Reducing paper consumption by reusing or recycling paper that has already been printed on is a common practice in many businesses, especially since paper documents are often a temporary or ‘display’ medium. Materials nowadays are typically printed to be used just once, for a brief period of time. The information on that paper is shared, reviewed, perhaps revised, and then discarded.

But, you might want to think twice before reusing paper in your office. This practice can be a dangerous one that not only risks the security of your business, but its compliance as well.

By reusing paper, it’s conceivable – even likely – that paper containing sensitive information is reused rather than stored or destroyed, enabling that data to be exposed to eyes that should not be seeing it. Employee salaries, strategic business plans, or even confidential client data can all fall into the hands of someone who should not see that information – and then into their briefcase and right out the door of your building.

So, be cautious when it comes to reusing paper at the printer station, and don’t compromise your company’s security for the sake of going green.

After all, there are many safe ways to improve your sustainability efforts and reduce the amount of paper your company uses – from digitising information and sharing those documents electronically, to getting the most out of each piece of paper you do use by utilising duplex printing. Alternatively, printed documents that don’t need to be retained can be shredded and recycled.

By all means, go green in the office – after all, it is the responsible thing to do. And reducing your company’s paper consumption is a smart and simple way to do so, one that will save you money, as well. However, don’t sacrifice security and compliance in this effort. Don’t go green at the expense of your data security and integrity. Be smart and careful when reusing paper in the office.

Find out how you can improve your office sustainability here.