2024-05-01 04:15:07
With the rapid development of technology, and the increasing pressure of nature guardians to protect the environment, the policy of the European Union (EU) is directed towards a green course – it aims to harm the earth and the climate as little as possible and is looking for opportunities to use virtual documents instead of paper, huge sums are invested in this.
The Ministry of Economy and Innovation, which is responsible for digitization in Lithuania, claims that paperwork is being reduced – more than 100 million euros have been allocated for this purpose in two years alone, but the business counters that these changes are not happening as quickly as they would like.
Destruction takes both time and money
In order to imagine the amount of documents that must be stored, the example of the Klaipėda University Hospital is suitable – according to the Central Public Procurement Portal, it is currently looking for someone who could destroy as many as 30 tons of confidential documents, which are currently stored in the premises of the medical institution.
In other words, the weight of the documents accumulated in the hospital and no longer required for storage is almost equal to the weight of an Airbus A319 passenger plane.
How much will it cost to destroy these documents?
Marytė Baltrūnienė, director of the company “Archive destruction services”, says that you may have to pay almost 300 euros per ton.
“At our place, where the rates are one of the lowest, the destruction of a ton of documents costs 280 euros,” the head of the company told “Vakaru ekspres”.
One of the company’s industrial paper shredders shreds approximately 1 to 1.2 tons of unnecessary documents in 8 hours.
According to M. Baltrūnienė, there are many companies operating in this business, the competition is high, and “Archive destruction services” alone receives orders to destroy about 30 tons of paper per month.
“On average, we destroy about 30-40 tons per month. There is not much here. We have a lot of work to do, believe me. Many customers – from the Seimas, hospitals, post office to colleges, schools, private companies and individuals. They bring it themselves and watch how it is destroyed, or we come to the client, because we also provide such a service”, said M. Baltrūnienė.
According to her, the documents turned into scraps of paper go on to recyclers and are used to make toilet paper or printing paper.
The methods of document destruction are also strictly defined by legal acts.
Towards the digit – slowly
The Law on Documents and Archives obliges all state institutions to transfer the documents of their activities to the archive, the term of their storage depends on the type of documents, and they are destroyed after the period expires, although there are such documents that are stored permanently and cannot be destroyed.
The chief archivist of Lithuania Inga Zakšauskienė says that the amount of paper documents in the country is decreasing.
“In recent years, the amount of paper documents created has been decreasing – more and more documents of digital origin are being created: electronic documents, video and audio recordings of digital origin, or others.
Many actions, including the provision or receipt of information, are carried out by means of state information systems, such as declaration, submission of applications and the like,” she told “Vakāru ekspres”.
Not all institutions are switching to digital documents yet, says I. Zakšauskienė.
“We have to admit that not all institutions and organizations tend to abandon paper documents, and documents must be preserved in the form in which they were created,” she explained.
From 2025, the archive storing documents certifying state activities will accept not only paper documents, but also databases, this transformation should gradually reduce the amount of stored paper documents.
For the year 2024, 12.9 million was allocated to the Office of the Chief Archivist of Lithuania and the system of nine state archives. EUR, of which almost 1.7 million euros is provided for municipalities, which also have the duty to manage documents.
Conservationists lead by example
Lina Paškevičiūtė, head of the Environmental Protection Coalition, says that she has hardly used paper documents for about six years.
“Of the non-governmental organizations, we were one of the first to start applying the policy of not having paper, using electronic signatures, we have been doing this for maybe six years. In the institutions, we keep saying that this should be the case everywhere,” she told “Vakāru Ekspres”.
L. Paškevičiūtė states that in Lithuania there are convenient conditions for the activities of organizations to operate without paper documents: “It is completely possible and even very convenient, although there are still certain nuances that can be improved and changed.”
The head of the organization says that the attitude of state institutions towards the use of digital documents was changed by the quarantine introduced during the coronavirus pandemic, when electronic tools became a widely used tool instead of paper.
“The quarantine helped the institutions mentally prepare for it, because until then it seemed to them that it was impossible without paper, but the impossible suddenly became possible. The institutions have matured for this,” she said.
