Going paper-lite in the workplace

There are numerous benefits to going paperless, including the ability to:

• Reduce waste and conserve natural resources -all the steps involved in paper production have singificant impacts on the environment.

• Reduced operational costs -digitizing internal paper-based systems reduces printing costs such as paper and ink cartridge purchases and the overhead costs associated with printing devices.

• Regained time for productivity- when content is stored centrally and correctly indexed, it’s quickly and easily accessible. Less time will be wasted searching for files, and documents can be quickly shared across the organization. You can edit and re-use  resources each year, with no need to hurriedly print materials before a lecture or tutorial. 

• Better security and compliance -physical documents are hard to track, paper can get lost, misfiled or destroyed without anyone noticing. It can also be difficult to monitor the access, printing and copying of sensitive files. Electronic security systems employ access controls which specify viewing privileges and audit trails reveal who accessed what documents, when, and exactly what changes were made.

• Eases transfer of information- with colleagues working together on projects it is much more efficient to access and collaborate using digital copies of documents, digital documents are easily accessible to multiple employees across multiple locations.

Start with a Vision

Get buy-in from top leadership and make sure everyone in your workplace is on board. This is achieved by ensuring everyone can see the benefits to them individually as well as the organisation as a whole.

Gather influential and supportive individuals from within your workplace and create a Paper-lite Working Group.

Audit paper consumption

 To effectively target reduction efforts and measure success, you will need to know how much paper is currently being used and on what applications. 

The Sustainability Office can assist in gathering printer information. Additionally, conducting a staff survey will help determinepro how paper is utilized within the workplace. Focus on the high users to understand their specific paper applications.

Set a Deadline

Now that you know how much paper is being used and on what applications you can develop a reduction plan. Ensure everyone is on board, as it’s time to get serious. You will need to define a goal within a reasonable deadline.

Digitize: convert your existing documents from paper to digital

Before you begin the process of going paperless, you also need a plan for what to do with all your existing paper. It’s one thing to move to a paperless work environment for the future, but what about all the old documents you have now?

Arm yourself with the right technology and tools and embed paperless best practices.

Going paperless at work will be much easier if you have the technology and tools in place to support your efforts. However, tools and technologies are useless if you don’t feel confident in using them.

Check out the Paper-lite best practices below. 

Review and digitize your business processes

Ask yourself, are there areas where your team is using paper to get things done when they could just as easily do it electronically?

Track results over time and celebrate

Maintain momentum by celebrating your little paper-lite victories along the way.

REDUCE

• Paperless forms- Use digital signatures- digital signatures are currently becoming more and more legally binding. How do I create a digital signature in Adobe Acrobat DC?

• Update internal procedures- Is your workplace still using paper-based processes? Is so, begin updating internal procedures to use digitized documents instead of paper. Make it a MUST to submit any paper electronically.

• Encourage digital collaboration-  Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, and associated services form part of a modern collaborative workspace available to UQ staff and students. Learn more about UQ's Digital transformation here. 

• Make events paperless. Event planning and management tools make paperless events easy!  For detailed information on how to hold a sustainable event, check out the Sustainable Events Guide.

• Reduce paper flow with vendors and suppliers- communicate your goals to your vendors, and enlist their support in switching to electronic solutions such as:

• Electronic order processing
• Paperless invoices and statements for customers
• Electronic invoicing from and payment to vendors
• Internal online routing of documents for approval
• Sharing electronic documents and publications with vendors

• Meetings and Lectures- circulate materials in advance and let participants know you will not provide hard copies.

REUSE

• Make simple note books from leftover single-sided printed paper, such as received faxed documents.
• Provide a place to store used folders, files and covers and ask staff to reuse these items.

RECYCLE

• Choose paper with a high post-consumer recycled fibre content. More information can be found within the Sustainable Purchasing Guide - Paper.
• Place paper in paper wheelie bins for recycling.

The UQ Library offers workshops in software, research skills, and publishing and research management.

LinkedIn Learning is also one of the largest software and skills training websites and is free for UQ students and staff. LinkedIn Learning provides courses and video training for key software applications used at UQ including:

•   Word
•   Excel
•   PowerPoint
•   Outlook
•   Adobe Acrobat DC
•   Illustrator
•   Premiere Pro
•   Photoshop
•   R
•   Python

For more information on going paperless in your UQ workplace, please contact the Sustainability Office.