Virtual meetings cut emissions and make huge cost savings for businesses
Last updated 12/5/2011 12:52:50 PM
Virtual meetings cut emissions and make huge cost savings for businesses
Companies can cut emissions and save millions of pounds by replacing business travel with virtual meetings, new research suggests.
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh studied two virtual conferences and found they had considerably smaller costs and carbon output compared with their real-life equivalents.
Dr Dave Reay said: "With money tight and carbon emissions rising they can certainly play a greater role." One international, three-day online event for 260 delegates, held by a global IT and services company, saved $250,000 and 280 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions compared with such an event in real life. Another virtual conference, held by a university and involving 62 delegates, saved almost 35 tonnes of CO2 and cost $120,000 less than a real-life equivalent event.
Most savings were made by cutting out air travel. However, researchers from the University of Edinburgh who carried out the study found that, despite potential savings, businesses are slow to adopt virtual meetings because many people prefer to meet face-to-face.
Researchers studied attitudes towards virtual meetings within two further organisations - a university and an oil and gas company.
Results showed that virtual meeting spaces such as Second Life can be useful in some instances, for example training staff in practical skills.
However, the perception of business travel as a perk of the job remains an important barrier to more widespread use.