax machine, and paper required is quickly eclipsed by the savings realized by this kind of solution.  There are dozens of these online solutions, and the only talent required is the ability to send and receive emails.  The eFax service provides the number and converts everything for the user.

Duplexing of the printer is the popular “sustainable” solution, but source reduction is even better.  Cut paper out of the office as often as possible.  The speed of computers and the Internet has made this very possible.  Every business needs to investigate a paperless documents and retrieval system.   These changes provide for a local computer to act as the repository or an encrypted server from the provider allowing document access from anywhere in the world.  The challenge here is that the “ramp up” time is difficult; but once done, the freedom and speed of document access is remarkable.

Finally, move your invoicing to an online service.  Accounts receivable is a total hassle.  If your company is running off invoices, mailing, and tracking all your receivables, the company is living in the ice age.  Get an online service that bills customers online and allows them to pay by credit card as well as mailing in the payment.  This will reduce the labor, postage, and paper costs.  It will also speed up the payment cycle so more of your money is in your bank account rather than in a receivable ledger.

I have mentioned only a few of the ideas that should be in a sustainability business plan.  There are hundreds of pragmatic, cost saving, and environmentally-friendly solutions, but they are often applied in a piecemeal and patchwork manner.  I have argued for quite some time that there is a need for a trained adviser for companies who is capable of putting together a Green or Sustainability program that leads to eventual certification.  I suggest that a company outsource the task to a Certified Green Consultant, or to train their own in-house Certified Sustainability Officer.   Once the sustainability plan is in place and operational, the ability to then earn a reliable certification through the Green Business League provides a credible and exciting way to promote your Green business to the community.

When considering the basics of a Green business, some issues are fairly simple.  Paper use is a ubiquitous issue in any business, but to a Green business, it is a key component at every level of operation.  Although a simple issue, the life cycle analysis of paper is a classic example of what a Green business must address.  One of the foremost issues is the amount of paper that business throws out each year.  Paper and paper products compose 36% of municipal solid waste (MSW).  By volume, paper is the single largest category of what ends up in the land fills.  This is also one of the fungible elements of a Green business, because there are better solutions that are easily installed.

The upstream concerns of paper manufacture often start with the harvesting of trees that are eventually turning into wood pulp.  The process is something that is easily investigated, but the chemicals used are not mild.  One of the most problematic is the chlorine that is used to bleach the paper to a bright white color.  Waste water from pulp and paper factories is a relatively unreported issue, but the waste water includes various toxic chemicals like Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) which includes terpenes, alcohols, phenols, methanol, acetone, chloroform, methyl ethyl ketone; detergents and surfactants; dyes and pigments; acids; and alkaline solutions.

Some of the air pollutants released by the paper industry include carbon dioxide, nitrous oxides, sulfur dioxides, carbon monoxide, ammonia, VOCs and particulate matter like ash and dust. All in all, the making of paper could not be considered a Green process. When we consider the downstream impact of the waste created through paper products, the unmistakable conclusion is that paper use is a major environmental issue and one that can be easily improved.

Paper reduction strategies include printing both sides of paper, copying less, stopping junk mail and magazines as well as increasing email use.  We should not forget the importance of using recycled paper for the office.  There are dozens of simple ideas, but one very powerful solution seems to have escaped the environmentally-astute sources like the well respected NRDC.  The paperless office is not one of the Green solutions, but it should be.

Paperless solutions include: 1) Document storage and retrieval software, 2) Replacing fax machines with online services that turn faxes into email, 3) Software solutions for accounting, payroll, and billing, 4) Virtual meeting software that can eliminate travel and save time.

The problem with these Green solutions is that they are trouble to install and require a change to the office as well as training of the employees.  The early transition is a hurdle, but results are immense.  Installing these paperless solutions will reduce paper use, decrease paper waste, and will literally speed up the office.  The savings are not just in paper costs, but the fact that fewer employees can do more work.  The efficiency factor can save a business thousands of dollars in operational costs and will greatly impress your customers.

To be a Green business, it will take more than using recycled paper or double sided printing.  The paperless system is the best and the smart answer.  Software can be installed, but the Internet also provides these same services that allow information to be shared by employees and offices everywhere.  The Green Business League not only promotes these solutions among its member businesses, but uses these systems for their ownoperations.

Companies seeking to become Green Business Certified should locate a Certified Green Consultant in their community.   The installation of Green Practices will take any business from a general Greenwashing role to an authentic Green business.

Sustainable Business. Admittedly, one of my big issues in this industry is the misuse and lack of definition of the terms that we use. The word sustainable is a little better understood, but nonetheless badly used words in the grand dictionary of environmental terms. To start the process, it may be best to provide a terse definition for sustainability, and that is “Resource Management.”

The most popular definition of sustainability can be traced to a 1987 UN conference. It defined sustainable developments as those that “meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs”(WECD, 1987). Robert Gillman, editor of the In Context magazine, extends this goal oriented definition by stating “sustainability refers to a very old and simple concept (The Golden Rule)…do onto future generations as you would have them do onto you.”

This parallels the Great Law of the Iroquois Indians that stated, “In every deliberation, we must consider the impact on the seventh generation… even if it requires having skin as thick as the bark of a pine.” This belief parallels the concept of sustainability in a generation that had more than enough natural resources at their disposal. It should never be about how much we have to spend, but how well we spend it. The concept of stewardship infers that we really don’t own things but are temporary caretakers of whatever we presently control.

The sustainable business is frankly an important aspect of the overall picture since industry, business, or commerce uses a lot of resources with enough capital to be waste. A sense of expediency prevails in this community that creates a a “Whatever it takes” mentality. This needs to change, and it is changing albeit far too slow for the environmental crisis that we face. Therefore, the sustainable business model means a more responsible company that does not allow expedience to rule when given the choice between waste and conservation of our resources.

We know that the recycling mantra is, “Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle;” but the depth of application goes well beyond the trash container behind the building. It happens at every level of the business process. It involves energy, water, and waste management. It is a call to step into the modern era of business opportunity with a truly “Paperless Office.” It considers more than the marketing department boasting of Green merits, and promotes the Green purchasing processes of the company.

Does it come as a surprise that a “Sustainable Company” may not be a “Green Company?” Going Green is primarily about the “Health Impact” of the business, which starts with the Indoor Air Quality and considers the numerous issues that impact the indoor air and all that we do to essentially poison it.

Eventually, it becomes obvious that when we understand the depth and extend of the environmental issues, our present skill set, knowledge base, and limited activities are not enough to properly solve the problem. It is at this point that the astute business will seek out a Certified Green Consultant who can act as an outsourced Green Adviser to any company. If properly trained, the Certified Green Consultant will add another fantastic value to the company he or she serves. Going Green will literally save a growing business thousands upon thousands of dollars in ways most can’t imagine. Going Green is more than a health issue, even as being sustainable is more than preservation of resources. To the smart company, it is a huge money savings that pays sizable dividends year after year.

In a growing marketplace of web-based Green certifications that require only a fee of several hundred dollars and a promise to Go Green, the Green Business League offers a Green Business certification that is “Earned, and not Bought.” Do not be lured by shallow and hollow certification options. Only the Green Business League offers a program represents a honest program of Green Business certification.