Document Management is Crucial to Public Sector's Green
IT Strategy
Following the publication of the Government’s Green IT
strategy, ‘Greening Government ICT’, which aims
to make public sector IT carbon neutral by 2012, Lynne Munns,
General Manager of Version One, stresses the important role
document management systems must play in meeting Government’s
green IT targets.
The ‘Greening Government ICT’ plan recently published
by the Minister for Transformational Government Tom Watson highlights
key areas public sector departments need to address to achieve
carbon neutrality by 2012. These include cutting the number
of printers across the organisation and reducing the amount
being printed. The plan holds Chief Information Officers and
Finance
Directors responsible for achieving Government’s ICT targets,
with Finance Directors being tasked with ensuring that the environmental
consequences of ICT procurements are fully evaluated.
Lynne Munns, General Manager of document management and imaging
company Version One, says, “If public sector bodies are
to cut the number of printers across their organisations and
reduce printing, they need to invest in document management
systems. These systems are crucial to achieving carbon neutrality
by 2012 as they replace the printing-out, postage and manual
filing of documents with electronic processes for document creation,
delivery, management and storage.”
By moving to electronic document management systems, organisations
reduce paper-use and significantly cut CO2 emissions as carbon
is no longer emitted during the manufacture of toner cartridges,
during the printing process, whilst photocopying paper and whilst
transporting paperwork.
Munns continues, “As each printer typically emits 456
kgs of carbon dioxide each year and each tree typically absorbs
13kg of CO2 per year, an incredible 35 trees need to be saved
from destruction every year to offset just one office printer’s
emissions. When it’s also considered that every financial
document arriving into an organisation is typically photocopied
at least once and an invoice can be photocopied up to eleven
times, this creates a powerful case for implementing paperless
processes.”
To view the full ‘Greening Government ICT’ strategy
document, which sets-out the steps public sector bodies need
to take to reduce their carbon footprints and achieve carbon
neutrality,
visit:
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/~/media/assets/www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/publications/
reports/greening_government/greening_government_ict%20pdf.ashx
If you need any further advice on what document management system
is best for you organisation, please feel free to contact
Euro Data Services
and Management Solutions Ltd. |
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