Reducing carbon footprint

We will take a look at a real life example of how video conferencing can help organisations to reduce their carbon footprint.

A retail company with stores throughout the UK has 6 Regional Managers who meet at their Head Office in London for a meeting every quarter.

1 lives close by and walks to the office.
1 takes a return flight from Glasgow to London = 0.12 tonnes
1 makes a return train journey from Exeter to London = 0.03 tonnes
1 drives from Southampton to London in a medium sized petrol car = 0.05 tonnes
1 travels by train from Birmingham to London = 0.02 tonnes
1 flies from Manchester to London = 0.05 tonnes

One meeting = 0.27 tonnes of carbon emissions

Repeated 4 times a year these quarterly meetings alone equate to 1.08 tonnes of carbon emissions.

2 Directors of the company fly from London to New York for a meeting with suppliers = 2.5 tonnes of carbon emissions

With a simple desktop video conferencing solution in each of the Regional Manager’s offices and a meeting room video conferencing solution in the London Head office, these meetings could all be done by video conference eliminating 2.77 tonnes of carbon emissions.
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Glossary

Carbon footprint is a measure of the amount of carbon dioxide or CO2 emitted through the combustion of fossil fuels as part of an organisations everyday operations. A carbon footprint is expressed as tons of carbon dioxide or tons of carbon emitted.
Video conferencing on a personal computer using a webcam and software. Ideal for individual use.
A video conferencing system comprising of a screen, camera, codec speakers and microphone, designed for flexible use in meeting rooms, conference rooms and executive boardrooms.
Videoconferencing is a live communication between people in separate locations. It usually involves audio and text as well as video. Videoconferencing in its simplest form transmits static images and text between two locations. Sophisticated video systems today can transmit full-motion video images and high-quality audio between multiple locations.
Video conferencing solutions comprise of everything you need to enable video communication between people in separate locations. Video conferencing systems can range from simple desk top systems for one-to-one video calls through to a sophisticated system, fully integrated into the design of your room for a video call between many people at a number of different locations.