Google is part of a group of companies called the Paperless Coalition. There are seven companies in all including Google (Google Drive, specifically), HelloFax, Manilla, HelloSign, Expensify, Xero, and Fujitsu ScanSnap, and they want you to go paperless in 2013.
The coalition has started a campaign to “remove the need for ‘paper’ from paperwork,” and will be promoting this initiative throughout the year via email and other unspecified activities.
“According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, the average US office worker uses 10,000 sheets of copy paper each year,” the coalition says on its about page. “In 2010, the amount of paper recovered for recycling averaged 334 pounds for each person living in the US, according to the American Forest & Paper Association.”
Google has its own blog post about its participation in the coalition.
“Google Drive makes it easy to keep all your stuff in the cloud and access it anywhere — so you don’t have to carry around paper copies wherever you go,” says product marketing manager Meredith Blackwell. “There are also other great apps that can help you get things done in the cloud – no printer required. This year, Google Drive is part of the Paperless Coalition, a group of organizations and products that help you live completely in a paper-free world. So whether you’re an expense reporter, invoice tracker, file hoarder, or note jotter, you can do it all without using paper.”
The Paperless2013.org site has a pledge that you can sign (electronically) and commit to going paperless, should you choose to do so.