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February 2010: In This Issue
- Datafile Green Records Management Toolkit Ready to Download! »
- Records Management Programs Going Green »
- tabZEROfile: Now Even More Green »
- What your Colleagues are Reading »
Dear Records Manager,
From bolstering your bottom line to benefiting your brand, green practices are a wise business strategy. Can records management help? You bet. Find out how with our Green Records Management Toolkit.
Questions? Comments? Something you'd like to see? Get in touch!
Regards,
Datafile
 Why make your RM program environmentally friendly? It's good for business.
From the cost savings associated with resource conservation to increased consumer and shareholder confidence, proactive steps to protect the natural environment can directly translate into an improved bottom line.
Your records management program can be a tremendous asset in helping green your brand, and we've put together a great toolkit to get you there.
The toolkit contains the following resources:
Tool 1: Green RM Self-Assessment Tool
Answering the questions in our needs assessment tool will help you determine how green your program is and help put your organisation on the path to more environmentally-friendly management of your records.
Tool 2: Tips for a Green RM Program
This resource has everything you need to develop an environmentally sound records management program that manages paper, electronic and other media across each phase of their life cycle.
Tool 3: How to Design a Green File Storage Solution
Get great strategies for designing and maintaining a file management solution based on equipment and supplies that can help reduce the environmental footprint of any organisation.
Tool 4: Check Out Our Breakthrough in Green Filing!
With tabZEROfile, we've created a 100% recyclable, carbon neutral folder. Even the packaging is recyclable and reusable! Read about how tabZEROfile's improvements can help you to become even more green below.
Download the entire toolkit here!
2. Records Management Programs Going Green
 Based off the results of a recent survey of records managers, it is clear that times are changing and the environment is becoming more of a priority.
When it comes to the environment, most organisations are doing what they can to make the RM programs greener. In fact, over 70% of respondents said that their organisation had a program in place to address their environmental impact!
In this article we'll take a look at what that means: what's driving the change, what impact is it having on corporate behaviour, and the actual steps organisations are taking to become more environmentally friendly.
Green Drivers
The environment is a contentious issue, and knowing what to do or even why you should do it can be confusing. One of the main arguments for taking action put forward by environmentalists is that being "green" makes sense because ultimately it is in line with our interests, business or otherwise.
Well over half of the survey respondents indicated that the cost savings coming from making more efficient use of expensive resources was the biggest single driver. Increasing consumer and shareholder confidence, as well as compliance with environmental regulations are also significant factors in driving green RM programs.
Taking Action
Ensuring that environmentally friendly RM products and practices are used wherever possible is a very effective and popular way to support green initiatives. In fact, the results show that this can go beyond simply modifying your purchasing patterns to include:
- Paper use reduction programs
- Paper re-use or recycling programs
- Green paper purchasing programs
The data gathered in this area did show a lag in addressing the reduction of packaging, however, only with 33% of our respondents indicated they had a program in place.
The Electronic Answer
One very significant trend that emerged from the survey was the increasing role that electronic format records are playing in the effort to green RM programs:
- Over 90% of respondents indicated that they were creating and retaining records in electronic format, while actively discouraging the creation of paper copies
- Over 50% had implemented electronic document management systems to replace multiple paper copies with one electronic version
- Over 80% were pursuing electronic imaging and transmission options as an alternative to transporting paper across different locations
That is great news for the environment!
Changing Times
Clearly, organisations and their RM personnel are concerned with making a difference when it comes to the environment. The reality is that greening your RM program can have a significant effect on your organisation's environmental impact, which is just good business practice. RM looks set to continue to lead the way in this area, with the use of electronic records, imaging and transmissions comprising a significant part in the reduction of paper use.
If you want to find out more about how to make your RM program more environmentally friendly, contact Datafile contact Datafile today.
3. tabZEROfile: Now Even More Green!
 As we continue to reduce our carbon footprint and help our clients meet their green initiatives, we've made a bold decision to move from recycled paper to a more eco-friendly option. We will now be making our tabZEROfile products with Sustainable Forest Initiative (SFI) certified paper products!
SFI Sustainable Forest Initiative certified paper products are carbon neutral and come from recognized, responsible forest sources that are managed to the highest environmental stewardship standards.
So why are we doing this? When you factor in the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions associated with transporting recycled paper to the mills, as well as the energy consumed reprocessing the material, recycled paper is simply not as environmentally sound as newer solutions like SFI products.
Soon, with tabZEROfile, we can say that we have a product that is greener than ever before. Our tabZEROfile products made with SFI certified paper products will be available in April. For more information on our current offering of environmentally friendly tabZEROfile products please visit our website. For more information about SFI please visit www.sfiprogram.org.
4. What Your Colleagues are Reading
 Want to know what your colleagues are reading? These are some of our most popular recent downloads:
TAB Guide: Taking the Risk Out of Records Retention
Legal compliance, archival requirements and other important factors make it crucial to be conservative when it comes to records retention. But keeping unnecessary records can expose your company to legal liability too - and wastes valuable storage space and resources.
So - what do you keep and for how long? What about electronic documents? What are today's very best practices, and how will your company benefit by implementing them?
- What we mean by records retention
- How to get the benefits of records retention
- How to implement a retention schedule
- What to look for in your records collection
- Issues to consider
Download our comprehensive and informative guide here.
M&A Records Intake Assessment Tool
What is the best way to handle incoming file collections during a merger?
Determining whether newly acquired records are subject to standard RM controls, and if those controls are consistent with your own, can be an enormous challenge. You need to be proactive about addressing the legal requirements, business risks and practical concerns associated with new collections.
We've put together an Intake Assessment Tool to help you do this, designed to be used in conjunction with our guide to Best Practices for Mergers and Acquisitions.
Using the answers and action items generated by completing this tool will ensure that new collections don't ensnare your RM program in undue risk, redundant documents, and inconsistent application of standards.
This assessment will help you with:
- Intake planning: Identifying all collections to be acquired
- Program assessment: Standardising controls across all collections
- Collection-level audit: Identifying gaps
- Action plan: Action items to address gaps
Download this valuable resource here.
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