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Realizing Global Benefits By Staying Close To Home
Prevailing scientific wisdom is in little doubt that climate change is the result of human activities, and as an issue that will certainly have global impact on all societal levels, urgent action is required. Without a concerted effort by both businesses and individuals alike, we’re facing increases in extreme weather, coastal flooding, extensive species extinctions, and widespread upticks in human diseases and premature deaths, to name a few potential consequences. Our collective challenge is not to determine the cause of climate change, but how to prevent the emission of additional atmospheric greenhouse gases (GHG) such as CO2. Can any immediate actions with instant impact be taken that won’t harm economic growth? It is a question that has many enterprises concerned that they must choose between financial viability and social responsibility. Yet achieving increased energy efficiency presents many considerable business opportunities. Take business travel, for instance. The transportation sector in the US was responsible for 28% of overall GHG emissions in 2007 with corporate trips playing no small role. Consider that it costs between 0.40 and 0.64 pounds of CO2 per passenger mile for air travel, which is four times more GHG emissions than ground travel, or 2- 50% of a company’s overall GHG emissions. Yet air travel isn’t the most common way to get to meetings. In fact, 81% of all corporate travel takes place in cars with a lower per-mile CO2 load, yet still a noteworthy effect on climate change. But corporate travel isn’t just an environmental issue, it’s big business. On average, 46% of business travel budgets go to air travel—significant opportunity for financial savings. A 2007 survey of 345 executives indicated that 57% of companies are working on carbon-reduction strategies. When asked about approaches for reducing their carbon footprint, reduction of air travel through carbon neutral meetings was at the top of the list. Attaining carbon and financial savings with web conferencing Web conferencing can dramatically reduce travel costs and slash a company’s overall GHG emissions—AT&T reduced their air travel by 15% through web and video meetings. But the advantages don’t stop there: • Time is saved by keeping employees near home rather than on the road. • Participants can simultaneously collaborate and gain hands-on training through online interaction with the presentation. • Entire meetings can be recorded for future reference. Unfortunately, executives often lack knowledge, have security concerns, and fear losing the prestige of globe-hopping travel. Regardless, economic concerns and interest in corporate social responsibility are driving more businesses to seek out carbon neutral operations. Evaluating web meeting options Vendor-independent services like webconferencing-test.com are leading the way by providing comprehensive insight into the many and varied web meeting solutions. With detailed, well-researched comparisons, pricing structures, and functionality ratings of all the major web meeting players, decision-makers can approach the process with confidence and ease. Now is the perfect time to get started with web conferencing. Early adopters will certainly have an edge over laggards who ignore the tremendous benefits of web conferencing, earning a competitive advantage through “green” business points and lower operating costs. What are you waiting for? Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com www.webconferencing-test.com - Vendor-independent Comparison of Web Conferencing Solutions |
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