IG Solutions: Ear Day and Records Management by Craig Grimestad

Two entities you might not see as joining naturally, but closer examination actually reveals an opportunity for co-dependency. A well run Records Management (RM) program is a natural for environmentally friendly business operational style. When you value paper, you don't just put it in the trash, you recycle it. For sensitive and confidential papers, you want to dispose of those in a secure manner to assure they are destroyed without opportunity for exposure and extraction of the information contained there.

Earth Day has become popular on a worldwide basis for individuals to declare themselves aligned with earth friendly lifestyles and activities. In the Psychology of Records Management Series, we discussed the value to Associate your Records Management change activities with popular social movements like Going Green' ( The Psychology of Records Management: Rules of the Road for Cultural Change - Rules #4 & #5) to motivate the workforce to embrace Records Management initiatives and practices. Earth Day? - Perfect! A great opportunity to promote your environmentally friendly way of managing records.

It has been estimated that over 69 million tons of paper and paperboard is used annually in the United States alone, and over 20 million tons of it ends up in landfills - Ouch! Iron Mountain is an outstanding partner for your Earth Day initiatives and challenges (What department can recycle the most paper on a per person basis?), Iron Mountain recycles all of the paper it receives with the appropriate level of security based on record content. Iron Mountain uses recycled products in its normal business activities including its Iconic storage boxes where 65% is recycled content.

Iron Mountain also has a solution for electronic equipment, offering a Secure e-Waste and IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) service. This service features:

-Industry-leading chain of custody, secure logistics and patented Babco vehicle security.

-Maximum value from your retired assets with the world's largest IT asset distribution network.

-Data erasure procedures adhere to US Department of Defense (DoD) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards for all data bearing devices.

-e-Stewards Enterprise recycling with a 0% landfill and 0% e-waste export policy.

Iron Mountain is also an excellent role model for environmentally friendly activities. In 2014 Iron Mountain made InfoWorld's Top Green 15 list. In 2016 Iron Mountain entered into an agreement to buy wind energy, which when combined with our solar energy contracts, secures our energy portfolio and stabilizes our costs for the next 15 to 20 years. Iron Mountain is one of the top 25 corporate purchasers of green power in North America.

As you recognize and promote Earth Day within your company, consider partnering with Iron Mountain to accomplish and give credibility to your initiatives. Just one more way Iron Mountain is an outstanding comprehensive partner for all of your Records Management needs.

Follow Craig on Twitter @CGrimestad

LINK:	http://blogs.ironmountain.com/2016/service-lines/records-management-an...
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