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Chicken or beef? Just imagine not exposing yourself to dodgy airplane meals and lost luggage anymore?\u00a0Nowadays there\u2019s really little need to fly thousands of kilometeres for an one hour meeting. More and more businesses are starting to make use of virtual meetings to save money and to lighten their carbon footprint.<\/p>\n
Ok, let’s start from the beginning. So what does the term carbon footprint<\/strong> actually mean?<\/p>\n Every human being has their own carbon footprint, whether you are an individual, part of a large corporation or a manufacturer of goods. Your daily activities and everything you do has an impact on the environment. Your carbon footprint is a measure of this impact and can be calculated based on your food, travel, purchases and how you deal with waste. (If you want to find out what yours is, use the\u00a0Carbon Footprint Calculator<\/a>)<\/p>\n There are many ways of reducing your carbon footprint and making sure you tread lightly every day. Conferences and meetings are just two of these.<\/p>\n Ask yourself whether it’s really necessary to attend the meeting or conference? According to\u00a0Dave Rochlin of ClimatePath<\/a>\u00a0most events can generate more than a ton of CO2 per attendee. This includes air travel (about 90% of the carbon footprint), paper usage, conference material and catering. According to research done by ClimatePath a conference’s\u00a0carbon footprint can be reduced by 90 percent by hosting the meeting virtually.\u00a0One company, Manpower,\u00a0avoided<\/a>\u00a0400,000\u00a0pounds of CO2 emissions by holding its annual Global Leadership Team meeting virtually, which reduced air travel by one million miles!<\/p>\n Modern technologies such as video conferencing can help lower the carbon footprint of meetings.\u00a0An initial investment in tele- and video-conferencing facilities will reduce the need for flights saving money, time and carbon emissions. But the installation of possibly expensive technology isn’t a necessity. A virtual meeting can easily be conducted via Skype within an hour – the same meeting in a different location would’ve been more costly and time-consuming as well.<\/p>\n If it’s not possible to conduct a meeting via video conferencing, some measures can still be taken to lessen the impact on the environment. Some handy hints on conferencing can be found on\u00a0The National Conference Centre’s blog<\/a>\u00a0so next time you attend a conference, make sure you tread lightly. Goed, maar kom ons begin by die begin. Wat beteken dit as almal verwys na jou “carbon footprint”?<\/p>\n Elke persoon het sy eie voetspoor (“carbon footprint”), of jy `n individu is, deel van `n groot maatskappy of `n vervaardiger van goedere. Jou daaglikse aktiwiteite en alles wat jy doen het `n impak op die omgewing rondom jou. Jou voetspoor is die maatstaf van hierdie impak en kan gemeet word volgens jou eetgewoontes, hoe jy reis, wat jy koop en natuurlik hoe jy ontslae raak van al jou rommel. (As jy graag wil weet hoe diep jy jou spoor trap, gaan kyk by\u00a0Carbon Footprint Calculator<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Daar is verskeie maniere om jou impak te verlig en seker te maak dat jy met ligter tre\u00eb op die aarde trap. Konferensies en vergaderings is bloot een hiervan.<\/p>\n Voor jy op `n vliegtuig spring vir `n vinnige uitstappie Johannesburg toe, vra jouself af of dit regtig nodig is om 1000+ kilometers te vlieg om hierdie vergadering by te woon? Volgens Dave Rochlin of ClimatePath<\/a>\u00a0kan die \u00a0meeste konferensies meer as `n ton CO2 per deelnemer genereer. Dit sluit in, reis (ongeveer 90% van die voetspoor), papiergebruik, konferensiemateriaal en spyseniering. Volgens navorsing gedoen deur ClimatePath can die impak op die omgewing met 90% verminder word deur bloot `n virtuele vergadering te hou. Een maatskappy, Manpower<\/a>, het\u00a0400,000\u00a0pond se CO2 gasse vermy deur hul jaarlikse \u00a0“Global Leadership Team”-vergadering virtueel aan te bied en ook lugreise met een miljoen myl verminder!<\/p>\n Met hedendaagse moderne tegnologie soos videokonferensiefasiliteite word dit al makliker om die “carbon footprint” van vergaderings te verminder. Die aanvanklike onkoste om tele- en videokonferensiefasiliteite aan te koop, sal die nodigheid om te vlieg verminder en daarmee saam geld, tyd en uitlaatgasse spaar. Die installasie van moontlike duur tegnologie is egter nie nodig nie. ‘n Virtuele vergadering kan net so maklik met Skype afgehandel word binne `n fraksie van die tyd.<\/p>\nHoender of bief? Sal dit nie salig wees om nie meer jouself bloot hoef te stel aan suspisieuse vliegtuigmaaltye en verlore bagasie nie?\u00a0Deesdae is dit nie meer nodig om kilometers ver te vlieg vir `n een uur vergadering nie. Meer en meer besighede maak gebruik van virtuele konferensies om geld te spaar en terselfdertdyd hul koolstof-voetspoor ligter te maak.<\/p>\n