The UK golf industry have worked hard over the last decade to reduce their businesses impact on the environment, from reduced chemical usage and better agronomic practices to using more sustainable equipment. Yet, similar to all businesses, it could do more – and the humble golf club office is often overlooked when searching for opportunities of environmental betterment.
One such area that presents a significant opportunity to further reduce wastage, and the subsequent environmental damage of that waste, is paper. Perhaps lured into the false sense of righteousness due to the presence of a recycling bin, much more can be done to reduce our golf club office’s reliance on paper – and the need for paper recycling at all.
The statistics are stark. Despite 80% of paper in the UK being recycled, approximately seven million tonnes are still sent to landfill every year. That’s the equivalent of 103,000 double-decker buses! When considered alongside the estimation that it takes 24 trees to make one tonne of paper, the damage to the environment this creates is overt (businesswaste.co.uk).
Of course, statistics showing paper wastage in golf club offices specifically will be less dramatic. It is, after all, easier to separate paper from other waste within an office and dispose of it in a dedicated recycling bin. However, this best-practice still falls short of the ultimate solution – that of not using paper at all.
New technologies in accounting and cloud-based storage make the adoption of a paperless office within any golf club’s reach. Increasingly in other industries, paper is being seen as an expensive and inefficient way to manage information, with many small and large businesses adopting electronic document management and digital information systems.
Perhaps one of the major concerns about banishing paper stems from compliance issues with regard to certain aspects of finance and accounting, yet the truth is that going paperless can actually help the club become more compliant. Paper processes expose golf clubs to potential liability due to a lack of security or lost paperwork. On the other hand, electronic document processes have security measures that ensure vital information, such as a club’s accounts, is protected.
Accountancy Matters are working with golf clubs across the UK to implement cloud-based accounts systems that make going-paperless an achievable reality.