Soft Drinks Business Saves 454 Trees and 973 Tonnes of Carbon with V1 Document Management’s Solutions
Soft drinks business, Nichols plc, has reported saving 454 trees and 973.35 tonnes of carbon as a result of using V1 Document Management’s document management and imaging solutions over the last six years. Nichols plc sells and markets the Vimto brand across the world and the Sunkist and Panda brands in the UK.
Allan Doyle, IT Manager from Nichols plc, says, “The efficiency and cost savings as a result of using V1 Document Management’s solutions, including savings of over $160,000 each year, have always been clear. However the environmental benefits of using V1 Document Management’s software have proven more difficult to measure – up until now.”
Doyle continues, “With V1 Document Management’s green meter linked to our document management and imaging solutions, we have calculated that to date, our paperless processes have saved us 454 trees, 3,786,332 sheets of paper and 973.35 tonnes of carbon, which is a remarkable achievement.”
V1 Document Management’s green meter, launched in October 2009, enables the positive environmental benefits of using V1 Document Management’s software to be more accurately tracked. In particular, the green meter calculates CO2, paper and tree savings relating to the following actions:
- Distribution of a document by electronic mail
(rather than printing and posting the document) - Distribution of a document by automated fax
(rather than printing and posting the document) - Automated storage of an outgoing document
(rather than printing and filing the document) - Electronic document authorisation
(rather than photocopying and circulating the document).
The efficiency and cost savings as a result of using Version One’s solutions, including savings of over £100,000 each year, have always been clear. However the environmental benefits of using V1 Document Management’s software have proven more difficult to measure – up until now.
- Allan Doyle, IT Manager, Nichols PLC
The green meter calculations are based on a range of formulae, including those obtained from The Carbon Trust (using DEFRA tables). The carbon and paper savings are presented to users numerically as well as in an easy to understand tree graphic.
Doyle says, “We now know exactly how many trees and how many tonnes of carbon we have saved by replacing the printing, photocopying and posting of documents with automated delivery, authorization and storage. We will soon be using the green meter for real-time calculations of our paper and carbon savings so that we are always aware of the positive environmental benefits of paperless processing.”
Nichols plc will be providing all staff with visibility of the green meter calculations via its Intranet and will be using the information to highlight to employees how their actions have a direct impact on the environment.
Doyle adds, “At Nichols, we recognise that every one of us has a responsibility to the environment. This is why it’s important to be able to explain to staff how their actions may or may not be directly impacting carbon emissions. Solutions such as V1 Document Management’s green meter make this possible as employees are provided with clear evidence that if they choose to manually process a document instead of processing it electronically, they are a direct contributor to climate change.”
