Paperless office

[1] The idea was that office automation would make paper redundant for routine tasks such as record-keeping and bookkeeping, and it came to prominence with the introduction of the personal computer.

Environmental and social groups, on the other hand, argue that such ecoefficiency can be helpful but this will not be sufficient to answer some of the moral demands for limited exploitation of the world’s natural resources.

"[6] A paperless work environment requires an infrastructure of electronic components to enable the production, transmission, and storage of information.

[14] The process of manufacturing electronic hardware involves the extraction of precious metals and the production of plastic on an industrial scale.

[16] The need for paper is eliminated by using online systems, such as replacing index cards and rolodexes with databases, typed letters and faxes with email, and reference books with the internet.

As awareness of identity theft and data breaches became more widespread, new laws and regulations were enacted, requiring companies that manage or store personally identifiable information to take proper care of those documents.

Some have argued that paperless office systems are easier to secure than traditional filing cabinets, because individual accesses to each document can be tracked.