Seven steps to eliminate paper from your workplace

Six years ago we went wireless and paperless. I have never looked back.  I made the decision after reading a success guide from the Google CEO.  I was becoming increasingly irritated with the state or our office and all the clutter that was amassing – most of which was paper-based. Not to mention the waste, cost and environmental conscious. I also found that some members of my team got into the habit of printing everything. Print, photocopy and file. Repeat. Because a printed email is clearly very useful to nobody ever.

I also noticed that if you give people paper they will find a reason to use it.  They will print something onto it, photocopy something onto it or write onto it.  These ‘uses’ all come with hidden costs to the bottom line, the planet and the office aesthetic.  Continuously having to replace printer cartridges and reams of paper is not cheap, nor is it necessary. Besides, there is the recycling aspect too – cartridges are dirty and add another layer to the recycling list = more admin and more strain on the planet.

I started to feel extremely guilty and decided this had to stop. Remove the paper and you remove the root cause.  Even business cards can go – they are pretty much obsolete in the world today as we emerge from lockdown and digital is the way forward - you really do not need printed business cards. Send your mobile contact to new connections via email, Whatsapp or simply text it to them.

My seven simple steps to eliminate paper from your workplace:

1.    Sell or recycle the printer and photocopier. Or donate them to a local charity

2.    Recycle all the paper in your office – once you are paper-free it is easy to remain paper-less

3.    Embrace the Cloud.  There is no need to print documents – signatures can be done electronically. Back everything up and nothing gets lost. Send emails or digital messages, not letters, unless of course it is a court summons

4.    Make sure everything in your workflow is digital. If it isn’t natively digital then look for an app or service to make it so – you will be amazed at what you can get rid of

5.    We have a guideline, which our team fully embraces, that simply says: the only paper allowed in the office is one (stunning) notebook

6.    There is no pride in having a paper mountain on your desk, is there?

7.    The paperless motto: a messy desk is a messy mind