E-Billing Saves More Than Trees

Millions of consumers have switched to electronic bill payment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save paper and money. Each person can save up to $100 a year by paying online, and the rewards are even better for a company that switches to e-billing.

Billtrust, which helps businesses switch to e-billing, reports that doing so can slash a company's billing costs by 25% to 35% by reducing the need for materials, postage and labor. And of course, switching to paperless billing is a great way to increase your company's commitment to the environment.

Paper billing has a hefty impact on the environment. In 2006, the U.S. Postal Service delivered 19 billion paper bills to American households. That requires paper, about 533 million pounds of it, as well as lots of wood and water to make the paper in the first place. Delivering the bills requires transportation, which uses fossil fuels and emits greenhouse gases. And when customers pay bills by sending paper checks through the mail, they almost double the environmental impact of billing. ...