Almost every week, I talk to people about the extent to which construction project teams have dispensed with producing information in paper-based formats. When I first got involved with construction collaboration platforms in the late 1990s, it was conceivable that electronic forms of communication might mean most teams becoming, if not exactly paperless, at least using less paper. But it hasn't really happened (at least, not yet). Sure, some teams have dramatically cut their use of paper, but others - perhaps due to personal, organisational, or even legal attachment to hard copy communications - still churn out thousands of sheets of paper every year.
In Dubai recently, for example, I talked to project teams who told me that hard copies of correspondence still had to be produced so that they could be signed and produced, if necessary, in the event of a dispute. I have also talked before (see ExtranetEvolution posts here and here, for instance) about architects being insistent on not using on-screen mark-up tools as they prefer to "bleed" all over a drawing.
I was not surprised, therefore, to read that professional reliance on paper even extends to some of the industry's professional institutions. In the US, James Van, in his All Things BIM blog, castigates the AIA for sending him credits to use Fedex to ship paper about. In his post, AIA Green?, he also complains about being sent a booklet about the winners of the AIA New York State Design Awards rather than being notified via a website (there is one [here], but, as a commenter points out, it's helpfully devoid of much information). James calls on fellow AIA members to lobby the organisation and its local chapters to fight for more environmentally friendly communication practices. I am sure there are many AEC organisations in the UK that could also change their ways.
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