GOOD PRACTICE Virtual Data Room as a green solution

Entrepreneurs increasingly use ecological solutions and try to implement them almost in all areas of the company’s operation. Virtual Data Room solution also brings companies practical possibility of reducing negative impact on the environment. What ecological and economic benefits does VDR bring?

It pays to be eco today. A conscious entrepreneur knows that ecology in a company means savings, larger development subsidies or image profit. According to a recent study by Carnegie Melon University’s CACES center, the cost of smog over USA has decreased 20 percent since 2014 (when it cost $790 billion) and it is attributed to lower emissions. But despite the sharp fall, the amount is still enormous. Among others, that cost is borne by the owners of companies themselves. This money could be used for completely different purposes if entrepreneurs (and all of us) consistently implemented eco-development strategies.

The times are such that we all become more and more sensitive about the environmental problem. At FORDATA, we also attach great importance to this issue. In the case of a Data Room, the ecological and economic benefits for each user of the system come directly from the advantages of virtualization, which allows us to call ourselves an ecological solution. VDR is a proven tool that helps to reduce costs for companies as well environmental costs. What exactly are we talking about?

One ecological feature that has a particularly positive impact on reducing the costs for an enterprise leading an M&A process is remote system operation. This applies in the same degree to company owners, investors, experts and auditors invited to cooperate in VDR. The traditional transaction practice was visits to company archives and manual document review. This necessitated frequent delegations, which leave a large carbon footprint. Data room is able to completely eliminate this problem, thanks to the digitization of the Due Diligence process. Dozens of people can work on one transaction, who are potential passengers of a number of flights to the company’s headquarters. Thanks to working with the Data Room, they don’t even have to leave offices.

If we consider the next advantages of VDR, i.e. streamlining and accelerating the sales process, the picture of the benefits for the entrepreneur will improve even more. The reduction of time needed to comple a transaction directly means saving of energy, wages, etc. The environment gains directly and indirectly automatically.

First of all, paper. When using VDR, you do not need to make copies of documents available for inspection, or to produce reports, confidentiality agreements, etc. There is just one link under which the user has access to all documents intended for him, while the administrator can handle many transactions simultaneously. It means significant savings of paper or its complete elimination. Ecology in the company is a comprehensive concept. Virtualization assisted by the right approach to the production of energy needed to power electronics results in an environmentally-neutral solution. For example, our company has used, among others, server providers that use produced heat to heat the floor of the building in which it is located. And that’s not all the advantages.

Fortunately, fewer and fewer entrepreneurs need to be convinced to switch the company to green solutions. Also because the changes are simply expected by consumers themselves. Shifting professional communication in this direction has practically zero chance of harming the company, as long as it is thoughtful and it brings actual benefits to the environment. Recently, the media has been loud about at least several cases of brands that treated the ecological trend instrumentally – in effect they have not only harmed themselves (instead of gaining – they lost in the eyes of consumers), but also credibility of pro-ecological activities. From the point of view of people who perceive environmental care as artificial marketing, such situation is grist to the mill. As a result, we all lose out. Data room is a very ecological solution. If your company uses such a system, for example for confidential data sharing, it is worth using this fact in brand promotion. We write more about applications and benefits Virtual Data Room brings to various types of projects on our page.

P.S. Our company supports and applies practices serving the natural environment. We encourage you and your organization to take active part in environmental protection.