The Environmental Benefits of Meeting Remotely
To get your business done, you have to meet with employees, customers, vendors and partners who could be across town or on the other side of the globe. Traditionally, that means traveling by train, plane or automobile. With the growing concern of pollution and global warming, there is pressure to be environmentally conscious and curb the impact of our everyday activities on the world.
Consider these facts
Increasingly, we are spending more time on the road, which creates more pollution and changes the landscape of our planet.
- Commuting distances are increasing as employees move farther from the workplace. The U.S. Census Bureau reported the following states with the longest commutes.
| Rank
| State
| Avg. Travel Time to Work
|
| 1 |
New York |
30.8 |
| 2 |
Maryland |
30.0 |
| 3 |
District of Columbia |
29.4 |
| 4 |
New Jersey |
28.3 |
| 5 |
Illinois |
26.7 |
| 6 |
California |
26.6 |
| 7 |
Georgia |
26.5 |
| 8 |
West Virginia |
25.9 |
| 9 |
Massachusetts |
25.8 |
| 10 |
Virginia |
25.7 |
- In the United Sates, the average commuter spends more time commuting each year than on vacation. Using an average commuting distance of 18 miles each way and an average highway mileage of 23.4 mpg, the daily fuel consumption due to commuting is at least 1.5 gallons for a round trip. A five-day commuting workweek releases more than 5,154 lbs of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year, per employee.
- Direct costs and harmful carbon dioxide emissions are rising as a result of the following variables:
Planes: A transatlantic flight from London to New York creates on average 1.2 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
Cars: A gas-fueled car traveling 500 miles per week creates on average nine tons of carbon dioxide per year.
Trains: Commuting by train 350 miles every week creates on average 1.2 tons of carbon dioxide per year.
The Big Question
It is clear what our daily activities do to the environment. The question is: how do we cut emissions without compromising the productivity of our workforce?
What You Can Do
One way to accomplish this is to enable employees to work remotely. Our audio, web and video conferencing services allow employees to work from home and stay connected to co-workers, customers, vendors and partners.
Telecommuting is catching on. According to research conducted by WorldatWork through The Dieringer Research Group, the number of Americans whose employers allow them to work from home at least one day per month increased from 9.9 million to 12.4 million in 2009. Conferencing technology allows people to participate in sales meetings, project updates, and contract reviews without being in the office.
Despite this trend, the American workforce spends an average of 250 million hours on the road each month traveling between off-site meetings. By using conferencing as an alternative to travel, workers save time and money, and ultimately increase their productivity. In a poll conducted by Harris Interactive, when asked about environmentally-friendly alternatives to business related travel, 79% of respondents indicated they would likely utilize conferencing technology, while only 48% and 32% responded they would be likely to carpool or utilize public transportation, respectively. Conferencing is not just a cost-effective alternative to expensive traveling and hotel costs, but a realistic approach to minimizing the impact of everyday business on the environment.
Implement Environmentally-Friendly Policies
By implementing our audio, web and video conferencing within your organization, you can conduct business remotely in the same way as if you were meeting face-to-face. You can give a presentation, review documents or demonstrate software, without getting in your car or flying on a plane. Conferencing helps to cut carbon emissions, while at the same time saving your company time and money- the end result being increased productivity for your business.