For digitization – over 100 million
The Minister of Economy and Innovation, Aušrinė Armonaitė, told “Vakaru ekspres” that the state is trying to reduce paperwork and is allocating tens of millions of euros for it.
“The Ministry of Economy and Innovation aims to reduce paperwork in the public sector. For this purpose, digitization projects of institutions are financed.
Last year, 89 million was allocated for this purpose. EUR funds for digitization projects of 52 state institutions, companies and municipalities. This year, 23 more priority projects will be additionally financed for 21 million. euros”, says the minister.
According to her, funding is planned for digitization projects throughout Lithuania, and in the Klaipėda region it should be received by the virtual database of cemeteries being created in the municipality of Skuodas district, its data will be open to residents. Artificial intelligence solutions for providing healthcare services will be developed in Kretinga district.
According to the minister, these decisions should be more convenient and will reduce the administrative burden.
Business thinks otherwise
Vida Kažuro, deputy director of the Klaipėda Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Crafts, says that every government promises to reduce paperwork, but it not only does not decrease, but sometimes increases.
“During the twenty years that I have been working in this chamber, each new government has the same desire to reduce bureaucracy for business, but it not only does not change, but also increases. Every state institution puts a lot on the shoulders of the employer. Perhaps the most paperwork is in “Sodra”, V. Kažuro told “Vakāru ekspres”.
“Employers are obliged to provide calculations, admissions, dismissals – all information – to “Sodra” and also duplicate paper versions and keep them with themselves. Why this is needed is a question for consideration,” she added.
Andrius Romanovskis, president of the Lithuanian Business Confederation, also supports it.
“That accumulation of paper causes many problems, after all, it also requires additional resources and space for storage. Businesses are trying to manage, they are striving for depaperization, but I don’t feel that this is done systematically in the state,” A. Romanovskis told “Vakāru ekspres”.
V. Kažuro said before the interview with “Vakaru ekspres” that she had checked the archive of the palace and found paper documents that must be preserved until 2082. According to her, the state that imposed such an obligation could share the burden and accept to store at least part of the papers, but it does not do so.
“Earlier, I had hope that the state institutions that came up with these requirements could share the burden, but no state archive takes documents from a private legal entity. You need to protect them with your own funds, find a place for them, ensure the conditions. This is a considerable burden, because such storage costs money”, said V. Kažuro.
To her knowledge, there are no companies in Klaipėda that provide a document storage service: “In Klaipėda, such a service is not even provided, it is in Kaunas, the fee there is quite high.”
An employee of the organization representing the interests of the industrialists of the port city believes that the document storage procedure could be changed now, as it does not help to achieve a more favorable environment for the earth’s climate.
“I think it’s time to review those terms, but as long as they’re in place, they have to be respected.” For now, we are not “green”, V. Kažuro said.
Virtual space is also dangerous
According to the Paris Agreement, the EU countries are committed to ensuring climate neutrality by 2050, the strategy created to achieve this is called the green course.
A. Armonaitė notes that Lithuania is among the most advanced European countries in terms of public digital services.
“According to the eGovernment Benchmark 2023 study published by the European Commission, Lithuania ranks 7th and is in the leading group among countries with the most technologically developed public electronic services,” says A. Armonaitė.
According to the data of the Ministry of Economy and Innovation, more than 650 electronic services are currently operating on the Lithuanian Electronic Government Portal www.epaslaugos.lt. In 2022 alone, 79.6 percent used them. 18-74 years old age of the country’s population, users have created more than 2.5 million accounts.
At that time, the head of the Environmental Protection Coalition, L. Paškevičiūtė, says that digital documents can also contribute to climate pollution, because storing or sending large amounts of them consumes a lot of electricity, and it is necessary to produce not only it, but also equipment that is not the most environmentally friendly.
“It’s being talked about more and more that it’s underrated.” It seems green, but you need electricity, you need servers, and you need to build cables. The digital form must also be saved, because storing or sending large quantities requires energy resources”, said L. Paškevičiūtė.
2024-05-01 04:15:07