Some labs still run off paper-based processes: patient files are printed out, instrument maintenance is tracked with notebooks, and audits are completed by pulling stacks of papers together and manually sifting through them. Oftentimes, all these records are shipped to offsite storage warehouses, where staff wander the aisles searching for a single CLIA record or QC log, hoping it hasn’t been mislabeled or misplaced. It’s amusing until you realize the cost: wasted time, storage fees, and the inefficiency of building operations around a fragile medium.
Paper systems aren’t unsustainable just because of their environmental footprint. They’re unsustainable because of the operational waste they create—space, staffing, transport, rework, and delays any time someone needs information that’s been sealed away in a box.
Sustainability in labs is often framed as a choice between paper and digital. But the more accurate distinction is between inefficient and efficient workflows. Both paper and digital carry environmental footprints, but only one consistently eliminates rework, speeds retrieval, and prevents errors. When labs operate efficiently, sustainability follows naturally.
Why paper-based systems create waste
Paper generates hidden operational costs that add up quickly. Records must be printed, filed, boxed, transported, and stored. Warehouses require lighting, climate control, and management. When records need to be retrieved, the process can take days, and employees must be paid for all that time tracking down records.
These delays are especially significant in regulated environments. CLIA, CAP, FDA, and ISO inspections require labs to produce documentation quickly, yet the search for physical records often becomes a bottleneck. Misfiled binders, illegible handwriting, and outdated versions further erode data integrity and increase the risk of repeated testing.
A recent example from clinical diagnostics shows the scale of the problem. According to an individual Lab Manager spoke to at the Association for Diagnostics and Laboratory Medicine conference, one major testing lab corporation printed all the patient records they processed, boxed them, and shipped them to off-site warehouses. During inspections, retrieving a specific record could take up to five days.
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The delays cost the company staff time, courier fees, and operational drag—and created compliance risk if a record wasn’t readily accessible. When the company partnered with a digital storage provider to migrate their records to a secure cloud, retrieval became instantaneous. The company reported $118,000 in annual savings by going paperless.
This example illustrates a broader truth: most of paper’s environmental burden comes from the inefficient processes required to manage it, not the sheets themselves.
Many labs also operate in a transitional state where some processes are digital while others remain paper-based. This hybrid model often creates its own inefficiencies—duplicate entry, mismatched versions, and gaps in audit trails—because information has to move back and forth between incompatible systems. Until workflows are fully aligned, labs may experience more rework and confusion than if they had stayed entirely on paper or moved entirely to digital.
Where digital workflows outperform paper
Digital systems outperform paper because they prevent whole categories of waste—not because they are footprint-free.
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Instant retrieval and audit readiness
Digital archives allow labs to produce required documentation in seconds. Audit trails, e-signatures, and version control strengthen compliance without spending staff hours hunting for records. Digitalization also directly supports the ALCOA+ principles—making data attributable, legible, contemporaneous, original, accurate, complete, consistent, enduring, and available throughout its lifecycle. When records are automatically captured, time-stamped, and preserved with controlled access, labs avoid integrity failures such as illegible handwriting, overwritten entries, missing originals, and outdated versions.
No physical storage footprint
Digital-first labs eliminate rooms of binders and off-site warehouses. Reclaimed space can be used for instrumentation or collaboration, and transportation emissions tied to moving boxes disappear.
Fewer errors and less rework
Automatic data capture, metadata, and real-time version control reduce transcription errors and prevent repeated experiments. When labs avoid re-running assays due to misplaced or incorrect paper records, they save consumables, labor, and energy.
Better collaboration with less redundancy
Teams work from the same live documents rather than printing, scanning, or emailing versions. This reduces duplication and prevents the buildup of “shadow binders” maintained for convenience.
Resilient and disaster-ready
Digital systems provide redundant storage and protect records from floods, fires, and misplacement. Preventing data loss also prevents the waste associated with recreating lost work.
In short, digital becomes more sustainable because it removes friction, errors, and storage needs—core drivers of waste in paper-based labs.
How lab managers can make the shift
Moving from paper to digital requires workflow redesign, not just new software. Lab managers can accelerate the transition with a few focused steps:
1. Map every paper-dependent workflow
List each touchpoint where paper enters the process—instrument printouts, batch records, QC logs, SOP binders, chain-of-custody forms, and sign-off sheets. You can’t streamline what you can’t see.
2. Quantify the true cost of paper
Track the staff hours spent filing, retrieving, or correcting paper records. Include off-site storage fees, repeated work, audit delays, and wasted square footage. These operational costs typically dwarf the cost of the paper itself. Once you have these numbers, it will be easier to justify the business case for data digitalization.
3. Choose systems that eliminate printing at the source
Prioritize platforms with audit trails, e-signatures, reliable uptime, and direct instrument integrations , and require documented data migration and validation to preserve data integrity during the transition. Favor cloud providers with strong renewable-energy commitments and efficient data centers, along with support for regulation relevant to your lab.
4. Treat change management as a core step
Show staff how digital workflows reduce their administrative load. Use pilot phases, training, and workflow redesign to build confidence. Position digital as a productivity upgrade, not just an environmental initiative.
Sustainability through efficiency
Sustainability doesn’t come from eliminating paper; it comes from eliminating waste. Digital systems strengthen compliance, reduce rework, reclaim space, and stop the endless cycle of searching for records in warehouses. When labs streamline workflows and remove friction, environmental benefits emerge naturally.
Digital recordkeeping is ultimately an operational improvement that makes labs more resilient, productive, and sustainable by design.
This article has been created with the assistance of generative AI and has undergone editorial review.
