In recent years, we have worked with boards of directors and co-owners to limit the sending of paper mail, including:
The objective of these actions is to allow electronic communication while transmitting by regular mail the documents to the co-owners for whom we had no acknowledgement of receipt of the electronic mail.
This initiative resulted in a reduction of approximately 75% in regular mailings.
The arrival of virtual meetings and the use of software like UpperBee Meeting also contribute greatly to the reduction of paper consumption since no documents must be printed for the holding of the meetings. Historically, we had to print a list of attendance, ballots in the event of a secret ballot and additional copies of notices to be given to co-owners upon request.
To these initiatives, we are adding the arrival of electronic payments via UpperBee Pay, which has made it possible to limit the number of cheques to be printed and mailed for payment by suppliers.
Despite this massive reduction, we still face an astronomical amount of paper still used. We remain sensitive to the increase in the cost of stationery and postal costs that are borne by our customers and, consequently, by the co-owners through their condo fees.
Here are some numbers for 2023:
We are aware of the importance of certain communications reaching their recipients even through traditional modes of communication. We therefore looked at how we could reduce them since the main communications targeted by the mailing par post are large, which also has the impact that they are more expensive. They contain a high number of pages, sometimes up to 30 pages, and must be sent in large envelopes thus increasing the cost of envelopes and stamps.
We worked as a team to rethink our processes and respect the communication parameters in place that we needed to maintain. Thus, we have grasped an idea allowing to keep the essential communications by mail with the same mode of prior acknowledgement of receipt for the electronic communication that precedes it.
In the coming days, we will summarize communications to the point and generic documents, generic forms, notice of meeting and minutes will be available online from a QR code to be scanned using your smart device (phone or tablet). This QR code will also be accompanied by a web link that will lead directly to the documents in question. Other consultation options will be offered, such as consulting the information on the syndicate’s UpperBee portal and for those who wish to receive the notice by mail or the full notice by standard mail, it will be possible to request it by email or by phone.
This will have a direct impact on the number of pages consumed and on the cost of stamps since we will be able to use smaller envelopes thus reducing postage costs.
Please note that Canada Post’s [1]current rates are as follows :
Enveloppe | Postage cost |
Small enveloppe | 0.92 $/stamp / max 5 sheets |
Large enveloppe | 1.30 $/stamp / 6 à 9 sheets (Standard rate minutes) 1.94 $/stamp / 10 à 20 sheets (standard rate condo fees) 3.19 $/stamp / 21 à 40 sheets (standard rate notice GM) |
This change will significantly reduce the material resources (paper) and, consequently, the costs of stationery and stamps borne by our customers.
Here is an example based on a building of 100 condos for a notice of meeting of 20 pages.
Email with acknowledgement (75 %) | 75 condos |
Mailing by post | 25 condos |
Cost of mailing by post :
Thus, there is a subsequent stationary savings of 164,25 $ for the syndicate simply with one (1) mailing.
At SolutionCondo, we are convinced that every little action counts. Out commitment to reducing our environmental footprint is part of a global vision of sustainable development for the property management industry.
To test and visualize this new QR code communication method, we invite you to scan the QR code below:
To find out more about our initiatives, stay connected by following our LinkedIn page or subscribing to our Blog, the Blog of the Co-Ownership.
[1] Selon les tarifs affichés sur le site de porte Canada le 21 février 2024
Samanta Pilon Langlois
Directrice des opérations
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