Sustainable Record Keeping for Your Business

Having an accurate record keeping system is important for any business. And whether for compliance or to grow those all-important environmental credentials, having a sustainable record keeping system also makes sound business sense. 

This article provides useful tips on keeping business records using good management practices and with sustainability in mind.

What is record keeping?

Simply put, record keeping is maintaining accurate and timely records, whether manually or digitally, from inception to destruction.  Record keeping allows you to: 

Store your business records and find and access them when neededDispose of records in the correct manner and in the appropriate timeframeDocument any health and safety risks with the aim of minimizing or eliminating themProtect you and your employees should any legal matters arise and guard against possible penalties for non-compliance.Reduce costs by keeping only relevant information and using your office space in the most efficient manner.

Some of the common records you will need to keep include employment records, contracts, matters pertaining to your business and client/customer records.

Principles of good record keeping

A good record keeping system creates a solid base of information that helps your business to run safely and smoothly. Principles of good record keeping include:

Authenticity - the record must be what it claims to be

Reliability – the record must be an accurate account of the facts as stated

Integrity - the record must be complete and unchanged

Usability – the record must be easy to locate if requested and within the required timeframe.

Tips for digital record keeping

The following are best practice rules applying to digital records in particular:

Protect – to ensure confidentiality and to track who has accessed the record, you should ensure the files are password-protected and limit the number of people who have access to the password (i.e. only on a need-to-know basis).

Label – make sure the files are labelled clearly and logically and are easy to find, particularly when multiple users are involved.

Track – choose a record keeping system that allows you to track the details of all access requests and movement of your files.

Limit – with an electronic system, it is not necessary to have the same information on several different formats (i.e. USB’s, DVD’s, CD’s and on multiple electronic devices).  Have ONE file, which is accessible only to those employees that require the specific information.

Depending on the size of your business and your personal preference, you may wish to retain the traditional pen and paper methods of record keeping, at least while your business transitions to digital record keeping as the budget allows. 

But keep in mind that paper records take more time, both in creation and retrieval, which  results in unnecessary additional costs. Paper records also require specialised storage to protect them from deteriorating.

What is sustainable record keeping?

The dictionary definition of ‘sustainable’ is ‘able to be maintained at a certain rate or level’. While from an environmental standpoint, sustainable actions can be defined as those which aim to avoid the depletion of natural resources and which help to restore and retain an ecological balance.

And in that context, sustainable record keeping could best be described as the use of record management and storage techniques that aim to reduce the negative impact that record keeping has on the natural environment. What impact, you ask?

According to greenbizcheck, paper constitutes up to 70% of office waste, with a staggering 10,000 sheets of A4 paper used by every worker every year. World paper recycling rates also leave a lot to be desired, varying dramatically from 85% in Switzerland to just 8% in Australia, And the earth is still losing at least 40 million acres of forest every year as a result of logging and land clearing.

So the aims of sustainable record keeping include reducing the use of paper records in particular and the lessening the impact of record keeping methods in general.

And as well as environmental benefits, sustainable record keeping has other advantages for business including;

Increased speed of retrieval Reduced costs of storage Improved content search capability Better Disaster Recovery protection.

Tips for sustainable record keeping

Best practice principles for sustainable record keeping include:

Aim for a paper-less office – the more data that can be stored digitally, the smaller your company’s environmental footprint will be and the less floorspace for filing cabinets you will need.

Choose eco-friendly office supplies – choosing paper, labels and folders that can be re-used or recycled is another way to make your office more environmentally friendly. 

Re-use any scrap paper – turn old paper documents into note pads (non-sensitive documents only of course) and distribute recycling bins around the office.

Free up floor space – use rolling compactor files rather than traditional filing cabinets. These will optimize your office space and can be added to when needed as your company grows.

Regularly monitor your record systems – as your company grows, your needs will change. Use tools such as audits, surveys and reports to compare your sustainable record keeping performance with the goals and benchmarks you originally identified.  Regular monitoring and review also allows you to see any existing flaws and to identify areas where improvements can be made.

Make sure all stakeholders are onboard – if you are storing your archived files with an offsite storage provider, make sure their sustainability policies and procedures are in line with your own.

Have a records management policy – appoint a team to write the policy so that it is relevant to your business.  Ensure that:

  It covers both paper and electronic records   Complies with all legal requirements pertaining to retention and disposal and any agreements with clients and company policies.   States who is responsible for maintaining the records and ultimately for disposing of them at the appropriate times.

While some of this information might sound a little daunting, there are a variety of different online resources available to help you with your sustainable records management.  

Start by learning the basic principles and you will soon realise that the time spent is well worth it. And as you progress, you may well find that your sustainable ideas and practices are beginning to spread from record keeping into all other areas of your business.