68% of leading global firms incorporate climate change initiatives … video communications cut carbon emissions!
According to the 2011 annual Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) Global 500 report, more than two-thirds (68%) of leading global firms have incorporated climate change initiatives into their business strategies, a huge rise of 20% on 2010 figures.
The CDP Global 500 report, which examines carbon reduction activities within the the world’s largest public corporations, also found that 45% of the companies surveyed are now reducing and reporting reductions in their greenhouse gas emissions, compared to just 19% last year. It was particularly interesting that the results of the report were discussed in a live broadcast to 10 cities around the world including Mumbai, London, New York, Sao Paulo and Berlin via Cisco TelePresence, the next generation of video conferencing technology that cuts carbon emissions by reducing the need for business travel. The quality of the Cisco TelePresence experience is demonstrated in this live event, check it out here – I think you’ll agree the quality is fantastic!
A growing number of companies, especially those with global locations, are turning to video communications to reduce the need for travel. In doing so, these businesses are not only making huge savings by reducing the costs associated with travel but from an environmental perspective, they are reducing their carbon footprint and becoming more environmentally friendly!
Cisco, as a company, are setting the standard for other companies to follow. Not only do Cisco help other companies reduce their carbon footprint through their innovative TelePresence solutions, but they had the top disclosure score in the Information Technology sector this year and in 2009 and 2010, Cisco were also #1 and #2, respectively.
According to the results of the survey, the IT sector seems well engaged on carbon reporting, despite the perception that corporate social responsibilty (CSR) initiatives are not given enough focus within the world’s leading companies. These results support the fact that carbon reduction is becoming more important with 95% of Global 500, IT-sector companies responding to the CDP survey which is a higher percentage than any other sector.
Whether the leading global companies are simply concerned about the bottom line and the deployment of video communications as a green initiative is just another benefit on top of the fact it saves money is still open to debate but the results of this survey show that the world’s leading organisations are working smarter and the environment can only benefit from that!
How green are you?
Each time you take a flight, board the train for a business meeting or drive for your daily commute to the office, there is a negative impact on the environment, not to mention the drain on finances and your productivity.
Calculate the impact of your business travel to see if there is a better way of working?