Electronic document management holds key to going carbon neutral

The ‘Greening Government ICT’ plan, published late last month by Minister for Transformational Government Tom Watson, highlights key areas – such as reducing printer numbers – that departments need to address. But, says Munns: “Document management systems … are crucial to achieving carbon neutrality by 2012 as they replace the printing-out, postage and manual filing of documents, with electronic processes.” Her point: quite simply that electronic document management systems, cut carbon dioxide emissions during toner cartridge manufacture, printing, photocopying and paper transportation. Munns is emphatic: “As each printer typically emits 456 kg of carbon dioxide each year and each tree typically absorbs 13kg per year, an incredible 35 trees need to be saved from destruction every year to offset just one office printer’s emissions. “When it’s also considered that every financial document arriving into an organisation is typically photocopied at least once, and an invoice can be photocopied up to 11 times, this creates a powerful case for implementing paperless processes.”