Paper Reduction Program

The State of Hawaii has worked to improve government efficiency by transitioning mainframe services away from printing hard-copy documents to producing electronic reports.

Image courtesy of the State of Hawaii Department of Accounting and General Services.

Progress

In July 2018, the State of Hawaii Office of Enterprise Technology Services (ETS) reported a decrease in paper usage realized by a six-month paper-reduction pilot program involving nine state departments. The program — which involved switching from printing hard-copy documents to producing electronic reports — succeeded in reducing paper use by 20%, which translated to saving a million sheets of printed paper.

In July 2021, after a three-year period, ETS was able to save $500,000 and 10 million sheets of printed paper. ETS projects additional benefits in the years ahead as more departments and agencies reduce or eliminate printed paper reports by moving to digital documents.

Gov. David Ige has applauded the state’s successful efforts at transforming from a paper-dependent culture to a digital environment, which has also improved public access to government documents and increased transparency for Hawaii residents.