Can High-Bandwidth Communication Help Solve the Problem of Global Warming?
Paul Dickinson, Chair of the Carbon Disclosure Project, believes that it can - by cutting out 50 percent of human transport, drastically reducing the emissions that contribute to climate change.
The Dawn of the Communication Economy
Can high-bandwidth communication help solve the problem of global warming? Paul Dickinson, Chair of the Carbon Disclosure Project, believes that it can - by cutting out 50 percent of human transport, drastically reducing the emissions that contribute to climate change. In this video, Dickinson explains how technology like AT&T's Telepresence can make a big difference in protecting the health of the planet and all of the life that it supports.
Americans spend an astonishing $850 billion dollars a year to travel around the United States, mostly for commuting to work and to meetings. With 23 percent of global emissions coming from transportation, this is a prime area for communication innovations that enable people to talk and collaborate with remote participants across the globe as if they were in the same room.
AT&T's Telepresence is an example of the high-speed virtual communications technology that can transform how companies do business, eliminating the cost and productivity drains of travel. With the help of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), AT&T determined that Telepresence delivers payback in 15 months and cuts 401 metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere within one year. Telepresence also makes use of existing supported video equipment, reducing the need to make expensive and often wasteful replacements.
The Carbon Disclosure Project, a non-profit organization that works to drive real change in the way the world does business in order to prevent climate change and protect natural resources, completed a report on telepresence technology entitled 'The Telepresence Revolution' (PDF). The 2010 case study examines the environmental benefits and financial savings that would come from adopting this type of virtual communications tech.
The Carbon Disclosure Project collects key climate change data from nearly 2,500 companies around the globe, assembling the largest database of corporate greenhouse gas emissions and climate change information in the world. Learn more at www.cdproject.net.
