The Leader - September/October 2008 - (Page 40) co N ser va tIoN a N D th e B ottom lI Ne : re DucI NG co s ts aND I mp ro v I NG Yo ur co rp o rate ImaG e Every gallon of gasoline you save avoids 22 pounds of CO2 emissions. If your car gets 25 miles per gallon, for example, and you reduce your annual driving from 12,000 to 10,000 miles, you’ll save 1,800 pounds of CO2. resource scheduling offers an easy, automatic approach to helping organizations go green while enabling them to increase productivity and achieve a ROI (return on investment). Some examples of how resource scheduling technology can help the environment include: n Reducing commuting needs through office hoteling n Facilitating videoconferencing to reduce travel-related emissions n Reducing paper waste n Reusing and better utilizing resources n Conserving energy consumption through HVAC regulation n Supporting the purchase of local produce reDucING commutING throuGh offIce hotelING One way that companies are using scheduling technology to preserve the environment and reduce costs is to implement an office hoteling environment using automated resource scheduling technology. Office hoteling – also known as virtual offices, hot desking, flexible workspace, and shared workspace – enables employees to share offices as needed instead of having dedicated permanent workspaces. This gives companies the flexibility to allow their employees to telecommute while also providing access to the office as a “home base” where they can convene for meetings, trainings, etc. What does this mean? First and foremost, office hoteling can have a significant impact in conserving the environment by reducing employee commuting and the resulting harmful carbon dioxide emissions. In fact, according to a Pace University study, every gallon of gasoline you save avoids 22 pounds of CO2 emissions. If your car gets 25 miles per gallon, for example, and you reduce your annual driving from 12,000 to 10,000 miles, you’ll save 1,800 pounds of CO2. Christine Todd Whitman, president of management consulting firm Whitman Strategy Group and former governor of New Jersey, takes this one step further. “Every day across America, telecommuters save about $120 million in gas costs and prevent the emission of 1.76 billion pounds of carbon dioxide,” Whitman says. “That’s each and every single day.” But the benefits of office hoteling go well beyond the environmental benefits. By instituting office hoteling using scheduling technology, companies are able to downsize their office space to more appropriate levels, which reduces expensive real estate costs. It allows remote employees to reserve shared workspaces such as individual offices, group workspaces, and conference rooms – as well as any other accessory resources they might need, including loaner PCs or special equipment. Some companies are also setting up reservation kiosks in their lobbies that enable employees who may happen to show up unexpectedly to quickly and easily sign up for an available work space on the spot. facIlItatING vIDeocoNfereNcING to reDuce emIssIoNs Similarly, when it comes to videoconferencing, resource scheduling technology enables organizations to achieve greater efficiency as well as reduce the carbon footprint (the pounds of CO2 that a person or entity is responsible for producing in a given year). Employees can use resource scheduling to easily schedule videoconferences as well as any resources needed to ensure that these meetings run smoothly. When employees sign up for resources – such as videoconferencing equipment, specific room setups, etc. – the system automatically notifies the appropriate departments so the right equipment is in the right room at the right time. Also, once an employee schedules a meeting, the software automatically sends out invitations and reminders to meeting participants, which is particularly beneficial if there are changes in rooms, resources or meeting times. What does this mean? By streamlining the scheduling process, companies can rely on videoconferencing more heavily to communicate with others, helping to reduce travel costs, energy consumption and the harmful carbon emissions resulting from airline and vehicle travel. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Energy and the Energy Information Administration, burning a gallon of jet fuel produces 21.095 pounds of CO2. Therefore, as videoconferencing company TANBERG estimates, a one-day, worldwide break 2 0 0 8 th e le aDe r 40 septemBer / octoBer
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