The environment has never been a bigger issue than it is right now. More than ever, consumers of goods and services are choosing to spend their time and money with businesses that are greener than their competitors.

However, encouraging consumers to spend money with you is only one of the reasons why you should be embracing a green way of working. While it is true that it?s almost impossible for any business to be 100% green, there are distinct advantages to making changes to the ways we conduct our day-to-day business.

I recently started a new role as an audio-visual specialist with?Fired Up Technologies?and that got me thinking about the green advantages of video-conferencing technology. So, just how green is?video-conferencing technology?and why should businesses be using it? The raw materials for the equipment, building the equipment, transporting it, installing it and the electricity used to power it, all have an environmental footprint. So, how can a video-conferencing system be green at all? I suppose the obvious answer is that it isn?t green; for the reasons I just listed. But what about the overall environmental saving once you have your system installed? That?s when we start to see green shoots!

Below are just five reasons to go green using video-conferencing.

1. Not going the distance??

Clearly one advantage of video-conferencing is the reduction in the need to travel. I recently had a meeting during which the business manager told me that she had recently travelled 2.5 hours to attend a 2-hour meeting and then travelled 2.5 hours back. This is clearly an inefficient use of company resources as well as being bad for the environment. Many remote workers routinely attend their head-office in person when this could easily be done via a video call. A study by George Mason University showed that, ???using a car at a one hour driving distance is equivalent to 1000 hours of video conference.?? A link to the full report is here -?https://cs.gmu.edu/~jpsousa/classes/895/readings/0789.pdf

 

2. Downsize???

Don?t panic. I am not advocating having a smaller business! If your staff can work remotely and communicate through video-conferencing, then you will require a smaller office space. This means less travel (see above) but also saves on heating and lighting as well as chairs and desks etc. In 2013, ClimateSmart produced a study of carbon emissions from offices in the USA which showed that on average 24% of a company?s carbon emissions came form staff commuting and 20% came from heating the office! You can read the report here -?https://climatesmartbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/CS-IND-BRIEF-OFFICES-FINAL-DIGITAL.pdf

3. Save the trees??

We?ve all been in meeting where stacks of hard copies of documents are handed out. Video-conferencing allows for electronic copies of documents to be shared to everyone digitally. These can then be edited and saved in real time, which saves printing (again) at a later date. This also negates the need to use copier toner and printer ink.

 

4. Save the turtles??

I?m sure we are all acutely aware of the damage that plastic is doing to our oceans. During meetings, plastic bottles of water are often used whereas remote workers are more likely to use a glass or mug to drink, saving on plastic waste. Good news for turtles, good news for the bottom line!

 

5. Food for thought??

Many conferences include food, much of which can end up as waste. A lot of energy is used in food production and transport and so food going to waste has a real environmental footprint. There is a carbon footprint, a water footprint, a chemical footprint, a land-use footprint?the list goes on. According to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation report in 2013, if food waste was a country it would rank third (behind China and the USA) as the worst producer of greenhouse gasses. See page 17 of the following report?https://www.fao.org/3/i3347e/i3347e.pdf.

 

Short and sweet

The above list of green reasons to install video-conferencing systems only scratches the surface of benefits to businesses. Whether or not you subscribe to becoming greener, it?s not difficult to see the positive environmental impact all businesses can achieve through video-conferencing and how this translates to a healthier bottom line. On top of helping to save the planet, businesses can also benefit by saving money, improving PR, saving time, increasing flexibility, faster decision making, competitive advantage?.. the list goes on and on. So, do yourself (and your business) a favour and go green!