Paperless office

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A paperless office (or paper-free office) is a work environment in which the use of paper is eliminated or greatly reduced. This is done by converting documents and other papers into digital form, a process known as digitization. Proponents claim that "going paperless" can save money, boost productivity, save space, make documentation and information sharing easier, keep personal information more secure, and help the environment. The concept can be extended to communications outside the office as well.

Contents

Definition and history

The IBM 2260 Console-ecran IBM 251-3-006.jpg
The IBM 2260

The paperless world was a publicist's slogan, intended to describe the office of the future. It was facilitated by the popularization of video display computer terminals like the 1964 IBM 2260. An early prediction of the paperless office was made in a 1975 Business Week article. [1] The idea was that office automation would make paper redundant for routine tasks such as record-keeping and bookkeeping, and it came to prominence with the introduction of the personal computer. While the prediction of a PC on every desk was remarkably prophetic, the "paperless office" was not.

In 1983, Micronet, Inc. attempted to trademark the phrase "The Paperless Office", but abandoned this application in 1984. [2]

In 2019, an analyst in New Zealand suggested that a more appropriate goal for an office may be to become "paper-light" rather than "paperless". [3]

In 2022, the CEO of Foxit marketed its firm's vision of the "paperless office" as having economic as well as sustainability advantages. [4]

According to one estimate, the worldwide use of office paper more than doubled from 1980 to 2000. [5] This was attributed to the increased ease of document production and widespread use of electronic communication, [5] [6] which resulted in users receiving large numbers of printed documents.

In 2014, an analyst in the USA asserted that "we are actually accelerating in our use of paper with the annual growth rate of the amount of paper produced by the average company standing at 25%. Each day, an estimated 1 billion photocopies are made." [7]

In 2024, the US EPA estimated that the "average American uses more than 700 pounds of paper every year - the highest paper usage figure per capita worldwide. In the last 20 years, the usage of paper products in the U.S. reached 208 million tons (up from 92 million), which is a growth of 126%." [8]

Some argue that paper will always have a place because it affords different uses than screens, for example by being more reliably accessible. [9] [10]

Environmental impact of paper

In the USA, over the 2005-2020 period, Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions from each ton of production of "paper and wood products" decreased by 24.1%. [11] Significant additional improvements in the carbon-intensity of the paper and wood products industry are envisaged by 2030. [12]

In 2024, the US EPA asserted that "There are environmental and public health impacts of paper usage. The pulp and paper industry is the fifth largest consumer of energy, accounting for 4% of all the world’s energy use. The share of the paper in municipal solid waste by weight is 35%." [8]

In 2003, the International Institute for Environment and Development noted that "There are two radically opposing views on [paper] consumption. In general, business argues that paper use can be made environmentally efficient and there should be no limits set on its consumption. Environmental and social groups, on the other hand, argue that such ecoefficiency can be helpful but this will not be sufficient to answer some of the moral demands for limited exploitation of the world’s natural resources." [6]

Environmental impact of electronics

A paperless work environment requires an infrastructure of electronic components to enable the production, transmission, and storage of information. [13] The industry that produces these components is one of the least sustainable and most environmentally damaging sectors in the world. [14] The process of manufacturing electronic hardware involves the extraction of precious metals and the production of plastic on an industrial scale. [15] The transmission and storage of digital data is facilitated by data centers, which consume significant amounts of the electricity supply of a host country. [16]

Eliminating paper via automation and electronic forms automation

The need for paper is eliminated by using online systems, such as replacing index cards and rolodexes with databases, typed letters and faxes with email, and reference books with the internet. [17] The E-Sign Act of 2000 in the United States provided that a document cannot be rejected on the basis of an electronic signature and required all companies to accept digital signatures on documents. Many document management systems include the ability to read documents via optical character recognition and use that data within the document management system's framework. While this technology is essential to achieving a paperless office [17] it does not address the processes that generate paper in the first place.

