Going Green

There is an ever increasing desire for organisations to proclaim that they are now carbon neutral, this can be achieved through several carbon trading methods. However this is an area where the incorrect trading methods can have a reverse effect on the organisations perception and the environment, particularly if the trading credits are not sourced through the desired and accredited calculation methods.

Through the proactive use of collaboration technologies, organisations are able to reduce their travel costs and the harmless emissions associated with them. The team at C2C has been monitoring the carbon trading market closely and through the use of the correct tools, followed by a complimentary travel policy organisations are able to displace their remaining emissions through endorsed carbon trading transactions and promote their carbon neutral position.

We have also developed a series of programs that can help organisations to promote the reduction of emissions through employee participation which will further drive adherence to travel policy and the correct use of the collaboration tools implemented through our engagement.

Develop an environmental policy
This is largely dependant on the type of industry your organisation operates within and the policies will differ for organisations based on their industry sector and size. First and foremost is the ability to measure your organisations current carbon emissions and measure this against industry best practice. Following this exercise you will be able to set measurable milestones to aim for as you implement your policy.
The most common elements of an environmental policy are:

  • Re-use of disposable items such as ink cartridges and toner
  • Source green utilities such as gas and electricity
  • Be an environmentally responsible neighbor in the communities where you operate, and act promptly and responsibly to correct incidents or conditions that endanger health, safety, or the environment. Report them to authorities promptly and inform affected parties as appropriate.
  • Conserve natural resources by reusing and recycling materials, purchasing recycled materials, and using recyclable packaging and other materials.
  • Develop, manufacture, and market products that are safe for their intended use, efficient in their use of energy, protective of the environment, and that can be reused, recycled or disposed of safely.
  • Use development and manufacturing processes that do not adversely affect the environment, including developing and improving operations and technologies to minimize waste, prevent air, water, and other pollution, minimize health and safety risks, and dispose of waste safely and responsibly.
  • Ensure the responsible use of energy throughout your business, including conserving energy, improving energy efficiency, and giving preference to renewable over non-renewable energy sources when feasible.
  • Participate in efforts to improve environmental protection and understanding around the world and share appropriate pollution prevention technology, knowledge and methods.
  • Establish a collaboration plan

This process will help to establish some of the initiatives to not only reduce your organisations carbon output but also help to set the framework for your collaboration plan and the timeframe for rolling this out to the workforce. The framework will need to take into account the pillars that make up a collaboration solution and the requirements of the individual user profiles. C2C has whitepapers on the collaboration pillars and how to profile your knowledge workers.

Implement hot desking
As your collaboration plan evolves, a hot desking plan will be required to enable your dispersed workforce to attend the head office to meet with co-workers, external customers and suppliers when a face to face meeting is necessary. This plan will help with the reduction of valuable office space required to house your workforce and address the tele-workers needs as and when they need to attend the main office. Key considerations for your hot desking plan are.

  • How do users book their hot desk in advance?
  • Easily relocating PBX extensions
  • Access to peripheral devices
  • Providing the right ratio of desks to remote users
  • Promote tele-working

This is a complimentary plan to the hot desking initiative and allows employees the ability to work from their homes either permanently or on set days where traffic and travel is too restrictive. This initiative has proven to be successful where employees have long distances to commute, are most effective when they are out of the office such as sales people, or have no real need to interact with the office staff personally and can perform their duties from any location.
Statistics have shown that tele-workers are generally more productive than their office based colleagues and by adopting this type of policy it has also helped with staff retention.

Develop a green travel policy
With the proactive use of the collaboration technologies implemented in your collaboration plan, employees should not need to travel anywhere near as much as they previously did.
The travel policies should be adapted to encourage use of these technologies and only after a valid justification is presented as to why travel is necessary over the use of your collaboration suite should travel be granted. C2C has developed a number of travel policies that enforce the use of collaboration and by forcing adherence the return on investments are usually realised within their expected periods.

Neutralise remaining carbon outputs
Despite our best intentions it is highly unlikely that this process will eliminate all carbon outputs and now you will need to establish the most effective and credible methods to offset the remaining outputs. This is a treacherous area and we suggest you engage an experienced consultant to source an accredited method which is recognized both locally and globally. This is important if you plan to market your organisation as being carbon neutral. All your good intentions and marketing kudos can be lost if your neutralization plan is based on an immeasurable and dubious processes.