BENEFITS OF A PAPERLESS OFFICEThere are many benefits to working for a paperless office; these include being cost effective, more convenient and environmentally friendly. With the advent of personal computers, it was once thought that all offices would be paperless. However, this is exactly the opposite of what happened. Abigail Sellen (2001) noted in her book The Myth of the Paperless Office that email printing caused a 40% increase in office paper consumption. Although more and more data is sent and stored electronically, much of this data is still printed and then thrown away or destroyed. It is estimated that 90% of all office work is required to record. This can be explained by a study conducted more than 15 years ago; the study estimated that American businesses printed and stored about 120 billion sheets of paper each year. Of that archived document, less than 20% will be consulted again (McCorry, 2005). Physically storing such pages is an expensive practice. With the advent of low-cost electronic data storage devices, it would seem that more businesses would make great strides to reduce their paper usage. A study by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency estimates that costs associated with the card can be as much as 31 times the purchase price of the card alone. That would equate to $155 for a five-dollar ream of paper (Sustainability in the Office, n.d.). However, worldwide use of office paper has doubled and is expected to double again by 2050. With the many advances made in technology, this seems unjustified (McCorry, 2005). Scanners were once cost-prohibitive for most businesses, but with the advancement of technology they have now become... half paper......wStuffWorks "Transitioning to a paperless office".HowStuffWorks "Communication" . Retrieved June 10, 2011, from http://communication.howstuffworks.com/convergence/how-paperless-offices-work2.htmKinsella, S. (n.d.). Conservatree. Conservatree - Information on recycled and environmental paper. Retrieved June 11, 2011, from http://www.conservatree.com/leMcCorry, K. (2005, April 5). Organize your working day in no time. InformIT Retrieved June 8, 2011, from http://www.informit.com/articles/aSellen, A. (n.d.). The myth of the paperless office. IDEAS: Research in Economics and Finance. Retrieved June 11, 2011, from http://ideas.repec.org/b/mtp/titleSustainability in the Office | Make it green! Minnesota. (n.d.). Make it green! Minnesota | Make it green! Minnesota. Retrieved June 11, 2011, from http://www.doitgreen.org/article/