Paper? Seriously? World Paper Free Day 2015 Calls For An End To The Global Paper Chase

Many businesses are still overly reliant on paper – which is why AIIM’s World Paper Free Day looks to remind us of practical ways to de-clutter the workplace

Organizations all over the world are being encouraged to take the ‘paperless pledge’ and go paper-free for the day, as part of this year’s World Paper Free Day on November 6.

The latest edition of this popular global campaign is about challenging us to take solid steps on the path to using less paper and eliminating the waste and confusion that piles of office paper can create.

According to sustainability charity WRAP¹ (Waste and Resources Action Program), the average office worker uses up to 45 sheets of paper per day, of which more than half is considered waste.

“It is hard to believe that in 2015, so many of us are still so reliant on paper,” said the president of the organization behind the push, John Mancini of information professional membership group, AIIM.

“It is slow, inefficient and terrible for the environment. There are much better options available, with more and more technology dedicated to reducing use of paper.”

AIIM conducts annual research into the state of the paperless office, and early results from this year’s research, ‘Paper-Free Progress: measuring outcomes’, shows that 31 percent of business executives admit their office is piled high with paper documents.

AIIM’s research consistently shows that not only does paper create expensive waste, but it also clogs up business processes. By digitizing content, enterprises can improve their ability to serve customers quickly and effectively, facilitate collaboration, improve access to information for team members, and increase overall productivity.

“We will never get rid of paper entirely,” says Mancini, “but the volume used unnecessarily every day is mind-blowing. World Paper Free Day is all about asking people in workplaces around the world, to think a bit harder about whether they really need to press that print button. We all know that that’s the best way to help your business flourish, as well as protect the environment.”

Businesses and individuals alike can register for World Paper Free Day and get a WPFD Pledge Kit including social badges, by completing a simple online form. For each registration, AIIM will make a donation to One Laptop per Child, the non-profit organization offering laptops for children in developing countries.

AIIM would also like people to get behind the campaign by sending photos of the adverse or unproductive ways that paper affects their work life. Fujitsu is offering five of its ScanSnap iX100 mobile scanners as prizes for the most extreme ways. All you have to do is Tweet your picture between now and November 6 using the hashtag #WPFD.

Prizes will go the most creative and humorous efforts!

About AIIM
AIIM has been an advocate and supporter of information professionals for 70 years. The association’s mission is to ensure that information professionals understand the current and future challenges of managing information assets in an era of social, mobile, cloud and big data. Founded in 1943, AIIM builds on a strong heritage of research and member service. Today, AIIM is a global, non-profit organization that provides independent research, education and certification programs to information professionals. AIIM represents the entire information management community, with programes and content for practitioners, technology suppliers, integrators and consultants.

¹ http://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/WRAP_Green_Office_Guide.pdf