Go green on bills and save the trees

Business Times 12 Oct 09;

Start-up firm GreenBills shows how users can view their bills from different companies through a single online portal, reports ANAND SINGH

IN Singapore, more than 600 million pages of bills and envelopes are sent out to households, costing billing companies more than $50 million annually.

As expected, these usually end up in the waste bin or thrown into a pile of already-viewed bills. Studies show that only 5 per cent of Singaporeans have switched to checking their bills electronically. The rest receive their bills the conventional way by post.

However, with the public growing more tech-savvy and environmentally conscious, this trend may change soon.

Paper vs electronic

For years, organisations have been grappling with the cost of sending paper bills to their customers, especially for those who bill on a regular basis such as telcos, utility companies and banks.

While each paper bill's cost ranges from 70 cents to $2.65, the total runs into millions spent each year after factoring in the cost of paper, printing, postage, equipment and labour.

Because of this, some companies have introduced online portals, allowing users to assess bills electronically. Unfortunately, the rate of adoption by the Singapore public has been low, which is surprising considering more than 80 per cent use the Internet for day-to-day transactions.

Why is this so? Firstly, each company has its own online portal, which customers must log in to retrieve their bill information. As most households receive at least five to 10 bills a month, it takes considerable time and patience to log into different portals, and remember separate login IDs and passwords, especially when the billing cycles are different.

Another factor is human nature. It is always difficult to convince people to change from what they are comfortable with, especially when the existing system remains in place. Furthermore, companies do not actively encourage their customers to opt out of receiving paper bills.

What many do not realise is the potential of deploying such a system. Even if just a fifth of Internet users were to view their bills electronically, this would translate to saving 134 million pages and 16,000 trees annually. As paper bills are widely used not only in B2C business segments but also in B2B markets, online portals have the potential of reaching out and catering to the needs of these segments.

Seeing the commercial potential and societal benefits of electronic bills, one start-up company is developing a solution to solve these problems. Supported by NUS Enterprise, GreenBills Pte Ltd has built a common platform, which aggregates bills from different companies.

Called GreenPost, this platform allows users to view their bills through a single online portal. It aggregates bills from M1, SingTel, StarHub and Singapore Power. GreenBills is also developing a 'paper opt out' mechanism, so users can choose the environmentally friendly option of saving paper once they are comfortable with viewing bills online. Other benefits of the portal include email alerts for new bills or overdue payments, downloadable PDF-version bills and unlimited archival of bills.

Technological innovations can potentially result in huge cost savings to companies and allow individuals to play an active part in saving the environment. For example, while Singapore's 600 million pages of bills and envelopes cost companies $50 million annually, they also result in 120 football fields' worth of trees being cut down.

No matter the type of business you are in, going green can be on your agenda. Your business can be environmentally responsible, efficient and cost-effective, all at the same time.

There is usually some initial investment required for companies to go green, including incorporating necessary practices or systems throughout the company and re-training employees. However, in the long run, the benefits will surpass this investment.

Gaining carbon credits

So how does a company go green? First, identify what in your organisation's value chain can be replaced with 'green practices'. Typically, most companies choose green practices which are easy to implement and are not costly.

The savings are often enough to make up for the time and effort invested. However, companies that wish to make an impact can leverage upon latest technological knowhow to develop new solutions and even new markets. One example is General Electric, which has created products such as solar panels.

Other companies invest in green funds and carbon trading, which has become popular in recent years since the Kyoto Protocol came into force in 2005. The treaty mandates countries to adhere to emission-reduction targets. These countries try to meet the targets by generating credits from emission-reducing projects or purchasing credits from countries which have excess credits.

Companies are also trying to get into this lucrative pie by engaging in simple yet innovative emission-reducing projects themselves. For instance, JPMorgan Chase gained a foothold in carbon trading by subsidising and distributing more efficient cooking stoves that use less fuel and give out less carbon dioxide in poor countries. JPMorgan generates carbon credits from this project, which it sells off to other parties.

Singapore acceded to the Kyoto Protocol in 2006 and, through the National Environment Agency, has launched various schemes to support the country's green movement. The government is supportive of companies that contribute to these efforts.

For instance, if GreenPost can accomplish its mission of saving two million sheets of pages per month, it would enable itself and its billers to earn carbon credits which can turn out to be an alternative form of revenue stream.

Companies can use the credits to either offset their own carbon emissions or sell them off to other parties that require them. A company can thus generate extra revenue stream when it goes green.

Any company can go green by taking small and simple steps, which do not have to cost thousands of dollars but can yet generate great benefits, both commercial and societal. It is not a tough choice. Just go green.

The writer is founder and CEO of GreenBills, a company currently being incubated by NUS Enterprise