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