Many people understand the obvious benefits of document shredding like protecting personal information and preventing identity theft. There are many other reasons why every business should enforce a document shredding policy or use a document shredding service.

Shredding your business documents makes sense on many levels. Here are some of the lesser-known benefits that may convince your business that document shredding is essential:

Shred to avoid penalties.

Businesses are held to high standards for personal data and document protection. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulates the protection of personal data across all sectors of the economy. But did you know that your business could be subject to financial penalties if you don’t take the proper measure to protect the personal information of your employees, clients and vendors? Shredding is the gold standard for the disposal of paper documents to prevent fines.

Shred to reduce your carbon footprint.

Americans use a lot of paper; 750 pieces per person to be exact. That’s a lot of trees and a lot of waste, especially if it all ends up in landfills. Shredding won’t change the amount of paper used, but it can make it easier to recycle and reuse to reduce environmental impact. Use your shredded office paper as shipping filler, instead of costly and not-so-eco-friendly packing peanuts. Or recycle your shreds so they can get a new life as paper towel rolls or cardboard boxes.

Shred to meet compliance.

In addition to the FTC, several federal and industry-specific regulations dictate how businesses must protect personal data. Depending on the industry you’re in, shredding documents could be required by law. Don’t get caught up in legal red tape. Shred your business documents to ensure compliance.

Shred to save space and costs.

Paper documents often clutter up valuable workspace in many offices, creating a mess and potential security threats if documents are left sitting around. Or, your business might spend money on physical document storage solutions like filing cabinets. Either way, there is a better solution that saves space and financial resources. By combining a scanning solution with document shredding, you can convert your paper archives to digital documents and shred the paper ones. This will greatly reduce mounting storage costs and greatly increase office organization.