Change of Invoicing Method from Paper Form to Electronic Form - Essay Example

One of our objectives at our enterprise is to have such processes in place that are environmentally friendly. We want to reduce the carbon footprint of businesses to as little as possible.

Carbon footprint is the total set of greenhouse gas emissions caused by an organization, event, product, or person. Greenhouse gases like carbon monoxide are the main cause of global warming. This global warming is presently the greatest threat to our planet Earth.
Why is the consumption of paper harmful to our environment and planet?

The per capita consumption of paper is high around the world. The Americans lead the pack with average per capita consumption of around 700 pounds per year. 42% of the world’s wood harvest is used by the paper industry.
Annual Per capita consumption of paper in different Regions of the World:
North America: 700 pounds per person per year.
Latin America: 100 pounds per person per year.
Eastern Europe: 100 pounds per person per year.
Western Europe: 400 pounds per person per year.
Australia & New Zealand: 300 pounds per person per year.
Asia: 80 pounds per person per year.

The paper industry is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. It contributes more than 9% to the greenhouse gas emissions of the manufacturing industry. In a country like the United States, the paper industry is the fourth largest emitter of greenhouse gases.
Paper accounts for approximately 30% of all landfill waste. Paper accounts for one-third of all municipal waste. Municipal waste accounts for more than 30% of emissions of methane. Methane is three times more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

Cutting down on paper use by even 10% would result in a reduction of emission of greenhouse gases by many million tonnes. The increasing use of recycled paper has offered some respite from the environmentally adverse impact of using paper.
Recycled paper consumes 44% less energy, and generates about 38% less greenhouse gas emissions, 40% less particulate emissions, 50% less water, 49% less solid waste, and 100% less virgin wood.
However, the demand for recycled paper is expected to exceed the supply by 1.5 million tonnes of recycled paper by 2017. However, the use of recycled paper is minimal in the printing and writing paper industry.
With the growth of emerging economies like Brazil, India, Russia, and China, the demand for paper has increased even more. According to some studies, the pulp and paper industry may be contributing more to global and local environmental problems than most industries of the world.

The manufacturing of paper requires the cutting down of rich forests, pollution in waterways, and destruction of natural habitats for many endangered wildlife species of the world. Besides this, paper mills also generate greenhouse gases and also some carcinogens.
In terms of emission of greenhouse gases, the paper industry has been placed third among all the industries.
The switch from paper invoices to electronic invoices:
The switch from paper invoices to electronic invoices will enable us to do our bit to reduce our consumption of paper. We can cut down the adverse impact caused by paper manufacturing only by cutting down our consumption of paper.

The electronic medium has provided us with an alternative to cut down our consumption of paper. We, therefore, now intend to bill our customers in electronic form rather than paper form. This will greatly eliminate our consumption of paper. The monthly paper statements will also be sent in electronic form.
Why our business is so committed to the environment:
Our small business is so committed to the environment because we are driven by stakeholder value creation. We are not driven solely by the maximization of shareholders’ wealth. Our key stakeholders are:

i) Community.
ii) Customers.
iii) Suppliers.
iv) Shareholders & investors.
v) Employees.
vi) State.

It is our concern for the community, as our most important stakeholder, that drives us to make this change which is a small step towards our contribution to protecting the environment in which we live and breathe in and which is the most important wealth of our community.
By serving the community through our environmentally friendly initiatives - like the proposed switch from paper invoices to electronic initiatives – we end up serving our customers because they are also members of the community.

If you accept our environmentally friendly initiative, kindly give your confirmation:
If you want to contribute to our environmentally friendly drive, kindly give your confirmation by providing your e-mail below:
Your e-mail id…………
In, the future all your invoices and paper statements will be sent in electronic form to your above-mentioned e-mail address. Read More