Paper-less office

Opportunity lost.

When we all moved to using computers, there was potential for reducing paper use to almost zero.

According to Singapore’s Straits Times, a survey of 100 local companies showed that 43 actually used more paper than in 2005, when the last survey was done. I’m surprised it wasn’t all of them.

It’s a joke. I see the following craziness every day:

  • Paper backups of everything “for the auditors”
  • Printing out emails
  • Printing out meeting agendas, especially when they have only one or 2 items
  • Printing out student assignment submissions
  • Coordinating schedules via paper-based calendars

What we should require is:

  • Bring your laptop to meetings (I always do this. I have all the documentation I need, I can demonstrate websites, or articles, or whatever we are talking about)
  • Keep things in multiple soft copy (proper electronic backup is better than hard copy any day)
  • Remember that e-mails are “e”
  • Use collaboration tools like Google Docs rather than pass around paper copies for amendments

Get with the programme. Paper use must be significantly reduced.

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4 Comments on “Paper-less office”

  1. Steven Says:

    Think of the implications of all those trees ending up in landfill.

    Here’s a thought – education institutions should be totally paperless, especially if there is high usage of laptops or PCs.

    The students seem happy to use computers all day – why not require them to do so, to save the planet?

    Then, when they start work, they will already be comfortable in a paperless environment.

  2. zac Says:

    Good point, Steven. Republic Polytechnic in Singapore is “almost paperless“.

  3. Li-sa Says:

    And math (especially horrendous ones) should go electronic too!

  4. Reynir Says:

    About making educational institutions paperless, maybe we could use that sweet XO-1, designed for poor countries but just as useful to mass-produce for kids in richer countries.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OLPC_XO-1

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