Internet giant Softbank Corp. will go paperless starting this month by banning employees from printing handouts or distributing paper press releases.

CEO Masayoshi Son unveiled his grand plan as he released Softbank's earnings report for business 2011 to reporters and investors Thursday, saying the use of electronic documents via iPads or iPhones will be mandatory for all business-related matters.

Softbank, the first mobile phone company in the nation to distribute Apple's signature mobile devices, said it has been promoting the shift to a paperless workplace over the past few years.