REDUCE our printing - go paperless
Case Studies
There are many ways we can change our printing habits to help benefit our organisation and the environment. Small changes can collectively have a big impact and help to reduce costs or improve how we work.
By working together and everyone making changes to how we print we can all make a real difference and help support our city's climate change agenda to become net zero. So, remember to "Think Before You Print" and be part of this change.
What is saving the same energy as watching 22,000 hours of TV?
Customer and Business Services, in Financial Services, worked in partnership with Education Services to move primary school placing requests online - previously this was done by completing paper forms. This change has improved the customer journey by providing a more efficient and convenient service. It has reduced paper usage, freed up staff time to complete other tasks, and contributes to reducing our carbon footprint and protecting the environment.
Linda Rae, Operational Delivery Manager said: "Parents/carers who were making a primary school placing request either had to be sent the form in the post or they had to visit the school to collect a paper copy - meaning large amounts of paper were being printed. Replacing this paper-based process with an online placing request form has not only made it simpler, quicker and more convenient for parents/carers, but it has also resulted in a 90% reduction in our paper usage. This is a saving of nearly 10,000 sheets of A4 paper per annum.
"The parent/carer also benefit from the online system sending automated responses meaning they get immediate confirmation we have received their application form. It also provides our team time to focus on other tasks."
This change is a great example of how a small change can benefit staff, improve the customer experience and the council's carbon footprint at the same time.
10,000 sheets of paperis equivalent to 60 kg of CO2 and has the same carbon footprint as 22,000 hours of TV.
How are we saving the same energy as charging 12,000 smart phones?
The Claims team, Financial Services, have moved to using online forms to process claims. This has delivered many benefits for both the customer and the council - citizens receive a more efficient service, such as reduced waiting times and we are reducing our carbon footprint and costs by reducing the amount of paper being used.
Blair McLelland, Clerical Officer, Financial Services said: "Our team process all the incoming claims for the council, around 2,700 per year. Previously, our claims process involved sending out a five-page double-sided form for claimants to complete meaning there was a lot of manual processing and large volumes of paper being used. By moving to an online form customers can submit their details easily and quickly. Our processing times have also reduced as basic information is prepopulated, so no manual input is required from the team."
"The whole claims process has also been streamlined since the data is now integrated directly into our claims system. This saves the team additional manual work scanning any supporting evidence, as customers can upload documents as part of their claim. Communications with customers have also been enhanced as email responses and updates are generated automatically from the system."
These changes deliver a more efficient service to our customers, and reduced paper usage by 13,500 sheets and 2,700 envelopes per year - helping to reduce our carbon footprint while supporting the wider aspirations of our Digital Glasgow programme and Customer Strategy.
Combined the equivalent emissions of the paper and envelopesis 97.2kg of CO2 and is equivalent to the energy it takes to fully charge over 12,304 smartphones.
How many cups of tea is 'Behind the Kettle' saving from being made?
In Glasgow Life approximately 50% of staff do not have access to a computer at work. To ensure non-pc facing staff were receiving the same communications as pc facing staff line managers used to print out a weekly newsletter and these were displayed on noticeboards in break rooms or used to communicate key messages to staff at face-to-face meetings.
Elaine McGregor, Assistant Communications Officer, Glasgow Life said: "In June 2023 Glasgow Life introduced a new intranet site and because you still needed a work pc to get into it, we created a hidden page on the external website called Colleague Information so non-pc facing colleagues could access the same information from their personal devices; providing all staff with access to staff news, payroll information, HR policies and forms.
"Alongside this, the Communications team introduced a monthly newsletter poster called 'Behind the Kettle,' specifically aimed at non-pc facing colleagues, to keep them up to date with the latest news, and signpost them to more information such as surveys and offers by using QR codes."
The introduction of both these new communications channels, has reduced printing across Glasgow Lifefrom approximately four A4 newsletters a week to one A4 poster a month - across over one hundred venues this is equivalent to 19,600 sheets of paper and is equal to the emissions of making1,656 cups of tea.
A great contribution to the council family's commitment to sustainability, while providing new communication channels to both pc and non-pc facing staff.
iPads are saving the same emissions as sending how many selfies?
Over the last few years teachers across Education Services have been making use of technology - using iPads in classrooms has introduced different ways of learning, reduced photocopying and printing, as well as saved time and simplified work such as marking homework.
