Safe and sound

Today, it is accepted that going green in order to reduce or offset any negative impact on the environment is an important part of doing responsible business. As part of their corporate social responsibility programmes, many businesses, particularly those that utilise high quantities of paper in their day-to-day activities, have implemented recycling policies.

When it comes to recycling, however, there may be risks to going green. While reducing the environmental impact and carbon footprint of your business may read well in the promotional literature, it is vital that all businesses ensure that they have clear procedures on how to dispose of dispose of confidential waste correctly.

While you may not associate identity theft with business operations, the fact is that you are likely to be handling sensitive customer data. This is true regardless of the size of the business, from a one-man operation to a multinational corporation. Because this information is confidential, it needs to be disposed of in a responsible manner.

Should you not dispose of your sensitive information correctly, you could be exposing your customers to unnecessary levels of risk and your business to adverse publicity, reputational damage and a hefty fine. Such damage could destroy customer trust and take years to repair. There are clear government edicts on how to dispose of confidential waste that must be followed.

Recycling

As a consequence, it is essential to have a clear policy on the disposal and recycling of confidential waste. It is still possible for businesses to incorporate active and effective recycling initiatives while maintaining a strong information security policy. Businesses can still be environmentally responsible whilst also being secure, preserving good customer relations and avoiding the threat of financial penalties.

Shredding documents and papers is an essential and easy way in which to accomplish this. Shredding is almost certainly the easiest way in which to implement a secure and successful disposal policy that is also environmentally friendly. Once shredded, the documents can be recycled by a specialist company to ensure the removal of sensitive data whilst still helping the environment.

Disposal

For a disposal policy to be a success in both information security and environmental terms, it must be encouraged at all levels of the company. Information security should be the responsibility of every employee. Likewise, every employee should understand how he or she can contribute to the success of any environmental initiatives.

Businesses therefore would be wise to foster a culture of information responsibility, in which the value of and need to protect information from creation through to secure destruction is understood. Secure disposal that minimises any exposure to the risk of data breach and which is environmentally sound should be part of day-to-day operations for the benefit of the company, and the wider community.