Life Without Paper *

Since paper was first invented by the Egyptians, called papyrus, and later reinvented as the paper we use today by the Chinese, we have been consuming more and more paper every day.

Do you know how many trees are required to produce paper? It’s hard to believe, but twelve trees are needed to produce one ton of paper, and that doesn’t include the many necessary chemicals. Additionally, only 37 percent of the paper produced is recycled.

Trees are not the only precious resource being used to produce paper — 540,000 liters of water, on average, are needed for the production of one ton of paper. There is also the fuel consumption in transporting the trees and paper.

According to experts, 44 kilos of paper are consumed annually by every Brazilian, nearly one tree per inhabitant. In the United States, per capita consumption is 200 kilos of paper per year.

In your office or at home, you’ve already had the experience of wasting time looking for a piece of paper, like a receipt or invoice lost in the midst of many other papers. Perhaps you wished you had a search engine for your documents like you do on your computer when looking for a file or folder.

When computers first entered our lives more than 20 years ago, the idea of having electronic communication was born. Soon the Internet and email brought electronic communication into reality; however, after 20 years, we are far from eliminating the need for paper.

The arguments for getting rid of paper are even stronger today than in the past. By eliminating paper in cabinets, a company can create more space and reduce storage costs outside the workplace. Through the exchange of electronic information with suppliers and customers, a business can make information quickly accessible anywhere, ensuring privacy and security with the use of encryption, passwords and other security measures.

On the other hand, when trying to cut down on paper consumption, companies must consider the cost of computer equipment and software programs, as well what to do with the paper already in the office. Trying to eliminate paper in an office is not easy, as there are decisions on how and when to convert to electronic documents; what kind of paper or document to be considered; what to do with the documents still coming from suppliers and customers; providing training to the employees involved in adapting to a new system; and the most important, maintaining a normal work flow during this transition.

An additional hurdle faced by companies wishing to eliminate paper is the fact that no matter what they do, a person or company never can be completely paperless, at least not yet. Some documents, such as signed and sealed legal contracts, or paper records for audits for income taxes must remain in their original form for legal reasons, particularly those involving financial services to ensure regulatory compliance.

There is still no precise study on the statistics of paper consumption in the business world in Brazil. However, experts point out that in today’s digital world, a great deal of paper is being wasted from the lack of experience dealing with new technology. For example, 45 percent of office documents that are scanned end up being printed anyway. Part of the problem is many people still feel more comfortable having a document on physical media; they suffer from the syndrome whereby they need to touch it to believe it’s real. Because of fire, deterioration, water damage or loss, paper files also disappear, so paper documents are hardly one hundred percent safe either.

Our government agencies are at the forefront in the process of this revolution to move away from paper, as they are enormous consumers of paper and can also set standards for companies and consumers. The abandonment of the physical forms of Income Tax statements and returns; initiatives for electronic invoices; and digitizing legal proceedings in the new electronic environment are obvious examples of our government today moving away from paper.

To continue our efforts to use less paper, it is time for everyone - companies and individuals and the government - to invest in more computer equipment and software programs, employee training, and awareness campaigns. For example, you can start reducing the paper you use at home by asking your bank account manager to stop sending your account balance in hard copy every month to your home. Many banks already offer this solution, and instead you will receive a protected email with your current account statement or even your credit card invoice.

Another step for individuals is to stop using an appointment book to schedule events. Instead, try using a calendar on your computer or mobile phone. Even simple cellphones (aka dumb cellphones) have this feature, and as a bonus you can set reminders for appointments with an alarm so you won’t forget. With smartphones you can go even further: your personal appointment calendar can be synchronized with the Internet. Additionally, there are many applications available that can take a picture of a document and transform it into a scanned document and generate an image in pdf format ready to be sent by email, or to be stored on your computer or on the cloud, making it much easier to retrieve

As a last resort, if you really need to use paper, try to make notepads with scratch paper that can be reused. And when printing is absolutely necessary, use both sides of the sheet. There is no question that with a simple change of attitude and a few easy adjustments, many trees will be preserved.

* Article published on Curitiba in English.