eBilling: The truth about Corporate Responsibility and ‘physical’ cost reductions – addressing the green agenda

In the CTI Group survey of UK Service Providers (May 2009), the ‘benefits to the environment’ of turning off paper bills were rated second only to cutting costs - and more important than helping to win new clients.
Environmental issues are grabbing headlines and are exercising the minds of consumers. A whopping 79% of UK respondents in Landor’s 2008 ImagePower Green Brands Survey say they will maintain or increase their level of spending on green products or services in the coming year.
It comes as no surprise that Service Providers are waking up to the Green Agenda, the most recent example being Nokia’s unveiling of the world’s first recyclable phone.
So, how strong an argument is Service Provider eBilling in the debate? And what business benefits translate to the Service Provider and their corporate users?
It has nothing to do with saving rain forests (most – though not all – paper comes from sustainable forests), but it is to do with pollution. Paper manufacturing is a remarkably filthy, polluting process, even when recycling is added to the equation.
· The paper industry is a major source of toxic chemical pollution, especially toxic solvents and chlorine compounds used to bleach and delignify pulp.
· Worldwide, the pulp and paper industry is the fifth largest consumer of energy, accounting for 4% of the world's energy use – a significant contributor to air pollution.
· The pulp and paper industry uses more water to produce a ton of product than any other industry.
· There are associated hidden damages due to fuel extraction at source - oil drilling, coal mining, transmission lines, etc.
· Discarded paper is a major component of many landfill sites, accounting for about 35% by weight of municipal solid waste (before recycling).
· Most of the above arguments are just as true for recycled paper as for new.
Probably more than most ‘green’ initiatives, the reduction of paper usage and the associated logistics of physical delivery are easily associated with protection of the environment (in our next ‘truth’ we look at the volumes of paper associated with telecom billing).
We believe that such strong arguments, properly articulated by telecom suppliers, could become a potent marketing factor in three areas:
Improving adoption rates for eBilling with both consumers and corporate users (boosting ROI further/faster).
Providing a powerful Corporate Responsibility message to investors and customers (boosting public relations initiatives).
Adding similar value for business users, helping them to meet their Corporate Social Responsibility objectives.
It is easy to make the case for eBilling in the corporate environment, with the cost reductions achieved by delivering documents online rather than the traditional print and post method.
SMEs frequently receive over 100 pages for itemized telecom bills and statements, with large businesses often receiving thousands of pages. Once the cost of postage is added, ‘hard’ cost savings can quickly justify the move to eBilling. The industry quoted figures for reduction in ‘operating costs’ of mailing and manual processing between 65% and 85% - with some eBilling suppliers going so far as to suggest 90%.
So, what is the problem?
We have already touched on this. Potentially, the problem relates to the rate of customer uptake. Figures bandied around the industry suggest an average of just 15%. Is this true and how long does it take to achieve this figure?
In fact, uptake figures are muddied by the consumer sector. In the business sector, rates vary enormously by company – a reflection of how seriously Service Providers have applied themselves to promoting the service to business users.
At one end of the spectrum, some service providers have simply switched customers completely. Others take a phased approach.
From our experience, with strong marketing initiatives in place, even with a phased introduction companies are able to achieve 60% adoption over a 2-3 year period.