Our manager writes in the newspaper "Diena" in the section "Entrepreneur's opinion" 10.03.2015
My opinion may not be popular at a time when Latvia, as the country holding the presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU), has made digital a priority, the task of which is to facilitate the circulation of electronic documents, but I can say that the country has gone too far in its digitization.
If the circulation of electronic materials in public administration, where virtually all the infrastructure for its provision already exists, were to be supported, the entry of four or more screens (TV, computer, tablet, e-book reader, mobile phone, etc.) into the household does more harm than good in the long run, and at least at the household level, printed information, which is generally more environmentally friendly, is undeservedly forgotten, not to mention the possibility of receiving a message addressed directly to oneself.
Not so long ago, there was a time when there was only one screen per household, and the same thing - a television - lasted ten years or more. Now, with the increase in both the flow of information and the use of devices, the number of screens in the household has increased, as has the power consumption to operate them, and technology is evolving so fast that a two-year-old device is considered obsolete and new.
However, none of these devices is created as a final product in Latvia, we do not have natural resources for it, and by buying various electronic devices, we heat the economies of other countries, not Latvia. The circulation of electronic documents in business and public administration should be supported and encouraged, as the speed of information and thus money flows is improving, but at the individual level we have gone too far, as evidenced by world research on the environmental impact of data carrier use.
It should be borne in mind that all materials, including printed matter, must be disposed of at the end of their life cycle, and while paper decomposes naturally into the environment, one battery disposed of in nature causes pollution in a square meter area to 100 years but in the EU as a whole, only one-third of used electronic equipment is collected separately and treated in a supportive way.
The fact that printed material is more environmentally friendly is proven by scientists' calculations that carbon dioxide emissions from spending five and a half minutes online meets printing and home delivery of an A4 brochure in colour and the environmental impact of an online newspaper, read 30 minutes a day, are same as the environmental impact of a printed newspaper.
Many will oppose the resources used to produce paper. However, Latvia is rich in forests, which are the main raw material for paper. In addition, it would be appropriate to argue here that paper is made from pulpwood, not high-quality wood that has grown for many decades, and that more than 70% of the paper and board used in Europe is currently recycled. Thanks to sustainable forestry, Europe's forest area is growing by 1.5 million football fields a year. There are now 30% more trees in Europe than in 1950.