Securing and tracing documents

As awareness of identity theft and data breaches became more widespread, new laws and regulations were enacted, requiring companies that manage or store personally identifiable information to take proper care of those documents. Some have argued that paperless office systems are easier to secure than traditional filing cabinets, because individual accesses to each document can be tracked. [18]

Archival storage

See Digital preservation for a discussion of the issues in archival storage of digitized records.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Data storage</span> Recording of information in a storage medium

Data storage is the recording (storing) of information (data) in a storage medium. Handwriting, phonographic recording, magnetic tape, and optical discs are all examples of storage media. Biological molecules such as RNA and DNA are considered by some as data storage. Recording may be accomplished with virtually any form of energy. Electronic data storage requires electrical power to store and retrieve data.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hazardous waste</span> Ignitable, reactive, corrosive and/or toxic unwanted or unusable materials

Hazardous waste is waste that must be handled properly to avoid damaging human health or the environment. Waste can be hazardous because it is toxic, reacts violently with other chemicals, or is corrosive, among other traits. As of 2022, humanity produces 300-500 million metric tons of hazardous waste annually. Some common examples are electronics, batteries, and paints. An important aspect of managing hazardous waste is safe disposal. Hazardous waste can be stored in hazardous waste landfills, burned, or recycled into something new. Managing hazardous waste is important to achieve worldwide sustainability. Hazardous waste is regulated on national scale by national governments as well as on an international scale by the United Nations (UN) and international treaties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Environmental Protection Agency</span> U.S. federal government agency

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on December 2, 1970, after Nixon signed an executive order. The order establishing the EPA was ratified by committee hearings in the House and Senate.

A document management system (DMS) is usually a computerized system used to store, share, track and manage files or documents. Some systems include history tracking where a log of the various versions created and modified by different users is recorded. The term has some overlap with the concepts of content management systems. It is often viewed as a component of enterprise content management (ECM) systems and related to digital asset management, document imaging, workflow systems and records management systems.

An electronic document is a document that can be sent in non-physical means, such as telex, email, and the internet. Originally, any computer data were considered as something internal—the final data output was always on paper. However, the development of computer networks has made it so that in most cases it is much more convenient to distribute electronic documents than printed ones. The improvements in electronic visual display technologies made it possible to view documents on a screen instead of printing them . However, using electronic documents for the final presentation instead of paper has created the problem of multiple incompatible file formats. Even plain text computer files are not free from this problem—e.g. under MS-DOS, most programs could not work correctly with UNIX-style text files, and for non-English speakers, the different code pages always have been a source of trouble.

Records management, also known as records and information management, is an organizational function devoted to the management of information in an organization throughout its life cycle, from the time of creation or receipt to its eventual disposition. This includes identifying, classifying, storing, securing, retrieving, tracking and destroying or permanently preserving records. The ISO 15489-1: 2001 standard defines records management as "[the] field of management responsible for the efficient and systematic control of the creation, receipt, maintenance, use and disposition of records, including the processes for capturing and maintaining evidence of and information about business activities and transactions in the form of records".

Enterprise content management (ECM) extends the concept of content management by adding a timeline for each content item and, possibly, enforcing processes for its creation, approval, and distribution. Systems using ECM generally provide a secure repository for managed items, analog or digital. They also include one methods for importing content to manage new items, and several presentation methods to make items available for use. Although ECM content may be protected by digital rights management (DRM), it is not required. ECM is distinguished from general content management by its cognizance of the processes and procedures of the enterprise for which it is created.

Green computing, green IT, or ICT sustainability, is the study and practice of environmentally sustainable computing or IT.

Articles related to waste management include:

Information Lifecycle Management (ILM) refers to strategies for administering storage systems on computing devices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electronic waste</span> Discarded electronic devices

Electronic waste describes discarded electrical or electronic devices. It is also commonly known as waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) or end-of-life (EOL) electronics. Used electronics which are destined for refurbishment, reuse, resale, salvage recycling through material recovery, or disposal are also considered e-waste. Informal processing of e-waste in developing countries can lead to adverse human health effects and environmental pollution. The growing consumption of electronic goods due to the Digital Revolution and innovations in science and technology, such as bitcoin, has led to a global e-waste problem and hazard. The rapid exponential increase of e-waste is due to frequent new model releases and unnecessary purchases of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), short innovation cycles and low recycling rates, and a drop in the average life span of computers.

