Around £200,000 and 1 million sheets of paper could be saved every year through a move towards paperless committee meetings at the City of Edinburgh Council.
The ambitious programme, which also aims to save back office costs, will see councillors issued with iPads so they can access reports online during meetings, and be able to work more while away from the City Chambers.
Council Leader Councillor Andrew Burns said: “We need to be a modern organisation that embraces technology, using it to save money and improve how we do business. This is a great chance to show we are serious about being more efficient while also reducing our impact on the environment.”
Alastair Maclean, Director of Corporate Governance, added:- “This initiative sends an important message about how we are looking to use IT to run the Council better. Such innovations are standard practice in the business world and we need to do the same. It also pays for itself in the first year and provides recurring benefits.”
The Council currently spends nearly £200,000 a year on printing committee papers for councillors and others. Introducing iPad2s has a one-off cost of around £18,000. There will be a phased roll-out over coming weeks and months to councillors and senior officers who regularly attend council meetings. While it may not be possible to cut paper use completely, the expectation is that the scheme will easily cover its costs in the first year alone.
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
