Businesses miss out on green opportunities

European business leaders are missing opportunities to reduce their environmental footprint and drive efficiencies through document governance, according to research from Ricoh, an electronic solutions provider. In a press statement, the company also added that: "ongoing sustainability improvements will be challenging for many businesses because of the absence of consistent measurement and auditing processes."

According to the research, very few European businesses set targets for auditing the environmental aspects of their document governance; although 67% of the senior managers surveyed set cost targets for document governance, only 41% set environmental targets. Additionally, most businesses have adopted a decentralized approach to document governance, which means they are overlooking simple tactical actions that, according to Ricoh, can make an "immediate and positive impact" on sustainability.

In its press statement, the company explains that only 18% of businesses have implemented a company-wide policy concerning duplex printing (printing on both sides of the paper), and almost half of business leaders (47%) are unfamiliar with their company's recycling policy.

Ricoh believes that the key to addressing the issue is a centralized document governance strategy that "delivers insight across the whole organization and provides factual data upon which success and savings are monitored and new areas for improvement set".

In the press statement, Tom Wagland of Ricoh Europe's Environmental management Group explained: "Despite sustainability being an important fixture on the business agenda, and documents making up an essential part of day-to-day business operations, there remains a lack of awareness of the role that document governance can play in driving both environmental and business efficiencies. Businesses need to act now by taking some simple steps to improve the way they are managing and controlling their document workflows."

www.ricoh-europe.com