Earth Day to Earth Life: Implementing a paperless lifestyle

Happy Earth Day! By this point, you’ve probably planted a couple of trees, taken out the recycling, cleaned up a park, went for a bike ride and maybe even threw out tax documents from 15 years ago. I know many of us have! Give yourself a pat on the back, you and millions of other people (including us here at Metafile!) made yourselves feel pretty darn good about the positive impact you have on the earth for a few hours! Don’t get me wrong, we love the Earth Day motivation, but that motivation often disappears at 11:59 on April 23.

So, how can you keep up that “Go Green” attitude all year long? Here are some tips:

• Implement paperless processes – Choosing the right financial and ERP software can help your office go paperless without even having to think about it. Documents are routed, coded and filed electronically, so you maintain a paperless lifestyle effortlessly.
• Spread the paperless wealth – Once you’ve gone paperless in one department, it’s time to get other departments on-board. There are processes and procedures to help companies reduce paper in every department. Go beyond accounts payable and automate paper processes all across the enterprise.
• Recycle all that paper – Even though you’ve implemented the proper software to go paperless, it may be hard for you to let go of all those boxes and filing cabinets filled with documents. But it’s time to let go of your paper security blanket once you’ve automated your procedures and converted your documents to an electronic format.
• Make it personal – Go beyond business processes and make personal changes to keep up that Earth Day motivation all year. Be mindful of how much paper you’re using at home, of your electricity and water usage, that you are recycling and using reusable grocery bags, that you’re biking or walking when possible and that you are personally reducing your environmental footprint.

Let’s ban together and help Earth Day become Earth Life!