14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft and HP co-funded two World Wildlife Fund new research studies underlining the role that technology can play in reducing climate impact. World Wildlife Fund revealed that it was possible for corporations to focus on cutting back harmful emissions thorough information technology (IT) while at the same time cutting costs, making new jobs available and even driving innovation. Still, the WWF stressed that, although IT solutions could help the worsening climate crisis, global strategies had to be implemented as soon as possible.
“IT can be a significant driver of greenhouse gas reductions, but we need strong global climate policy to ensure these solutions are implemented at the speed and scale necessary to make a difference,” explained Dennis Pamlin, a WWF Policy Advisor and co-author of the reports. The “Virtual Meetings and Climate Innovation in the 21st Century” study concludes that some companies can reduce as much as half of their total carbon footprint by investing in unified communication solutions, rather than continue with their current travel expenses while at the same time contributing to greenhouse gas emissions.
“This research tells us that if relatively simple measures are implemented globally, we can achieve annual emissions reductions equal to at least half of current U.S. total annual emissions by 2050. But we must start to walk in the right direction now, before it’s too late,” Pamlin added.
At the same time, WWF indicated that cutting employee traveling could also be a strategy performed at a much smaller scale. In this context, the “From Workplace to Anyplace” study reveals the benefits associated with a remote workforce. WWF estimated that tele-work alone was capable of cutting approximately 3.5 billion tons of CO2 emissions by 2050. It is by no coincidence that Microsoft, one of the sponsors of the research, has a strong lineup of offerings designed for both unified communications and remote working scenarios.