Many companies are saving time, money, and environmental resources by converting printed publications into electronic, paperless documents. Several options are available:

• E-mail is a paperless, electronic alternative to written correspondence. Increasingly, it is being used both for internal and external communications, such as letters, memos, reports, and updates.
  
• Web pages help a company meet a variety of more complex publication needs. They can serve as an "electronic brochure" that offers fundamental and detailed information about products and services, replace an entire printed catalogue, report research findings, and display graphics, interviews, and even video images.
  
• An Intranet is a Web site that exists on a company's internal computer network. Effective Intranets can eliminate some office documents altogether (such as employee manuals, benefits information, and training documents).
  
• CD-ROMs can hold hundreds of pages of information, graphic images, and audio and visual clips. CD-ROMs, which resemble a musical compact disk in size and appearance, are often less expensive to produce than publications, while being far more flexible in the amount of information they contain and the ways in which it can be retrieved.
  
• A "fax-on-demand" system can reduce paper and postage costs by allowing employees, customers, and clients to retrieve needed information via fax.

Good Idea! With the proper equipment, you can turn your company's telephone system into an environmentally effective information resource. Rather than print up brochures, flyers, or notices, provide callers with frequently requested information by allowing them to dial into recordings that answer fundamental questions about your product or services.