World Paper Free Day
06 November 2021
Did you know that an office worker uses on average about 40 sheets of paper a day, about half of which is waste? Unfortunately, many businesses still use traditional document keeping systems, which require a lot of space, specific equipment, and expensive maintenance.
What Is World Paper Free Day
The World Paper Free Day is an annual worldwide campaign aimed at reducing the amount of paper used by people in their daily work and personal lives. The campaign draws attention to the fact that a huge amount of paper is used in vain, and conveys the benefits of modern paper-free technologies. On this day, businesses, government agencies, and individuals are encouraged to stop using paper entirely — even if just for one day.
The Real Cost of Paper-Based Document Management
For businesses, paper-based processes create hidden costs that accumulate over time:
- Storage costs — physical archives require dedicated space, climate control, and security
- Printing costs — paper, toner, printer maintenance, and energy consumption
- Time wasted — searching for documents in filing cabinets takes 5–15 minutes per document on average
- Risk of loss — paper documents can be damaged by fire, flooding, or simple misplacement
- Compliance challenges — maintaining audit trails and access control for paper records is labour-intensive
- Environmental impact — the average office generates 1.5 tonnes of paper waste per year
How Electronic Document Management Solves These Problems
The transition to electronic document management and the rejection of paper documents helps companies and government agencies save space and money, increase employee productivity, simplify the exchange and ensure security of information.
soft Xpansion’s softXspace Business platform enables organisations to go fully paperless:
- Document generation from templates — create contracts, invoices, and acts in minutes without printing
- Automated approval workflows — digital routing replaces physical signature collection
- Qualified electronic signatures — legally binding documents signed digitally, no paper needed
- Secure electronic archive — 24/7 access to all documents from any device
- ERP and CRM integration — data flows automatically between systems without manual re-entry
Going Paperless with Microsoft 365
For organisations already using Microsoft 365, soft Xpansion offers softXspace365 — a suite of document management and process automation tools built natively for the Microsoft ecosystem. Teams can create, approve, sign, and archive documents without ever touching paper — all within their familiar Microsoft environment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is World Paper Free Day?
World Paper Free Day is an annual awareness campaign encouraging organisations to reduce paper consumption by adopting electronic document management systems. It highlights the environmental, financial, and operational benefits of going paperless.
How much can a company save by going paperless?
Organisations typically reduce document processing costs by 40–60% after implementing electronic document management. Additional savings come from eliminated storage costs, reduced printing expenses, and faster document retrieval — with ROI often achieved within the first year.
What tools does soft Xpansion offer for paperless operations?
soft Xpansion provides the softXspace platform for on-premise document management and the softXspace365 product line for Microsoft 365 — covering document workflows, contract management, electronic archive, digital signatures, and automated approval routing.
Join the Paper-Free Movement
We are proud that our electronic document management systems, electronic archives, and business process automation systems are already helping to preserve natural resources and the environment across banking, manufacturing, government, and agribusiness sectors.
Eco-conscious businesses and the state choose a paper-free life, the green planet and soft Xpansion!
Ready to eliminate paper from your organisation? Contact us for a free consultation on going digital.
