Something Everyone Can Do To Help Go Green – If you’re Not Scared of the Dark!

We’ve been talking the last few months about how businesses can get involved and what changes you can make at work. But I’d like to get back to where we started…the movement needs individuals to take small steps towards a large change. If you just aren’t sure what you could do to help stop global warming, I’ve got the solution for you: turn off your lights!

On Saturday, March 29th at 8pm local time, there will be a global action to go dark and turn off every light that you can. Earth Hour 2008 plans on showing how individuals can ban together to make a difference for the environment. And, along the way it might just show people that they can live without the TV and computer for an hour or so.

The event was started last year in Sydney, Australia and over 2 million people participated. Great landmarks like the Syndey Opera House and the Harbour Bridge were dark. This year the event is extending to cities like Chicago, Toronto, and Dubai. In the US, the Sears Tower, Golden Gate Bridge and the Georgia Dome will all be participating.

To date, over 150,000 individuals and 10,000 companies have committed to turning off their lights. Sky Magazine estimates that if every American household turns off their lights for only an hour it will prevent more than 16,500 tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere.

I will definitely be joining the efforts, and encouraging those here at InterCall and to do the same. If you’re a fan of Facebook, you can add this application and ask your friends to take the Earth Hour Pledge. (Oh, yes…visit the InterCall page on Facebook while you’re there!)

So now, the big question is – what are all of these people going to do in the dark? Last year Sydney had a few candlelight weddings. Chicago will have bowling by candle light and Toronto will host a free concert. Take the dog for a walk, go to the park with your kids, or just enjoy a nap! Will you be turning your lights off? (Good for you!) So, what are you going to do for a whole hour in the dark?

Carolyn Campbell
Senior Director, Marketing Communications
InterCall

Earth Day is April 22, 2008

Earth Day started back in 1970, after Senator Gaylor Nelson pondered the idea for several years. Inspired by the student demonstrations of the 1960’s, Senator Nelson wanted to create a grassroots effort that would force the environmental issue onto the political agenda.  This year, Earth Day is on Tuesday April 22.  We’ll be hosting a webinar discussing how companies can grow their business through environmental initiatives.

But, we want to know what YOU are doing to celebrate Earth Day this year.  Whether it’s a personal initiative, a community event or a company campaign – post a comment and tell us all about it!

Carolyn Campbell
Senior Director, Marketing Communications
InterCall

Oh, My Aching Footprint

This month we’re deep in the middle of the process of mapping a firm carbon footprint here at InterCall.  Based on how we do business, we know that we have a smaller footprint than many corporations…no toxic chemicals or complex supply-chains to worry about.

But oh, the complexity! The actual calculations we’re turning over to a trusted, credible consultant and the PURE organization…that part is easy. But if your organization is anything like ours, you have to rally all the experts in different groups to provide the needed information to make this possible.

Do you find yourself becoming expert in things you never before needed (or wanted) to know? Telecom routing, server power management, travel policies and waste management…

The good thing is that everywhere I turn I find people who are excited about helping with this project! People want to be involved in improving the footprint of our business in a grass-roots way, so they can see that they’re making a difference. And since management supports the initiative, we have the freedom to spend a little time working on it. Win-win all the way around, truly.

How’s it going at your company? Send a comment to let me know!

Carolyn Campbell
Senior Director, Marketing Communications
InterCall

Learn from Example

The more we talk about this subject, the more our customers are coming out of the woodwork to share their stories.  Many of our clients are setting a great example and showing us how they’ve used our teleconferencing services to go green, like eSurance. But, we also have other clients who are asking us where to start. And that's why we’ve created this site ... we want to give you the opportunity to explore and network about environmental concerns, and to learn from what others are doing

So as we kick off 2008, we want to call out to all our readers to share your stories.

Tell us – how did you start the green process? Was it a huge initiative or a simple recycling bin? Did you reduce travel or measure your carbon footprint? Companies of all sizes are having different experiences, triumphs and failures in going green.  Share your experiences, and knowledge that will help others and we will purchase 10 trees on your behalf to help you make the world a little bit greener.  If your story is featured on GreenConferencing.com, we'll plant 100 trees on your behalf!