Elaine McShane, Acting Deputy Head Teacher at Saint Philomena's school said: "iPads enable teachers and learners to be more creative with the school curriculum. - it helps us to significantly reduce the number of printed and photocopied resources we use, and it has introduced new and innovative ways to increase engagement and overcome barriers to learning.
Showbie is an app used by teachers to assign, collect and review pupils work, ensuring robust feedback and assessment. It reduces workload by storing work on one device, instead of managing several jotters and worksheets. Feedback can be given instantly to pupils through voice notes, meaning that young people know their next steps to improve instantly. Airdrop is amazing at saving paper as resources can be shared by the click of the share button!
Elaine and her colleagues have also started a podcast available on iTunes called step away from the photocopier - about embracing new ways of working.
Using iPads has reduced the number of printed materials and the associated costs, freeing up budgets for more important investment. It supports a more environmentally friendly approach, contributing to the city's strategy to become carbon neutral by 2030 and prepares pupils for the future where digital skills are essential.
As an example, a single lesson each day for a year can be equivalent to 5,700 sheets of paper, that is the same as 34 kg of CO2 and is the equivalent to sending 6,800 selfies.
What has the same environmental impact as having 1,400 10-minute hot showers?
The Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) Residential and Older People Services team have recently made significant changes in both operational efficiency and environmental sustainability, by reducing the number of pages in their care plans for care home residents and day care service users. A care plan is a support document which enables care providers to understand a person's health and needs better while making sure their care is safe, person-centred, and working towards agreed outcomes.
Louisa Redman, Administration Officer, said: "The team have adopted a more concise format for care plans, recognising the need for a more streamlined and efficient approach the number of pages in care plans were reduced from around 120 to 20, cutting the amount of paper by over 140,000 sheets based on the capacity of Care Homes and the average number of Day Care Centres' attendees. This not only minimises our impact on the environment but also streamlines the process of updating care plans. We do have all the care plans stored digitally however, limitations of fully digital care plans include challenges around where digital devices may not be available, and limited Wi-Fi connectivity hindering access".
With care plans being an essential part of the service, the switch has resulted in substantial reduction in the amount of paper that would cost around £3,500 annually if printed black, white, and double-sided (£15,000 if colour). This financial saving represents HSCP's commitment to sustainability, as well as they optimise the operational processes, they also align with the council's strategy to become greener.
140,000 pages is the equivalent of 840kg of carbon, which has the same environmental impact as having 1,400 10-minute hot showers.
How many sheets of paper are as tall as two Glasgow Science Centre Towers?
Previously Strathclyde Pension Fund Office (SPFO) relied heavily on paper to communicate with members - to provide a more accessible and cost-effective service the SPFO introduced a portal called SPFOnline, the portal enables members to manage their account online. SPFO also moved the majority of paper communications such as pension updates and newsletters online - these changes help to improve the customer experience while at the same time he reduction in paper usage contributes to reducing our carbon footprint.
Daniel Hughes, Assistant Service Manager, SPFO, said "The SPFO has members of all ages and digital abilities and as more people use technology in their everyday lives for example, banking apps and shopping we wanted to provide a similar service to those who would welcome the facility to be able to manage their pension account and receive regular communications online."
"Members can sign up to manage their pension account online for example to view documentation and payment history, change bank details and update contact and nomination details as well as carry out pension calculations. As well as the benefits to our members, we now print and post less hardcopy communications saving time and money."
SPFO have over 135,000 members signed up to their online service, almost 50% of their membership. Making annual pension updates and newsletters available for members online SPFO have reduced their annual paper usage by over 2.3 million sheets of paper - the equivalent of 13.8 tonnes of CO2 and if you stacked all of the sheets of paper on top of each other it would be about as tall as two Glasgow Science Centre Towers!
You can sign up to SPFO's online service here: https://www.spfonline.org.uk
Watch our video - find out what weighs the same as 15 elephants!
During the pandemic we reduced our city centre office printing by 50% by finding different and innovative ways of doing things - that's the same weight of paper as 15 elephants!
Watch our video and be inspired.
Go Green and keep it on the screen - our programme to reduce our printing
Before the pandemic, the council family used around 90 million sheets of paper a year to help it run all its different services. That's a lot of paper!
