Guest Post: Go Green with Video Conferencing

Going green has become somewhat of a catchphrase across the globe in recent years, with many businesses increasingly focusing resources and energy on attempting to lessen their environmental impact. While the direct actions of a company itself no doubt play an important role in how environmentally friendly a particular organization ultimately is, it’s also important to consider the impact of the employees working for the business. For example, according to the Texas Transportation Institute, more than 3.9 billion gallons of fuel are wasted annually due to traffic congestion. Finding solutions to resolve such issues is an important responsibility that falls on the shoulders of employers across the nation.

In recent years, video conferencing has emerged as an important and effective tool for reducing the impact made by constant travel. Many organizations routinely send workers to conferences or other offices, in order to coordinate with other employees and clients. While these activities are often imperative to the success of the business, they also contribute to problems like global warming. Rather than looking for travel alternatives with a smaller impact that nevertheless add to the issue, video conferencing allows companies to eliminate their contribution to these problems entirely.

A plethora of different studies and research suggests that the clout of video conferencing’s influence within the business world will only continue to grow as advanced technology becomes more accessible. For example, recent statistics published in Information Week suggest that 75% of all enterprises will be using video conferencing in some capacity by 2013. Not only does this move suggest that companies are making a conscientious effort to minimize their environmental impact, but it demonstrates the need for modern companies to have an easy way to share information and ideas quickly and effectively. For many organizations, video conferencing seamlessly fills this role.

While the shift to video conferencing will no doubt take sustained efforts from a variety of different sources, if companies are willing to spend the time and resources investing in this technology, it will likely prove both profitable and a better choice for the environment. Further allowing companies to take advantage of the many benefits video conferencing can provide, the advent of cheaper technological solutions means businesses are no longer required to choose between low-cost solutions and environmentally friendly choices. Instead, video conferencing equipment can generally be implemented quite cheaply, allowing the company to reap the rewards of such technology twofold.