With Office SharePoint Server 2007, you can perform powerful content management tasks for your organization, including large-scale document management, team collaboration, and managed business processes. These are all great reasons to invest in Microsoft SharePoint technology. But what about the environment?

You probably never thought that Office SharePoint Server 2007 could actually help your organization reduce its carbon footprint in this environmentally sensitive climate. Well guess what? Here are five ways that Office SharePoint Server 2007 does exactly that, so that your organization can succeed in the business world, while playing its part in the green world.

• Save a forest

• Save energy

• Reduce waste

• Reduce air pollution

• Reduce auto emissions

Save a forest

Reduce paper and save a forest  Reducing the amount of paper your organization consumes is one of the immediate benefits of using Office SharePoint Server 2007. With your business documents stored and managed in Office SharePoint Server 2007, you will find little need to print technical documents, business letters, policy forms, meeting agendas, phone lists, and more.

By storing this information in Office SharePoint Server 2007, you also reap the benefits of having your information backed up, versioned, and monitored. When it comes to forms, there is no better solution than using InfoPath Forms Services so that people can fill out Office InfoPath 2007 forms and store them online by using only the browser. You can attach forms to e-mail messages, provide instant validation, and associate them with workflows that monitor business activities. Throw away (actually recycle) the fax machine, the paper, and the pens while you're at it!

By moving everything that traditionally existed as paper to Office SharePoint Server 2007, you save money and you can help save the environment while you're at it.

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Save energy

Become more efficient and save energy  Office SharePoint Server 2007 is all about efficiency. When you deploy Office SharePoint Server 2007 in your organization, you become more efficient. Information flows freely, employees connect with one another, and business processes are streamlined.

Use sites and site collections to manage teams or projects. Use libraries and lists to manage business information. Use workflows to manage business processes. Use search to promote content. Use Web Parts to connect the business together. Use business intelligence (BI) features to monitor productivity. Then integrate all of this into your everyday 2007 Office release programs, like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and InfoPath.

When you do all of this, you reduce duplication, redundancy, and wasted employee efforts. You get more done in less time with fewer people, which means less time in the office for everyone! (Okay, maybe not everyone.) Just watch as your heat, light, and overall power usage go down. And if that's not enough, set up a SharePoint site with a dashboard to track energy usage in your building and learn how to save even more energy.

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Reduce waste

Consolidate hardware and reduce waste  Out of the box, Office SharePoint Server 2007 includes document management, records management, search, document libraries, email-enabled lists, dashboards, calendars, discussions, forms, and more! In an office environment where these services run on multiple computers, servers, and various hardware, you can consolidate this onto one server running Office SharePoint Server 2007.

Not only can this reduce unnecessary hardware, but you simplify your business environment by storing everything in a central location that is accessible by all. You also create a common platform for all of the parts of the business to talk to one another. If you're worried about preventing users from accessing certain business information — as you may have had in your previous environment — you will be impressed with the security model in Office SharePoint Server 2007 that allows for the most precise control over who sees what in your organization.

So shut down those old systems, consolidate your hardware, and help save the environment!

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Reduce air pollution

Decrease corporate travel and reduce air pollution  Connecting people, sharing ideas, files, and schedules, and increasing collaboration are all part of the SharePoint experience. Doing so instantly and without face-to-face interaction is just another benefit of Office SharePoint Server 2007.

Add to this Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007, and the 2007 version of Microsoft Office Live Meeting, and you really start to experience instant global communication at your fingertips. By integrating these tools as Web Parts with Office SharePoint Server 2007, you provide real-time communication and a much-needed visual experience for your users. With shared calendars, you will find it easier to coordinate schedules with a coworker halfway around the world than you would a coworker down the hall at your old office.

All of this makes corporate travel an option and not a rule as teams communicate with other teams, employees with customers, partners with partners, and management with the entire organization. Stop flying, wasting time, wasting money, and polluting the air.

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Reduce auto emissions

Telecommute or work flex time and reduce emissions  Telecommuting and flexible work time are becoming more common these days. This is especially true in cities with notoriously bad traffic, such as the one where this article was written (Seattle, WA).

Telecommuting and flexible work hours can save a company a lot of money by avoiding the time lost waiting in traffic or getting caught in bad road conditions. Whether you choose to allow such a policy, you can be confident that you can do it in Office SharePoint Server 2007.

Start by setting up a secure remote access portal and combine it with Microsoft Office Outlook Web Access to allow employees to access their documents, meeting agendas, e-mail, and important business information from the road and at home. There are no issues with offline files or unavailable tools. You might even find this method more convenient and secure than a virtual private network (VPN).

Start flexible schedules today to save time and money, reduce traffic, and burn less fossil fuel while you're at it!

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In sum

As you can see, there are numerous cost and efficiency benefits when you use Office SharePoint Server 2007 to help reduce impact on the environment. To learn more, visit the SharePoint Server Home Page and see the links in the See Also section.