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Save a Tree, Sign digitally:

Ein Blick von unten auf die robusten Äste und das dichte Blattwerk eines großen Baumes. Der Baum steht gegen einen klaren blauen Himmel, durch den einige Wolken spärlich verteilt sind. Die Sonne scheint durch die Blätter hindurch, was die Textur der Rinde und das lebhafte Grün der Blätter hervorhebt.

Wie Ihre digitale Signatur einen Beitrag zum Umweltschutz leistet

Did you know that you can save an average of 6 A4 sheets of paper with just one digital signature in the A-Trust Signature App? The new EcoStats feature in the A-Trust signature app gives you a detailed insight into your digital signature activities over the past year and the resulting savings in resources such as paper, water, wood, energy and time. In this blog post, you can find out more about the facts and figures provided by EcoStats and how your decision to use digital signatures makes a valuable contribution to protecting our environment.

  • What do my EcoStats mean?
  • What resources can be saved by using digital signatures?
  • How do digital signatures influence the ecological footprint of companies?

What do my EcoStats mean?

With EcoStats, the use of digital signatures becomes an active contribution to environmental protection. This innovative feature gives you a detailed overview of the number of digital signatures you have made in the past year and shows how your decision to sign digitally has a positive impact on the environment.

Screenshot einer App mit der Überschrift 'ÖkoStats' auf einem Smartphone. Die App zeigt persönliche Ökostatistiken für das Jahr 2023 an, einschließlich 'Anzahl meiner Signaturen: 177' und 'Anzahl Signaturen Gesamt: 52.763.518'. Unterhalb der Zahlen befindet sich die Grafik eines Baumes mit vielen grünen Blättern. Der Text darunter sagt: 'Die digitale Signatur spart Zeit und Ressourcen. Die nachfolgenden Zahlen zeigen einen kleinen Ausschnitt der Einsparungen durch die von Ihnen durchgeführten digitalen Signaturen.

It quantifies the amount of resources - such as paper or wood, water and energy - that you have saved by avoiding conventional paper-based processes. These savings are not only shown in figures, but are also presented in a visually appealing way. The A-Trust signature tree is a creative graphic element that symbolizes your environmentally friendly actions. For every digital signature you make, your tree grows a little further. This makes every contribution to environmental protection visible and tangible.

You can share your personal resource savings with a simple click via social media such as LinkedIn and Instagram. Not only does this highlight your commitment to environmental protection, but you can also encourage your friends and family to join in this eco-friendly movement and compare who has the greener (digital) thumb.

The Ecostats feature is an innovative way to raise awareness of environmental issues while demonstrating the potential of digital technologies to promote sustainable practices. With every digital signature transaction made via the A-Trust Signature App, you are not only contribute to simplifying your everyday life, but also to creating a greener and more sustainable world.

What resources can be saved by using digital signatures?

In our pursuit of a greener and more sustainable approach to the digital world, we have taken a close look at the resource savings that result from using A-Trust QES (ID Austria & xIDENTITY). Of particular interest is how the digitalization of signatures and documents has a positive impact on our environmental footprint.

The sustainability calculator from the Initiative for Recycled Paper (IPR) was used to assess the environmental benefits of digital signatures. This tool makes it possible to quantify the consumption of resources such as wood, water and energy as well as the associated CO2 emissions that would result from the use of conventional paper and recycled paper. For example, 52.7 million digital signatures were made via the A-Trust QES in 2023, resulting in the following resource savings:

  • Reduction of paper consumption by 82 million A4 sheets and wood consumption by 891 tons through paperless processes: This saved approximately 273 trees.
  • Reduction of CO2 consumption by 401 tons: this corresponds to the CO2 emissions of approximately 640 people flying from Vienna to Mallorca.
  • 20.8 million liters of water saved: a family of four could get by with this amount of water for 109 years, assuming that water consumption per person is 130 liters per day.
  • 5.38 GWh (gigawatt hour) energy saving: this corresponds to the annual electricity consumption of around 1,793 households, assuming that a household in Austria consumes an average of 3,000 kWh per year.
The detailed data collection and calculation regarding resource savings and the environmental benefits of digital signatures can be found here.

How do digital signatures affect the ecological footprint of companies?

The transition to digital signatures offers significant environmental benefits and is a major step towards more sustainable business practices. Traditional paper production and use has far-reaching environmental impacts that can be significantly reduced by adopting digital solutions.

The paper industry is one of the largest energy consumers in the world and has a significant impact on the environment. The production of paper, especially non-recycled paper, is associated with an enormous consumption of resources and a serious environmental impact.

In addition, paper production contributes to deforestation due to the logging required. It is estimated that around 200 million trees are felled every day to produce paper, resulting in around 28 million tons of CO2 emissions annually. Deforestation leads to the damage or destruction of ecosystems that perform essential functions for both humans and nature. In addition to harboring the world's biological diversity, forests actively contribute to climate protection. They play a central role in the absorption of carbon dioxide, making a significant contribution to stabilizing the global climate.

Digital signatures eliminate the need for paper for documents, which has a direct impact on reducing deforestation and resource consumption. By eliminating the need for physical documents, companies can significantly reduce their environmental footprint. By using digital signatures and processes, companies are sensitized and motivated to pursue more sustainable business practices. This can have a positive domino effect on the entire industry and beyond.

Digital signatures offer an effective way to reduce a company's environmental impact while increasing efficiency and cost savings. They are a key element in the movement towards more sustainable business practices and help to reduce a company's environmental footprint.

Conclusion

In summary, the introduction of digital signatures and processes through the A-Trust QES not only offers convenience and efficiency to users, but also makes a significant contribution to environmental protection. These extensive savings in wood, water, energy consumption and CO2 emissions show that technology and environmental awareness can go hand in hand to create a more sustainable digital future.

Sign securely and sustainably with the A-Trust Signatur App.

You can find more information about A-Trust EcoStats here.