Change starts small.

It starts with glowing embers of hope.

The hope to make a difference.
It flickers and grows into a burning desire.
A desire to do something, anything that will catalyse change.
And when it collects momentum, change demands action.
That’s what happened at EFL.

It started with a small, simple ask. An ask to reduce the use of paper in one office in India. So they started with moving to e-subscriptions instead from physical ones. But that didn’t feel enough. They wanted to do more. So they analysed where paper was being consumed the most. They studied each process, internal and external. They then categorised the usage based on what can be avoided and what was mandatory. This was their starting point.

Dual monitors were installed, so the team could refer to documents on screens not sheets. A new filing system was adopted to reduce wastage.

Printing paper was switched to recycled paper. And for the mandatory documents, well, while they couldn’t stop using paper for this, they ensured they were recycled responsibly. But what made this a success, was the shift in mindset across the team. It wasn’t about one memo or mandate. Every single team member was personally involved and responsible for this change.

This office became a model for their other offices in India. Slowly, steadily, these methods transpired conscientious action across all their 19 offices. After 3 years of small yet well-intentioned actions, today, the movement has grown to save at least 10,000 sheets every day. Now, they’re going global with this initiative, encouraging their offices across the world to adopt more sustainable practices and processes. Because it takes only 10,000 sheets to help save one tree. Imagine what we can do, if the whole world got together to do one small thing right, every day.