Going Green: A Painless Process

[Kelly King]

What does “going green” mean? Does it mean saving all of your money for months on end to go out and buy solar panels, an electric car, or “off the grid” kitchen appliances (when all you really wanted was that special 60 inch flat screen TV)? Does it mean only taking a shower every 3 days instead of 2 twice daily? Does it mean only consuming locally produced food for the rest of you life, and thus never being able to eat those delicious peaches that only grow in Georgia? All of these things do, in fact, contribute to conservation, but most of us tend to outweigh the environmental benefits with the personal benefits—I mean, it is understandable! When faced with the decision of: “hmmm should I eat the measly lettuce salad that came from the 2 foot by 2 foot garden in my back yard, or should I drive to a restaurant and eat their delicious steak imported from across the country?” Most of us know what the answer would be to that question; and the tree growing in our backyard would cringe at the answer. This is the problem with “going green” today and it applies to many businesses today too. Saving our planet and boosting our environmentally friendly morals should not be looked on as a huge sacrifice that will devour our paychecks and inconveniences, but rather a process that will actually benefit us financially as well as saving time and effort.

Let’s think about the “going green” concept again: saving the environments, and saving money and time with no inconveniences? Seems like a classic example of an oxymoron to me; especially if you are talking about going green as a business. In some cases, this statement would indeed be an oxymoron (I would like to reference the “no shower for 3 days” option at this time), but, thanks to today’s technology, going green can be your company taking a simple step that will not only save the environment, save money, time and effort. This step is called audio and web conferencing.

Think about this:
Only one half of paper product get recycled, and plastic waste (which would include video tapes) takes doesn’t break down for hundreds of years in landfills. (source: http://www.nabshow.com/2009/eventInfo/pdfs/Going%20Green_Guidebook_lores.pdf

Cars and motor vehicles are the leading cause in ozone pollution. They account for 72% of nitrogen oxides and 52% of reactive hydrocarbons (principal components of smog). (Source: http://bicycleuniverse.info/cars/pollutionpaper.html

When you drive an average of 1,000 miles a month, you produce around 120 tons of carbon dioxide a year: each gallon of gas used by a car contributes about 19 pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere. (Source: http://www.green.sc/content,stats/)

A New York Times article was released discussing the benefits of conferencing and the environment.
o Last year, Building firm Carillion staff spent 34,144 hours talking to people through video, web and teleconferencing, avoiding the costs, time and stress of traveling.
o Skanska UK, another construction firm, also recently trialed a video conferencing unit at a remote site in Cumbria and found that the money saved on traveling covered the £10,000 ($16388.0695) cost within six months. (Source: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/related_reports/best_green_companies/article3945570.ece)

ReadyTalk Audio and Web conferencing is helping businesses go green by providing an easy-to-use web conferencing service that has virtually no carbon footprint and uses no gas, paper, or money. The next time you are planning to travel across the country for a business meeting, think about the amount of gas that is going into your trip. Contemplate the forest that is being chopped down to be used as paper for your business proposal; think about the time you could spend going to a basketball game with your family instead of sitting, uncomfortably on a plane ride with a sleeping stranger’s head resting irritatingly on your shoulder; consider your travel expenses that could be used to fund your investment in a 100% electric car. All of these things can be avoided when we use electronic forms of communication: audio conferencing, emailing, and telephones. Harnessing this opportunity is a vital step towards saving our environment, and it doesn’t take giving up you hair dryer, TV, or dishwasher! ReadyTalk also records web meetings, so that the information can be kept safely on the computer and web, instead of being vulnerable on a sheet of paper that is exposed to spillage, paper shredders, and dogs. Taking the first step towards the higher goal of total greenness (sounds incredible), and cutting back on travel expenses should be every businesses’ responsibility. If companies around the world start turning on the computer instead of hopping on the plane, then we are truly moving towards a greener world.