J.P. Morgan has developed a best practices guide that shows treasury operations how to transition to a paperless environment, which will help companies meet their environmental goals while cutting costs and boosting efficiency. The financial services firm says it has already helped clients eliminate more than 100 million paper documents, save 3 million pounds of paper and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 million pounds since 2007.
The guide, "Sustainable Treasury Management: It's Easier Than You Think," outlines best practices for each component of a treasury operation from cash and receivables collection to disbursements processing and storage of reports and other financial and customer data.
Each section provides specific case studies that demonstrate the benefits of electronic treasury solutions. The report also introduces function-specific Eco Analysis Worksheets that can help corporate treasurers calculate the benefits of going green.
One example shows how a company with 3,000 paper-based lockbox transactions per month can save $2,255 per month, or $0.75 per transaction.
Migrating to electronic treasury processes can have a measurable impact on corporation's carbon footprint as large treasury operations can generate 5.5 tons of paper each year, which is the equivalent of 143 trees and 106 tons of greenhouse gasses, says J.P. Morgan.
When treasury departments move toward a "zero-return" environment, where they send and receive information electronically with no paper returned, they gain in several ways: reduce transaction costs, lower indirect business costs, improve transparency as well as increase efficiency, saved time and document security.
Some of the best practices covered in the paper include re-engineering receivables, streamlining disbursements, moving to online reports and statements, and developing new workflow processes that factor in security and disaster recovery requirements and regulatory considerations.
J.P. Morgan joined the European Supply Chain Institute's Supply Chain Carbon Council in 2008, which was created to develop and promote strategies to manage carbon emissions in the supply chain.