Glasgow has been set a target of becoming carbon neutral by 2030. To help with this, we have moved our supply of paper to recycled sources, saving us £60,000 per year, halving our carbon footprint for paper and saving the equivalent annual energy consumption of over 160 homes. We have also launched a council-wide project to review all our printing and mail processes to reduce our energy consumption, carbon footprint and saving us significant time and money in the process.
To do this, we've launched a council-wide project to review all our printing and mail processes to try and reduce our energy consumption and save us money at the same time. Led by Financial Services, the project aims to explore how we can deliver our print and mail services differently to make significant reductions where we can.
Moira Carrigan, Project Sponsor said "During the pandemic we reduced our city centre office printing by 50% by finding alternative ways of doing things. We're keen that as we return to the office, we continue to decrease our printing - the challenge to all our staff is to reduce the amount of paper we use."
"Together, we can all make a difference so let's all "Think Before You Print"
The project will also look at how we make best use of our printing contracts to get the most efficient postal costs and investigate how we can move more hardcopy mail to digital channels. Moira continued "As a council we are committed to a Digital Glasgow, changing hardcopy mail to digital formats reduces our carbon footprint, as well as providing better customer journeys, improving information security, supporting a more flexible workforce, and saving us money. All of these things are vitally important as we move forward beyond the pandemic."
Get involved - top tips to reduce your paper use today!
Your stories - showcasing how you are making the change to go paperless
Below you can read some great examples about how staff have reduced their printing and gone paperless.
Fiona Brannan - Using an online document management system
Fiona, Service Development Officer, Financial Services said: "Every year the Financial Services ASPIR is produced - this is a fifty-page document."
"During the Pandemic we had to work differently to produce the ASPIR. Instead of having face-to face meetings, using printed templates to develop and review the content, we started having our meetings on Teams and stored the relevant paperwork in our online documents management system EDRMS. This meant that instead of having to print out paper copies we could develop, review, and edit the document content online - it also enabled a number of people to work on the document at the same time too."
"There are a number of benefits to reducing your printing, it is better for the environment and storing documents electronically is quicker, easier and more convenient - at the same time it also aligns to the council's records management policy."
Mikey Jones - Using OneNote to go paperless
Mikey Jones, Business Analyst, Financial Services said:" When Windows 10 devices were rolled out a number of new tools were made available to everyone."
"I was using pen and paper to take notes for meeting actions and minutes. When I received my new device, I wanted to discover all the new applications that were available to me and OneNote was something I started using straight away. OneNote is a digital notebook that automatically saves and syncs your notes as you work - you can also write to do lists and track tasks. As well as the environmental benefits to reducing the amount of paper I use, I now spend less time organising paper documents, it also saves me space and is a more secure way of storing information."
John Hetherington - conducting training and sharing documents online
John Hetherington, Business Advisor, Chief Executive Department said: "I use to print multiple handouts and exercises for face-to-face training courses - in a six month period this could equate to around 3,000 pages. The introduction of Teams has provided me with the facility to deliver training courses online and to share electronic copies of handouts and user guides - meaning I no longer need to rely on printed copies of documents."
"Conducting training course online has many benefits - it reduces the time preparing and the printing required to deliver a course, as well as the environmental benefits associated with going paperless."
Our Print and Mail Review Project - overview of the benefits
Building on the good practices developed during the pandemic, the aim of the project is to carry out a full review of our printing and mail services across the council. This review will identify the most efficient ways to deliver these services through the investigation of a range of potential contractual, technology and process changes, ultimately improving them in line with the Digital Glasgow Strategy and Customer Strategy.
The project will provide a range of benefits including:
- Better customer journeys, with an improved quality of service provided to our customers
- Increased workforce resilience, with staff able to work more flexibly as required
- More efficient processes, creating significant financial savings and an increase in productivity
- Improved information security, protecting both our customers and the council.
These changes will also support the council's commitment to becoming carbon neutral by 2030 by reducing the amount of paper that is consumed, protecting our city and its future generations.
Sustainable staff news - keep up to date and view top tips to get involved
Every act we take makes a difference - we are all part of the solution to help reduce climate change.
There are numerous ways in which we can make small behavioural changes to make our homes and our lives more sustainable - from small habits in our daily lives to slightly larger investments. Every action we take can help make a real difference to protect our planet as well as reducing our energy bills.
Visit our Sustainable staff campaigns to find out more about how you can get involved and make small lifestyle changes that will make a real difference in the fight against climate change.
Read your amazing sustainable stories as we put a spotlight on your actions.
Share this page
