A big part of this transition is being found in the construction of new office buildings, which are taking a definitive green stance, following guidelines established by agencies here in the US.

This indicates that green concerns for businesses are found not just in office space policies like document scanning, but also in office spaces themselves.

This was a stunning fact found in the linked article:

It is estimated that buildings contribute around 30 percent of greenhouse emissions and use up around 40 percent of the world’s energy.

Closing out the piece is a statement we’ve made many times, and find in the foundation of why we want to help businesses move to a paperless office:

With the cost of greening a building or office space is decreasing and the benefits of doing so increasing, corporate occupiers should no longer ask whether a project can afford to go green, but instead ask whether their business can afford not to.

These changes are not just coming – they’re here.

Document management technology, security and document workflow means that workers no longer need to be co-located and this means:

- Working from home can be a real practical reality
- Office downsizing is an achievable goal
- Improved worker productivity means fewer staff

These are real costs any employer can get their minds around. The article is worth the read. It’s thorough and fair, which means it covers some of the ways that going through the document scanning process may not be as green as one thinks.

Give it a read. (And then call for a quote if you’re in Southern California – you’ll be convinced.)

It basically allows one to download and monitor their energy usage at the push of a (virtual) button.

Federal officials hope this kind of data liberation will inspire developers to build apps and services that will help customers track and reduce their energy consumption.

One study showed that subjects who were given access to their data reduced their usage by 8.7% just by tracking it. At scale, this could mean an annual savings of $32 billon per year on the country’s annual $369 billion power bill.

Those are some massive potential numbers, and all from something so simple. It seems we should have had access to this information for years.

As with most things, knowledge is power. In addition to digital documents and document scanning, this is something that all businesses should look at when considering their green policies.

Companies are becoming more naturally aware of how their functions affect energy usage and the environment, and that is leading to entirely new facets of their businesses.

Here are a few:

1) Chief Sustainability Officers Many Fortune 500 companies are adopting this position as standard. Their role is to analyze and implement greener initiatives throughout the company. In smaller operations, these duties are being adopted as an additional duty of someone in the chain of command.

2) New Products and Systems Especially in manufacturing, the exploration of cleaner and more energy efficient ways to do things can lead to entire new product lines.

3) Less Waste This one may seem obvious, but the effect on the bottom line is large enough to merit mention. Document scanning for business all on its own will cut down on paper waste, which cuts down on trash removal. Even on a small scale, this can count.

4) More efficiency Less paper and the ability to call up any document in an instant makes the office operate faster, saving hours and hassle for employees. This saves the business money in any number of ways, not the least of which is employees who are happy they can spend less time at work and more time with their family and friends.

This is only a partial list, but going green for business has many more advantages. Get in touch and let us help you move your business in a new direction.

More and more businesses are doing their part. Even with the holidays, numerous businesses have reached out for our document scanning services to get ready for 2012.

Here are three moves you can make right now.

1) Scan and digitize documents. Of all the ways to go paperless, this is the best one. (We list it first for that reason. That it happens to be our business is coincidence, promise.)

2) Fax-to-email. There are numerous inexpensive services that will allow you to send and receive faxes via the web. (Try Smartfax for one.)

3) Online signatures. These have been around for awhile, and they’ve really come into their own as far as usability, as well as something people feel secure with. (Echosign is a good one.)

You’ll be pleased to know that not only will these moves make you a greener, more eco-friendly company, but they’ll also save you money and make your office more efficient. Will it take some adjustment in your workflow? Of course, but what worthy thing doesn’t entail some effort?

In some cases, it’s the biggest step of all.

Of course, when looking at the large corporations of the world, they have a multitude of ways they can change their methods of doing business, and these can have an effect in two ways.

One, the literal reduction of their carbon imprint is significant when you’re talking about a company like Walmart, which heads this list of America’s greenest companies. (Others in the top ten include Whole Foods, Dell, Johnson & Johnson, Cisco Systems and Starbucks.)

The other effect a large company going green can have is by setting a trend. Especially when a “trendy” entity like Starbucks makes a change in their energy consumption, it can cause others to follow that lead.

In any case, the list of green companies is interesting, and hopefully makes you want to look through your business and see what you can do.

The combination of less damage to the environment and the money one can save by not having to store large volumes of paper is irresistible.

An article over at treehugger.com has a great list of places to get started in overhauling your office.

• Ahrend Eco-friendly office furniture
• AusPen Refillable white board markers & links
• EcoWork eco-friendly office furniture
• ForestChoice pencils from certified-sustainable cedar
• Geämi eco-friendly packing and shipping materials

That’s only a small part of the list – head over to their site for the rest. Of course, along with all of that, you’ll want to make sure your documents and files are digitized. Contact us now for a quote or more information.

If you’re a user of the search engine’s new social networking site, let us know so that we can add you to our circles. We’ll share info there on large document scanning, cloud storage, and more.

Check back next week for a new post on how a paperless office and digital file storage can help the green movement. (Beyond the obvious answer of “less paper usage”.)

While Apple owns +/-75% of this market with the iPad, recent entries using Google’s Android platform also show potential. This includes a custom build of Android that Amazon has placed in a device known as the Kindle Fire.

It’s a full-color tablet at a price of only $199, which is comparably affordable next to the iPad, the cheapest model of which is $499.

The Fire is primarily meant as a media consumption device, i.e. it’s for watching movies, reading, and listening to music. That said, it is a fully functional tablet. Can it compete with the iPad in regard to being useful for business presentations, email, document collaboration, etc?

With a few hacks, this may be possible, but if you’re not a technical genius of that sort, the recommendation is definitely to go ahead and spend for the iPad. It’s a more powerful device, has a bigger screen, and far more versatile, which will ultimately be more useful.

Beyond that, the iPad is a known quantity and brand. The name is almost synonymous with tablets, much like Kleenex are with tissues. If you’re serious about your business and your paperless office, spend the extra money.

That said, with the way things progress, this analysis is worth revisiting in a few months.

I definitely would’ve recommend most of the scanning options there, particularly the ones that work with your phone. When you’re eliminating/digitizing your old documents, there’s no use creating subpar files.

Get it done right, and by professionals. Scanning gas station receipts is one thing, but when dealing with your most important files, you want clear, perfect versions.