The Green office of today!
A paperless office (or ‘paperiton toimisto’ in Finnish) is a work environment in which the use of paper is eliminated or greatly reduced.
HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences is the first university in Finland to commit itself to adopting the WWF Green Office environmental management programme in all of its campuses. Vallila campus was the first educational institute in Finland to earn WWF Green Office certification in 2006. HAAGA-HELIA has already an exemplary record in pro-environmental actions.
The new Porvoo Campus where I work at represents the latest addition in HAAGA-HELIA’s efforts in eco-technology. Porvoo Campus has been built using the very latest in eco-efficient technology as well as implementing a new curriculum, which addresses topics of the sustainability point of view and includes new courses in which the corporate social responsibility dimension is well-integrated with the main contents of the course. Take a look to the stunning photos of the University of Applied Sciences I work at! An amazing workplace that enables learning and welfare equipped with the latest technology and fresh concepts! The STYLISTIC Q550 by Fujitsu is an excellent tool for organisations such as HAAGA-HELIA that want to give their employees that extra motivation and implement the corporate social responsibility into action by giving them a device for their work giving lectures, supervising projects and creating content.
WWF Green Office is a part of the Responsible HAAGA-HELIA project, which has been established to build a comprehensive sustainable development programme for my university. Through WWF’s Green Office environmental programme workplaces are able to reduce their burden on the environment while reducing material and energy costs; for instance, save euros and the environment! The basic idea behind the programme is that the office and its employees voluntarily commit themselves to do their best on behalf of the environment, in the spirit of continuous improvement.
HAAGA-HELIA differs from many organisations because our premises are used by both students and staff. In other words, Green Office covers not just our offices but also other areas – from learning spaces and computer rooms to the kitchen and sports facilities.
This is done by converting documents and other papers into digital form. Teachers do not photocopy endlessly but rather upload lecture materia in our learning platform Moodle. Going paperless saves money, boosts productivity, saves space, makes documentation and information sharing easier, keeps personal information more secure, and helps the environment. The need for paper is eliminated by using online systems, replacing traditional student files with electronic databases, faxes with email, and books with e-books and online journals. Also, all our HAAGA-HELIA surveys are completed electronically. Finally, our internal documents are digitally signed and sent for authorisation without been printed.
