Zumbox: A New Technology That Could Save over 100 Million Trees Annually

We recently posted Max Gladwell’s list of 10 Ways to Change the World Through Social Media. The list featured Zumbox, the first paperless postal system. We caught up with Zumbox’s president, Glen Ward, to get the rundown on this green mail solution that could potentially save of more than 100 million trees annually.

Twilight Earth: What is the purpose of Zumbox?

Glen Ward: Zumbox was created to give people a choice as to what mail they want to receive in digital form rather than in paper. It’s also about empowering people who want to receive relevant mail – not junk mail.

Twilight Earth: Those sound like some respectable goals, but how does Zumbox work?

Glen Ward: It’s very simple. Every US street address has a Zumbox – a digital mailbox. Households, businesses, retail stores, banks, non-profits, and anyone else who sends mail through the postal system has the opportunity to sign up and send that mail electronically – taking the paper right out of the postal system. We don’t expect to completely replace paper mail – but we do anticipate dramatically reducing its use.

Twilight Earth: Can’t we already do this with e-mail?

Glen Ward: That’s a good question. We’re different from e-mail in that Zumbox is based on street addresses and is a closed, secure and spam-free service. When you send someone mail, you send it to them by typing in their street address. And only businesses and people who have been verified by Zumbox can use the service. There is also no limit on the file sizes that can be sent.

Twilight Earth: We know of plenty of businesses, such as banks and utilities, that offer people an option to receive their paper statements and bills in electronic form. Does Zumbox duplicate what they are offering?

Glen Ward: Interestingly, some large financial institutions have found that very few people–we’re talking 3 to 5 percent–have opted to use e-mail and online bill pay. We believe that Zumbox can help these businesses improve upon this slow adoption rate by serving as a centralized location for all digital mail that consumers and businesses send to each other, rather than paper mail. People are more inclined to sign up for these options if they can go to one place to view all of this mail.

Twilight Earth: The potential environmental benefits seem pretty compelling. What exactly do you believe those will be?

Glen Ward: In addition to the obvious reduction of paper use for traditional mail, which currently results in the destruction of 150 million trees annually, using Zumbox also addresses other environmental concerns associated with traditional paper-based postal systems. First, 360 billion gallons of water are used to create pulp for paper mail. That paper is then bleached and processed using toxic chemicals. After the paper is made, it goes through the printing process where more chemicals, dyes, and inks are added. Once the mail is printed it has to be physically transported creating a very large carbon footprint. Roughly 703,000 tons of CO2 are emitted each year by the postal delivery system for delivering paper mail. Using Zumbox will help reduce these as well.

Twilight Earth: You previously mentioned the term “relevance.” How does Zumbox help make mail more relevant for people?

Glen Ward: In addition to personal correspondence, nonprofit mailers, bills, etc. Zumbox contains a Special Offers section where mail such as catalogs and coupons are sent. Because Zumbox is entirely digital, users can select to receive only the mail that is relevant to their individual interests. For example, I am very interested in receiving outdoor equipment catalogs but have no desire to receive furniture catalogs. With Zumbox, if I receive a furniture catalog for some reason, I can block the sender and stop receiving it in my Zumbox. Because it is based on street addresses, there is real accountability, so that address stays blocked until I choose to unblock it. I can easily change my mind and start receiving it again if I want to.

Twilight Earth: What kind of mail is being sent via Zumbox?

Glen Ward: After launching our beta site in February of this year, we started off by promoting the service in a few markets, and our first government partnership was with the Village of New Lenox, IL. As a result, residents of New Lenox have been receiving government communication as well as mail from several local businesses and various non-profit organizations. Additionally, the local newspaper and other news updates have been delivered via Zumbox. Soon we’ll be expanding into new markets where we’ll see more relevant mail from the large national billers and other organizations.

Twilight Earth: If our readers want to sign up, what should they do next?

Glen Ward: They should go to Zumbox.com to claim their Zumbox, which is waiting for them. After they claim it they will receive a confirmation via US mail a few days later in order to confirm that they reside there. The confirmation note contains a security code that, once submitted during login, will activate their Zumbox. It’s as easy as that!

Glen Ward has more than 25 years of varied international management experience in entertainment, retail and consumer electronics. Glen has specialized in formulating strategic plans and building teams to capture new business opportunities.

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