State pilot program saves 1M sheets of paper in just 6 months

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - By Tianna Morimoto
HNN Summer Intern

One million sheets of printer paper.

That's the amount saved by several Hawaii departments in the past six months as part of a paper-reduction program backed by Gov. David Ige.

From January to June of this year, nine state departments participated in the program launched by the Office of Enterprise Technology Services and reduced 20 percent of paper usage by transitioning from printed documents to electronic reports.

According to Ige, the program's goal is to begin the process of transforming Hawaii's government into a completely digital process.

In his 2015 address to the state, the governor shared that Hawaii's state government goes through about 12 million pages of paper a year.

Officials say that the transition from printed to digital reports will save the state paper in more ways than one. In just three years, for example, the state is projected to save $500,000 and 10 million sheets of printed paper.

"Transforming from a paper-dependent culture to a digital environment improves public accessibility to government documents and increases transparency for our citizens," Ige said.  "Electronic documents make it easier to store and retrieve documents."

"As we continue to reduce paper processes and transform government through digitalization, it encourages the adoption of new technology, while improving the efficiency and effectiveness of our State," said Todd Nacapuy, chief information officer for the state.

"Paper reduction is beneficial for the environment as well as for our tax payers," Nacapuy said.

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