If you’re still looking for ideas on how your company can be green, check back in a few days and read some ideas from the experts. Or, you can check out a new guide put out by Climate Action, which has quite a bit of research to it: http://www.climateactionprogramme.org/emagazine/2007 (Yes, InterCall is still proud to be a platinum sponsor of Climate Action, a joint project of Sustainable Development and the United Nations Environment Programme...I can't say that enough! )

Happy New Year to all...and thanks for helping us make 2008 better and greener!

Carolyn Campbell
Senior Director, Marketing Communications
InterCall

You Need a Green Strategy

In the last installment, I wrote about how each individual's contribution to changing the ways we use technology can make a difference, even if your company is not on board with carbon reduction. But in the last couple of months, I've seen more and more advertisements and announcements regarding "corporate action" toward environmental policies. Let's not take anything away from that . . . the more companies that enforce responsibility on a broader scale, the better off we all are.

This month InterCall announced our sponsorship for Climate Action Programme. I was especially excited about this opportunity when it came our way not only because of the great work that Sustainable Development has done for education of environmental issues in several countries, but also because of the tie to the United Nations Environment Programme, which promises that our support will go towards high-visibility educational tools and high priority events for program participants. With the initial launch of the Climate Action Programme, an educational guide was delivered to over 40,000 government officials and corporate organizations around the world. This is, I think, a pivotal time for countries and companies to be asking "What is our plan?", and this guide will help them understand the options.

I happened to be in London a few weeks ago, when Gordon Brown announced in the Queen's Speech that he intended to introduce a bill which would make the United Kingdom the first in the world to introduce a legally binding framework for the reduction of carbon emissions.The following day, I attended a business partner event, and all the talk was of how they might be able to adapt their business practices now, so they would not be caught behind when legal enforcement went into effect. It became evident that, even in a country where environmental issues have been taken seriously far in advance of the rest of the world, most small and medium-sized businesses did not have a plan. And even with all the buzz about larger companies adopting environmentally-friendly policies and processes, many people view impact-reduction as a "big business" problem and aren't prepared to apply these philosophies to their own business.

So how is your company going green? (Please tell me you a€™re using web conferencing instead of traveling for meetings!) But I'm curious to hear about all the ways your company is trying to change their policies. Let us know if you have a Green strategy in place. If you have one, tell us how it's going.

P.S. I'm proud to say that in the first month the Green Quiz on GreenConferencing.com has generated enough responses for us to plant over 4,000 trees! If you haven't taken the quiz yet, please do and we’ll plant one in your name!

P.P.S. Yes, I have already purchased my carbon-offsets for the trip to London. And I try to use conferencing instead of travel whenever I can. :)

Carolyn Campbell
Senior Director, Marketing Communications
InterCall

Launch!

Hello, and welcome to the Green Blog! In this first edition, I wanted to expound a bit on why InterCall created GreenConferencing.com and this blog.

While corporations and governments across the globe are redefining policies and restructuring their data centers and facilities, in reality it still comes down to empowering individuals to make the right choices in order to really be successful. While all the planning and strategies are taking place in the boardrooms and tech rooms, you as an individual can empower yourself by making the right choices whenever you can.

In this light, you'll notice that the GreenConferencing.com site is a little different from others you might have seen. We wanted to focus on building great resources and community where both companies that are looking for strategies, as well as individuals, can find the information they need to make smart choices about the business technologies and resources they use to make a difference when it comes to the global climate crisis.

At the end of the day, who decides whether or not you need to travel to meet with a client, or whether you can accomplish the same thing online? Who decides when to print out an email, or to save the paper? Who decides to power down your monitor at the end of the day?

If your company hasn’t yet defined all of its policies, and you’re not personally empowered to enact a new telecommuting policy to conserve the use of fossil fuels, my hope is that each and every person reading this message will take the opportunity to give a second thought to the little things you do every day, and decide to make a difference.

Here's the reality of it... In today’s world, nobody can really live their lives without making a footprint. We're all involved, whatever we do, just by being here. The question is, what way will you be involved? What choices will you make today, and how will you help?

For more information about what you can do individually, check out the links and tips back at the GreenConferencing.com site.

— Carolyn Campbell
Senior Director, Marketing Communications
InterCall