The Electronic Filing System is the Singapore Judiciary's electronic platform for filing and service of documents within the litigation process. In addition, it provides the registries of the Supreme Court and the Subordinate Courts with an electronic registry and workflow system; and an electronic case file. Recent enhancements have added a module which facilitates the conduct of hearing using documents that have been electronically filed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable Development Strategy in Canada</span> Sustainable Development in Canada

Sustainable Development Strategy for organizations in Canada is about the Government of Canada finding ways to develop social, financial, and environmental resources that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs in Canada. A Sustainable Development Strategy for the organization needs to be developed that establishes the Sustainable Development goals and objectives set by the Auditor General Act of Canada and provides the written policies and procedures to achieve them. Sustainable Development is based on responsible decision-making, which considers not only the economic benefits of development, but also the short-term and long-term, Canadian environment and environmental impacts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental impact of paper</span>

The environmental impact of paper are significant, which has led to changes in industry and behaviour at both business and personal levels. With the use of modern technology such as the printing press and the highly mechanized harvesting of wood, disposable paper became a relatively cheap commodity, which led to a high level of consumption and waste. The rise in global environmental issues such as air and water pollution, climate change, overflowing landfills and clearcutting have all lead to increased government regulations. There is now a trend towards sustainability in the pulp and paper industry as it moves to reduce clear cutting, water use, greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuel consumption and clean up its influence on local water supplies and air pollution.

Enterprise forms automation is a company-wide computer system or set of systems for managing, distributing, completing, and processing paper-based forms, applications, surveys, contracts, and other documents. It plays a vital role in the concept of a paperless office.

Executive Technologies, Inc. develops Enterprise Content Management, document management and document imaging software. The product is available for Cloud and on-premises use and uses Microsoft SQL for the document repository.

Computers and software have been used in dental medicine since the 1960s. Since then, computers and information technology have spread progressively in dental practice. According to one study, in 2000, 85.1% of all dentists in the United States were using computers.

A paperless society is a society in which paper communication is replaced by electronic communication and storage. The concept originated by Frederick Wilfrid Lancaster in 1978. Furthermore, libraries would no longer be needed to handle printed documents. "Librarians will, in time, become information specialists in a deinstitutionalized setting". Lancaster also stated that both computers and libraries will not always give us the information that other people and living life will.

Eco-friendly dentistry aims at reducing the detrimental impact of dental services on the environment while still being able to adhere to the regulations and standards of the dental industries in their respective countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental impact of bitcoin</span>

The environmental impact of bitcoin is significant. Bitcoin mining, the process by which bitcoins are created and transactions are finalized, is energy-consuming and results in carbon emissions, as about half of the electricity used in 2021 was generated through fossil fuels. Moreover, bitcoins are mined on specialized computer hardware with a short lifespan, resulting in electronic waste. The amount of e-waste generated by bitcoin mining is comparable to that generated by the Netherlands. Scholars argue that bitcoin mining could support renewable energy development by utilizing surplus electricity from wind and solar. Bitcoin's environmental impact has attracted the attention of regulators, leading to incentives or restrictions in various jurisdictions.

References

  1. "The Office of the Future", Business Week (2387): 48–70, 30 June 1975
  2. The Paperless Office Trademark Registration, United States Patent and Trademark Office , retrieved 16 October 2024
  3. "Should Your Office Go Paperless or Just Paper-Light?". The Information Management Group (New Zealand). Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  4. Xiong, Eugene. "The Sustainable Impact Of A Paperless Office". Forbes Technology Council. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  5. 1 2 "Technological comebacks: Not dead, just resting", The Economist, 9 October 2008
  6. 1 2 Knight, P. "A Changing Future for Paper". International Institute for Environment and Development. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  7. Glance, David. "Still not paperless after all these years". The Conversation. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  8. 1 2 "Identifying Greener Paper". EPA (United States of America). Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  9. Sellen, A. J., & Harper, R. H. R. (2003). The myth of the paperless office. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press
  10. "A cut too far: The people who can't give up paper". BBC. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  11. "2020 Sustainability Goal Achievements" (PDF). American Forest & Paper Association. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  12. "2030 Sustainability Goals" (PDF). American Forest & Paper Association. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  13. "The digital economy's environmental footprint is threatening the planet". The Conversation. 8 December 2019.
  14. "Digital Technologies Are Part of the Climate Change Problem". ICTworks. 20 February 2020.
  15. "Smartphones Are Killing The Planet Faster Than Anyone Expected". Fast Company. 27 March 2018.
  16. "Why Ireland's data centre boom is complicating climate efforts". Irish Times. 6 January 2020.
  17. 1 2 Walker, Richard (7 August 2009), "Achieving The Paperless Office" (PDF), Efficient Technology Inc, archived from the original (PDF) on 23 December 2018, retrieved 4 September 2009
  18. Hashmi, Ruheena. "E-Office: An Eco-friendly Advent of Cloud Computing Technology" . Retrieved 16 August 2016.

Further reading