Agility’s Paperless Branch initiatives involved the implementation of an integrated document management system, which provides a central repository for all job-related documents. This isn’t just good for the tracking and fidelity of job information, as well as operational efficiency, it’s also good for the environment.

An average office worker uses 10,000 sheets of copy paper each year, and nearly 50% of that ends up in the trash. Implementation of the system in three of our offices, Barcelona, Hong Kong and Penang, has reduced our demand for paper by almost one million sheets per year; the equivalent of over 100 trees. In the Barcelona branch, the implementation of the system led to a monthly reduction in paper usage by more than 70%.

Agility offices across the globe have joined the Waste-Free Agility campaign to eliminate the use of single-use plastic water bottles and paper coffee cups. The Waste-Free Agility campaign calls on our facilities to meaningfully reduce or eliminate an important waste stream through changes in behaviour.
For example, at Agility’s offices in Mumbai, guests were given small plastic water bottles. Much of the water ended up going to waste, so our team there started to use glasses and a carafe, which reduced waste of water, and entirely eliminated the single-use plastic bottles. Unused drinking water is recycled for cleaning purposes as well. While it did require a change in behaviour, managers across India were enthusiastic to jump on board, and the elimination of single-use plastic bottles has become a country-wide trend for Agility.

Other Agility offices in Brazil, Italy, Singapore, the US and Australia also are leading the way in the elimination or significant reduction of the use of plastic water bottles, paper coffee cups, or other single-use materials. We’re aiming for 100% office participation!

At Agility Egypt, our employees found creative ways to upcycle waste from around the warehouse. Instead of using new materials to build a worker rest area, the team constructed tables and benches using old pallets. Used truck tires were painted to create a garden that beautifies the spot, and an old container became a useful place to sort and organize waste for recycling.