5 Ways Cloud Accounting Can Help Save The Environment

• Reading Time: 4 Minutes
• Published: July 21, 2021
• Last Updated: March 5, 2025

Cloud accounting is a rage now! Most online accounting software are now cloud-based. They help businesses share data and collaborate in real-time to efficiently manage their processes. However, when we think about choosing cloud accounting software, several benefits pop up in our minds: cost savings, ease of access, better management, improved efficiency rate, and better computing techniques. But do you know that apart from these cloud accounting benefits, there is one more amazing benefit that most often gets unnoticed? It is the environmental benefit.

People often overlook the eco-friendly aspect of cloud accounting, which is the most multifaceted advantage. Nowadays, businesses are opting for more eco-friendly methods like environmental CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). It is a method that aims to reduce the environmental damage happening due to business processes. Cloud accounting is a meaningful addition to these methods. Let us dive into how adopting cloud accounting can help save the environment.

1. Less carbon emission

A local server requires electricity for managing and processing data, leading to increased carbon emissions. But with cloud accounting, not only do you use fewer servers, but you also use them efficiently, “reducing the carbon impact on a company’s data center.” Switching to cloud accounting software significantly reduces electricity consumption and, thus, reduces carbon emissions.

2. Help Go Paperless:

Besides reducing carbon emissions, incorporating cloud computing into your corporation also helps you go paperless, a great initiative to save the environment. We all know the advantages of instant messaging and email – they are fast, simple, and leave no paper record. You can access emails and documents from any place on any computer with cloud storage. You don’t even have to collect signatures physically. Another benefit of not using paper is that you will not have to print something, leading to less paper waste.

3. Less use of electricity

Conventional data hardware systems need a lot of upkeep, such as power sources, cooling, and energy. Moving from simple software programs to the cloud will help you save much money on energy. According to a case study conducted by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, transferring business software such as CRM and other applications to the cloud (on a national level) can save enough energy to power Los Angeles for a year. This means that the cloud will reduce these computing applications’ overall energy consumption by 87%.

4. Less transportation emission

When it comes to going green, the accounting industry must keep in mind that cars play a significant role in global CO2 emissions. By optimizing employee commutes, the company can effectively minimize carbon emissions. In a company with multiple branches or stores, they don’t have to transfer data physically. Cloud accounting software allows accountants to view financial data and process financial transactions from anywhere.

Many accountants nowadays use cloud computing to work from home and cut down on traveling costs. They save emissions from cars that would otherwise be generated while driving to communicate with clients and workers in real-time from anywhere.

5. Fewer expenses

Shifting to the cloud reduces the number of machines and hardware needed, resulting in lower space requirements. As a result, energy costs are lower, and companies have more money to invest in other ventures. In terms of global economics, the Smart 2020 study predicts that information technology-enabled energy conservation will save $946.5 billion over the next five year. Companies are under relentless strain to reduce costs, which is at the heart of paradigm changes in their work and tragic downsizing.

Apart from allowing companies to reduce capital and operating expenses, cloud accounting also gives a chance to streamline management and concentrate on revenue-generating programs. Shifting towards cloud accounting creates an opportunity to focus on something much bigger than the current business environment. Firms can use cloud computing to help minimize their energy usage, reduce carbon emissions, and shift toward a greener, smarter future. With continued advances in cloud technology and rising green consciousness, adopting cloud accounting to improve efficiencies will certainly become more popular.

Conclusion

Businesses may use cloud accounting for more than just storing data safely, increasing performance, and lowering costs. It has many environmental advantages that are far too numerous to be overlooked in an age where climate change and global warming are major concerns. Cloud-based online accounting has the potential to save billions of dollars in electricity costs and millions of metric tons of carbon emissions.

By adopting cloud computing, you are contributing your share for the betterment of the environment, which in itself is a social responsibility and can be part of your CSR. According to a Deloitte survey conducted in 2019, climate change and environmental security are at the forefront of worries for most business owners. Though cloud accounting is something businesses should adopt at the earliest, shifting from traditional accounting to cloud accounting does not have to be a hassle for you. And if you want assistance in doing so, you can contact a cloud accounting service provider who will ease the process and help you get the best out of your cloud accounting system. We at Whiz Consulting offer accounting and bookkeeping services to various businesses with the help of different cloud accounting software. Contact Us and shift to cloud accounting today! We help you grow your business while taking care of the environment.

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