The BPM Forum, which defines itself as an “organization that helps advance the understanding of business performance management techniques, technologies, and processes in global enterprises,” has just released an interesting report that examines the forces, factors, and roadblocks IT leaders in the digital media and entertainment industry face in driving sustainability, improving efficiencies, and managing costs. The report, “Think Eco-Logical - IT Sustainability Imperatives in Digital Media & Entertainment Business,” is based on input from more than 100 IT professionals as well as nearly a dozen executives.

Though the target of the study is IT companies, the contents are much more broadly applicable. The introduction of the report gives some indication of why that is so: “Corporate America is coming to grips with the need for social responsibility and sustainability like never before. Faced with a quadruple whammy of high energy costs, environmental pressures, downturn cost-cutting, and the need for growth, companies need help to navigate through the perfect storm.”

All companies are dealing with the “quadruple whammy,” and some have found innovative solutions.

In tough times, all companies have to make difficult decisions. In the case of companies in the oil and gas industry, most companies have opted to continue investing in R&D. And most have also decided to reduce spending in other areas. That reduction in spending has affected advertising budgets, and trade publications like E&P and its competitors have felt the impact of those cuts. The fact is that all of the magazines are thinner these days.

There is opportunity in adversity, though, and innovative thinkers are at work everywhere, including E&P. We think our readers deserve thorough coverage of industry news and technology, especially in a situation like the one we are in today. So we are moving beyond paper and are using the limitless Web to provide the information our readers want and need.

In a world that produces a paper product, in our case, E&P magazine, it is difficult to make the transition to the completely electronic world. We use electronic tools all the time to transfer files and lay out the magazine, but we still have a monthly publication, which means that the news we report is not “immediate.” In a Web world, however, we can make information available the moment our copy is ready to turn in. Daily news and monthly news are not the same thing. And we are learning to think differently about how we post information and what sorts of information our readers expect to see online.

The good thing about this change is that it opens the door to options that aren’t available to a paper product. We can post stories as soon as we’re done composing them. We can post articles on all sorts of subjects that we don’t have room to address in the monthly magazine. And we can post videos, webinars, and interviews that our readers otherwise would never see.

The E&P site is rich with unique data, technology stories, industry news, commentary, and videos that take the magazine to a different level. And our weekly newsletter, The Buzz, gives subscribers easy access to the new content that is posted each week.

If you haven’t taken a look at the new and original content on our site, you should. You might be surprised by what you find. Check out E&P online.