“Going Green” Benefits Everyone!
If you think the concept of “going green” is only a recent development in the efforts of businesses and individuals to conserve precious natural resources and make our environment at least a bit more sustainable – then think again!
The fact is, that many businesses, both large and small, have for decades tried to be forward thinking, and to include what are now commonly called “green initiatives” into their business plans. It also makes good business sense, because “going green” does not have to be an either/or proposition. “Thinking green” can save money, increase efficiency, enable a business to serve customers better, and help the environment all at the same time!
Regardless of the common cry that “evil business empires” are ruining the United States’ pristine natural resources in their quest for profits at all costs, smart businesses have learned that adopting green technology helps the environment at the same time it helps to reduce business overhead and increase the bottom line.
In 1996, InsureDirect.com became one of these early innovators. As President, I was very concerned with the amount of copy paper our Lansdale, Pennsylvania location was purchasing annually. I wasn’t happy with either the expense or the thought of where all the paper we were printing was going to end up. I estimated that we were purchasing over 50 Million Sheets of paper every year… All that blank copy paper was costing InsureDirect near twenty five thousand dollars a year! And, everyone knows that business expenses are ultimately passed on to the consumer. We performed a utilization audit and discovered much of the paper we were using was utterly wasted on copying and recopying the same new insurance applications for the purposes of filing, reporting, and forwarding information to our insurance carriers.
I shared my concerns with our duplicating vendor, and learned about what was then a new technology where a business could scan any document into a computer, and then have that scanned document forwarded via Fax, sent by Email, and stored as a permanent record on a computer hard drive. The technology could even convert the printed words on a paper form into searchable text, so that even more efficiency and greatly enhanced customer service could be realized when searching for an important document or record of an insurance transaction.
So, not only were we able to use document scanning technology to reduce our purchasing of copy paper by 80% (and save a good number of trees in the process), we also eliminated the need to constantly buy new filing cabinets every month to store new business applications. Not only did we end up saving $200 on the purchase of new filing cabinets each month, we were also able to reduce the area we needed to heat – over 1000 Square feet of office space being used to house nearly 100 Filing cabinets – reducing what’s come to be known as our ‘carbon footprint’ by a significant amount. These changes also reduced our monthly expenditures, which allowed us to repurpose those funds into hiring more customer service personnel. That not only provided our customers with a better experience, it also helped establish Insuredirect.com as an organization that excels in serving our customer’s needs in everything from getting the right coverage at the lowest possible price to resolving any service issues with industry leading efficiency.
Today, with these measures having been taken 13 years ago, I estimate that InsureDirect has saved nearly 100 trees and passed on the savings of what would have been over $100,000 in copy paper and filing cabinet purchases.
So, if you’re a business person, even if you haven’t really been thinking of ways to include Green technology in your business, taking your company paperless is a great place to start. The savings to your business and your contribution to helping the environment will be a plus for everyone in your community! And, if you’re a potential customer of InsureDirect, consider that our commitment to green business practices not only helps our business to run more efficiently and to keep our planet healthier, but also delivers a better buying and customer service experience to you at the same time. Going Green is one of those rare win/win opportunities where everyone can benefit!
-Mike
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