The mortgage industry continues the push towards doing more with less as it tries to cut costs and create greater efficiency. Even though many industry executives perceive “Going Green” as a costly and expensive proposition, they might want to reconsider. There are a number of steps that companies can take to “green” their organization which make good business sense.
If companies simply reduce, reuse and recycle within their organizations, they can cut costs. It may sound simplistic but recycling paper, turning off lights and computers and having your staff do more telecommuting will result in fewer resources being used, creating immediate cost savings. Properly managing your PC’s can cut energy costs by $20-$60 per PC, which can account for significant savings depending on the size of your organization. According to Kevin Lustner of Environmental Leader, “Fifteen PC’s can generate as much carbon emissions as a mid-sized car each year.”
There are a number of innovative paperless processes and solutions within the mortgage industry that can clearly advance green initiatives while making good business sense. One such example is secure electronic delivery of critical lending documents, which significantly reduces paper, toner, printing costs and overnight costs in addition to being able to better respond to market conditions. With the new TIL and Reg Z requirements for timing and delivery of truth in lending disclosures, secure electronic delivery offers a better business process (faster delivery, full audit trail, etc) at a reduced cost.
Lenders can save time and money by implementing pre-closing, closing and post closing paperless processes where possible to reduce the sometimes hundreds of pieces of paper per single mortgage transaction. In addition, there are technology innovations that allow lenders to begin bridging the paper gap and maintain a completely paperless process from origination through signature, to vaulting, management and sale or payoff. These include products like online origination, electronic delivery, e-signing, and e-notes, e-vaulting to name a few.
Companies that embrace green initiatives can achieve greater competitive product and brand differentiation. A research study “Top Line Growth Impacted By Going Green” by the Aberdeen Group suggest, product differentiation (35%), customer demand for products that are eco-friendly (27%) and customer demand that use natural resources more efficiently (23%) all contribute to market-driven, top line growth.
Going green sets your company apart as a leader, enhances your company’s image and reputation, and creates a powerful marketing tool. Standing out from the competition for all the right reasons will give you a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
As the mortgage industry looks to rise from the ashes of the mortgage meltdown cutting costs and creating a more efficient process can go hand in hand with going green. Going Green and being a good steward of the environment can also prove to be a good business decision. Do you believe that cost savings and green initiatives can go together? Do you believe that there are business advantageous to going green?
Has your organization recently implemented any green initiatives? If so, what have you implemented? Have you realized the anticipated cost savings? Were there any other advantages that you did not anticipate?
Share with us your thoughts on how making a difference can make good business sense.
