Everyone is going green. In the business world, rather than a band-aid for flagging corporate reputations, green business practices have become a legitimate wake-up call. More and more companies are attempting to enhance their corporate social responsibility ranking by providing sustainability reports, and developing ways to reduce their energy and paper consumption.

Nearly one thousand companies now publish sustainability reports—including about half of the S&P 100 corporations—up from zero just ten years ago. A powerful case study of big corporations finding environmental religion: retail giant Wal-Mart announced in 2005 that it would invest $500 million annually in energy saving technologies, reduce solid waste by 25% over the next three years, and urge sixty thousand suppliers to produce environmentally friendly goods.

Indeed, the environmental awareness agency Go Green Initiative estimates that for every ton of paper that is recycled, the following is saved: seven thousand gallons of water, 380 gallons of oil, and enough electricity to power an average home for six months.

One way in which companies can deliver on the long-promised hope for a truly “paperless office” in simple and painless ways is by switching from hard-copy paper faxes to desktop and production electronic Internet faxing, and electronic data interchange, for the sending and receiving of purchase orders, shipment notices, invoices, remittance advices, and other confirmations.

Implementing EasyLink solutions, one Fortune 500 company reduced their Co2 emissions by ninety-six metric tons while saving time and money. Companies that utilize these services experience the positive effects of “going green” in every sense of the word—saving the equivalent of over 1,500 trees annually while slashing costs by up to $1.4 million.