Thousands of copy papers are used in offices in most business environments every single day. While most of the copies being made end up filed or kept away in storage, a large number of them end up in the trash immediately either because they are no longer needed or contain errors and can no longer be used. While this practice might seem normal, it poses an information security risk to the particular organization that holds it.

These documents might contain valuable or confidential information and if they end up in the wrong hands, might cause problems for a lot the people involved. Therefore, such information should be destroyed by shredding and perhaps the paper recycled. All this should be done in a secure and safe manner. Here are a few reasons why every organization needs to develop policies that favor both security of their information and sustainability of the environment.

Compliance

The law requires businesses to protect private information of the people they deal with. There are even very punitive penalties that include prison time for not complying with the stipulated laws. Developing policies that favor sustainability and security therefore ensures compliance to these laws.

To reduce the risk of data breach

When papers are thrown away before they are shredded, they might land in the hands of criminals who may use the information within to commit all sorts of crimes. Companies should enlist the help of shredding service companies to ensure no valuable information goes out of the company unintended. The service provider should provide a proper chain of custody and secure lockable consoles for storage. It should also provide a means of shredding the papers either on-site or off-site. A cross-cutting shredder should be used and the resulting paper properly disposed or preferably recycled. This way, the information is totally destroyed with no chance of retrieval by any malicious party.

To save money and reputation

A data breach will most certainly result into loss of reputation and loyalty from customers. This will, in turn result into loss of revenue for the company. Therefore, well-handled documents will ensure that the company’s reputation is protected thus saving it money

To reduce theft opportunities

There is tremendous increase in crime rate at the work place. Most employees, once they have access to some confidential information, get the temptation to steal from the company or other employees. To reduce such opportunities, partner with a paper shredding Service Company that will ensure safe and secure disposal of all of your documents. You might also want to consider implementing the shred-all policy to remove the need for making the decision of what documents are confidential and which ones are not. This will also shorten the journey of any document from production to disposal.

A tidy desk policy will also go a long way in helping with this endeavor. With little or no documents on desks to spy on, employees will have less temptation with any confidential information they come across as that will be greatly limited.

To save trees

It is no secret that the rate at which trees are cut is not equal to the rate at which they are planted. This is, obviously, not a sustainable dynamic. There is therefore need to save as many trees as possible by reducing the need to cut them down in the first place. This can be achieved by recycling the papers that are already in circulation. When a company implements a shred and recycle program, they are saving dozens of trees in the forest and by extension, conserving the environment.

To reduce the amount of waste in landfill

Paper waste constitute about 17% of all garbage on the land. Without a proper paper disposal system, a company increases the amount of waste on the land. Therefore, company’s need a proper system for disposing paper that allows for recycling and not just dump them on the land and hope they decompose.

BY getting rid of papers that are no longer in use, a company also reduces the amount of floor space required to store old files. This not only reduces operation costs but increases effectiveness.

To create other environmental benefits

Paper recycling in Toronto can save other natural resources such as trees and by extension, water. It also reduces the greenhouse effect and saves energy. Recycling paper leaves room on land for the other types of wastes that cannot be recycled.

Both the security of documents and the conservation of the environment are matters that should be at the core of every business’s operations. These are great business practices that are not only good for the business and the people it interacts with but are also good for the environment. Environmental sustainability should be a goal of every company and if a healthy business practice can help to reach it, all the better!