Earth Day: Reduce Paper Use and Prevent Identity Theft

At the workplace, paper recycling is one of the simplest and most effective ways to support and celebrate Earth Day, and to make a positive impact on the environment.

Earth Day was founded in 1970. While Earth Day is a day to raise awareness about the environment, it is also a day to remember the importance of identity theft protection.

Today, in the age of identity theft and economic uncertainty, concerns about data privacy have migrated from the home to the workplace. As research shows, 30% of SMB owners report that their companies have no cybersecurity measures in place, and 7% aren’t sure about their cybersecurity measures. Meanwhile, nearly 51% of small businesses admit to leaving customer data unsecure.

By taking steps to reduce paper documents containing employee and customer information in your workplace, you can help protect your business from identity theft (and earn yourself a spot on the “good person” list).

How to cut paper usage in the workplace

Many offices waste a lot of paper as part of their daily routine. Here are some simple, environmentally friendly ways to shrink paper waste: 

• Eliminate unnecessary printing: It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that every single form, invoice, or presentation needs to be printed, but this is rarely the case—and doing so can make the pages add up quickly. 
• Adjust your printer’s settings: Widen your printer margin settings to use less paper. Make sure your printer has been set to use draft mode, which uses less ink—particularly when printing in black and white. 
• Consider document conversion: If a document is meant to be saved for immediate access, consider scanning it instead of printing it. Document scanning and digitization can often help you convert large volumes of paper documents for easy access and file searches.

How to reduce identity theft in the office

Despite security measures, more than 46% of companies experience a data breach annually. To reduce paper waste and ensure that sensitive information is protected in your work environment, consider the following:

• Recycled paper: Recycled paper is more secure due to its difficulty to copy or scan as well as its ability to prevent identity theft since it’s difficult to lift prints from recycled paper.
• Enterprise content management (ECM): Companies can use secure ECM systems with encryption to protect sensitive documents from unauthorized users and ensure that only approved users have access to them. ECM software also helps businesses securely store and manage documents.
• Implement a retention schedule: Implement a document retention policy that identifies the retention period and destruction method for each type of document you store electronically or on paper.
• Use a secure shredding service: Professional paper shredding companies provide secure document disposal solutions—such as onsite shredding trucks, offsite shredding, and drop-off services—to protect clients’ sensitive data. When choosing a shredding company, make sure they use a secure destruction process that results in small pieces of paper that can be recycled, and that all shredded paper is sent to a recycling facility.
• Host a shred event: Hosting a community shred event helps promote identity theft prevention, increase employee participation, and boost morale among the workforce. They also provide a chance for employers to engage with employees and promote best business practices and sustainability.

Celebrate Earth Day with a secure destruction program

At VRC, we understand the importance of protecting your documents and hard drives. That’s why we offer a range of secure document shredding and hard drive destruction services that meet the highest security standards. Our VitalShred solutions guarantee that all your confidential information is securely destroyed in accordance with industry standards. We also provide our customers with a Certificate of Destruction for their records.

Our experienced team is available to answer any questions you may have about our services. We offer free quotes to help you determine the best solution for your needs. Learn more about how our VitalShred services can protect your business.