22.3m
the amount of tonnes of CO2 emissions that would be eliminated annually if 20% of
business travel in the EU 25 countries was replaced by video conferencing
21%
of US companies questioned reported expenditure in excess of $50 million
70%
of CO2 emissions for Swiss Re were due to business travel. It now encourages its
employees to use conferencing services as an alternative
Over a year, such savings add up. In 2006/7, it’s estimated that BT’s carbon footprint
BT’s UK employees saved a total of 97,000 tonnes of CO2
emissions by teleconferencing instead of travelling to meetings. BT’s use of conferencing services helped it reduce its CO2
Were it possible to drive from London to New York, this would be emissions by 60 per cent between 1996 and 2006.
the equivalent to the emissions created by almost 48,500 round
trips in an average British car. In January 2007, the company announced further steps to battle
climate change, including a new carbon-busting strategy and a
Of course, it’s important to make sure the savings are real. The three-year extension to its contract for ‘green energy’ to power
environment doesn’t benefit if employees use conferencing only its operations in the UK. The agreement covers the supply of 1
to fit still more meetings around their business travel schedule. But terawatt hour (TWh) of renewable energy and 1.2TWh of accredited
what such figures do demonstrate is that a switch to conferencing combined heat and power a year.
is a quick and effective way for many companies to reduce their
carbon footprint. The move is one of several major initiatives BT is taking to help
reduce global CO2 emissions. In all, it is:
Next time you’re tempted to leap in your car or rush to the airport,
perhaps you should give it a try? • Reducing its own emissions - including conducting a complete
audit of the energy consumption of its data centres.
Aaron McCormack is CEO of BT Conferencing – the number one • Influencing its supply chain to produce lower carbon-emitting
conferencing provider in the UK and Europe. More than 70 of the products.
FSTE 100 companies are among its 30,000 customers and more • Influencing customers by proposing lower carbon solutions.
than 180,000 end users. The business operates its own network of • Engaging with members of its 104,000-strong workforce to
dial-in access ports and conferencing bridges across 54 countries – reduce their personal carbon footprints and empower them to
a number that’s set to rise. BT Conferencing is also amongst the top influence their local communities.
suppliers of teleconferencing services globally and is outperforming
much of the rest of the conferencing industry. It grew significantly
more than industry average during 2005/06. n
ecoexecutive | 34
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