Saving the World, One Electronic Invoice at a Time

OB10 global e-Invoicing network released a statement saying its clients, by opting for electronic invoices instead of paper invoices, have helped save nearly 1,123 trees in 2007 alone. The network emphasized the value of electronic invoicing as a truly environmentally beneficial technology.

 

Clients such as Mohawk Industries, Greif, Hewlett-Packard (News - Alert), Kelloggs, General Motors, and GlaxoSmithKline were joined on the OB10 network in 2007 by organizations such as Mead Westvaco, Motorola, Apple ACS (News - Alert), Shaw, Tyco Electronics, Coldwater Creek, DHL, Eli Lilly, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Altogether, the increased use of the OB10 network meant that 223 more trees were saved in 2007 than 2006.

 

These numbers were released after computing the data collected by OB10 for the number of sheets of paper saved via e-Invoicing and pitting the value against industry standard figures. It is calculated that e-Invoicing on the network in 2007 saved 93 barrels of oil and 192,000 kilowatts of electricity and prevented 2,800 pounds of air pollutants — all involved in the paper manufacturing process — and represented the diversion of 156 cubic yards of paper from eventual landfill disposal.  

 

Paper Invoicing is a major factor for the felling of trees as it attributes for more than 10 percent of the total trees cut. And the estimated power for producing the total paper invoices requires electricity that can be used for 20 million homes annually. Also, a year’s worth of invoices take up as much landfill space as 10 football fields each stacked more than 100 feet deep with paper.

 

“With the business world’s heightened awareness of the issue of global warming, everything that can be done to reduce industrial emissions, use less energy, and require fewer resources benefits the planet,” said Jamie Gunn, CEO of OB10. “When you add these gains to the business advantages of greater productivity, cost savings, and improved cash flow that e-Invoicing represents, it’s easy to see why more and more companies are embracing this technology.”

 

OB10 also announced that it will continue its partnership with the National Arbor Day Foundation, and as it did in 2007 will match the performance of its network by donating 1,123 trees to be planted in national forests in the U.S.

 

The OB10 global e-Invoicing network is distinguished by its any-to-any data formatting capability, which allows suppliers to submit invoices in any electronic format. Its ability to translate these invoices and present them in the client’s preferred format, coupled with its superior supplier enrollment capabilities, is key to achieving high rates of supplier adoption.