subject: How Document Scanning Services Can Help The Environment [print this page] In this age of increasing environmental awareness, businesses and the public are generally moving towards greener ways of doing things, in every aspect of their lives. Electric cars, halogen bulbs and recycling are all very much a part of modern culture, due to the energy saving properties these products offer.
One of the main concerns of environmentalists is deforestation. Not only does this reduce the habitats for wild and endangered animals, but also creates conditions ideal for soil erosion, which can cause flooding and poor soil quality for future generations.
Paper, of course, is the main cause of deforestation on a grand scale throughout the continents. In fact, paper fills up 30-40% of US landfill space alone. It is estimated for every 100 kg of waste that is thrown away, 35 kg will be a form of paper.
But why do people still rely so heavily on paper? The answer lies in the fact that just a few decades ago, paper was used to document pretty much every official action taken place - medical records, governmental movement and contracts etc. But back in those days, there was no way of storing data as a digital medium. And many offices have yet to adapt to the digital age we are in.
Even some government institutions rely still on outdated systems of physically printing anything of note and keeping it in old fashioned, inaccessible filing systems that only the staff themselves truly know. Its a failure to adapt to modern times that is the real issue. But this can be combated quickly and effectively with the use of a professional scanning company.
This type of organisation can process thousands of documents each day, transferring old hard copies into a digital medium, augmenting the filing system into simple, easy to use digital format.
And dusty, old handwritten documents can be given a new lease of life. For instance, medical records can become text searchable, allowing a user to find an individual patients file with just a few touches of a keyboard.
From the moment that all old records get scanned and placed into a digitized database, from then on, every record and document that is produced can be kept in a completely secure, easy to navigate database.
The benefits of this are enormous. User / customer / patient experience is drastically improved, productivity and efficiency are optimized over night. Space that used to be filled with filing cabinets is now free for another use, and all old paper can be swiftly removed and destroyed as to avoid any chance of sensitive information falling into the wrong hands.
But far and away the biggest benefit is to the environment. It was estimated, in a recent industry report by the Environmental Paper Network, that cutting office paper use by just 10% would be the equivalent of taking 280,000 cars off the road and reducing greenhouse gases by 1.6 million tonnes.
Imagine a world where no paper was used. And if this fact doesnt motivate you enough, there are also huge savings to be made. Large companies can spend a vast amount of money on paper each year, and some governments have started offering subsidies to companies who comply with certain green regulations.
Once youve looked into the savings that can be made, both financial and in terms of carbon emissions, youll see theres no reason not to get your documents securely scanned. It could save you, and the Earth, a fortune.
