Businesses Can Achieve a Return on Investment in as Little as 15 Months

Dallas and London - According to a new study of large companies using telepresence technology, U.S.
and U.K. businesses that substitute some business travel with
telepresence can cut CO2 emissions by nearly 5.5 million metric
tons in total - the greenhouse gas equivalent of removing more than
one million passenger vehicles from the road for one year - and
achieve total economy-wide financial benefits of almost $19
billion, by 2020.

Telepresence is a rapidly growing and increasingly popular
technology that enables groups of people to meet and collaborate in
multiple locations worldwide while feeling as if they were all in
the same room together.

The study, “href=”https://www.cdproject.net/en-US/WhatWeDo/Pages/telepresence-revolution.aspx”
target=”_blank”>The Telepresence Revolution,” was commissioned
by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and sponsored by
AT&T*.

Other conclusions of the study determined a business with $1
billion or more in annual revenue implementing four telepresence
rooms could: 

1. Achieve a financial return on investment in as little as 15
   months;
   
   
   
   



2. Save nearly 900 business trips in the first year of using
   telepresence; and
   
   
   
   



3. Reduce emissions by 2,271 metric tons over five years-the
   greenhouse gas equivalent of removing 434 passenger vehicles from
   the road for one year. 

The study also revealed that telepresence technology can help
speed decision-making, improve employee productivity, and provide
workers with a better work-life balance. 

The study was produced by Verdantix, an independent analyst
research firm. Verdantix conducted in-depth interviews with
executives of 15 Global 500 firms that are early adopters of
telepresence - including Accenture, Aviva, EMC and Microsoft - and
used the findings of those interviews to develop a new, detailed
model to calculate the financial return on investment (ROI) and
carbon reductions of telepresence.

The model looks at projected telepresence adoption among
companies with $1 billion or more in annual revenue and forecasts
how the financial and carbon reduction benefits achieved by early
adopters of telepresence would translate into economy-wide
financial and environmental benefits in the U.S. and U.K. by
2020.

Carbon emission reductions among U.S. companies with annual
revenues over $1 billion were forecast at approximately 4.6 million
metric tons by 2020, the equivalent of removing more than 875,000
passenger vehicles from the road for one year.  Among large
U.K companies, carbon emission reductions by 2020 were forecast at
approximately 940,000 metric tons, the equivalent of removing more
than 179,000 passenger vehicles from the road for one
year. 

Total economy wide financial benefits that could be generated by
2020 as a result of large companies using telepresence in place of
some business travel were forecast at over $15 billion for the U.S.
and almost $4 billion in the U.K.

“Companies that invest in carbon cutting technologies and
re-engineer the way they do business will not only be better placed
to succeed as we transition to a low-carbon economy but can
experience considerable business benefits during this transition,”
said CDP chief executive officer Paul Dickinson.

“Telepresence is a good example of a
low-carbon solution that can bring financial savings and increase
productivity while reducing emissions.”

Daniel T. Walsh, senior vice president of marketing services,
AT&T Business Solutions said, “Business customers have spoken
and their feedback is very powerful: Telepresence helps companies
run their businesses better while allowing them to reduce their
carbon emissions.

“This, plus the dramatic and speedy return on investment
suggested in the findings are prompting companies to embrace this
game-changing technology,” he added. “Over the last year, AT&T
has helped customers deploy hundreds of rooms globally, a trend
that we expect will continue as companies start to reap the many
benefits of telepresence usage.”

In addition to the industry forecasts, the report cited benefits
of telepresence already achieved by companies participating in the
survey:

• Sak Nayagam, Head of Climate Change Solutions, Sustainability
  Services EALA at Accenture, said, “Since adopting telepresence,
  Accenture has expanded its network to include more than 50
  telepresence rooms across the globe. The travel saved through their
  use would have accounted for 6,200 metric tons of carbon dioxide
  emissions globally from November 2007 through August 2009. For us,
  it is not so much about eliminating travel but travelling smarter
  and maximising the time and value of our workforce.
  
  
  
  



• Zelda Bentham, senior environment manager of global insurance
  company Aviva, said, “We compared executives travelling from the
  nine months prior to telepresence with the nine months following
  implementation. From an air travel perspective, we observed a 25
  percent carbon footprint reduction.”

The study picks up where the “SMART 2020” report, a separate
initiative authored by the Climate Group in 2008, left off. “SMART
2020” identified four key areas, including travel substitution,
where greater use of the products and services from the
Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) sector could reduce
greenhouse gas emissions by up to 15% by 2020. 

To read more about the study, please visit: href=”https://www.cdproject.net/telepresence-revolution”
target=”_blank”>https://www.cdproject.net/telepresence-revolution.