How Technology Can Help You Reduce Your Emissions

In the face of inflation, businesses are experiencing a steep rise in costs. Energy costs, in particular, represent a significant percentage of the challenge. To top it all off, investors and consumers are demanding action on carbon footprint reduction. Fortunately, emerging technologies can help. 

New research has found that digital technology can help reduce a business’s carbon footprint by as much as 20 percent. The figure accounts for some of the industries that face the biggest challenge to reducing their carbon footprint—high-emitters such as energy, mobility, and materials businesses.  

Immediate adoption of these tools listed below could result in an initial reduction of four to ten percent of emissions that would reach its full potential by 2050.  

So, what will it take to implement these tools on a global scale at the rapid rate required to reach their targets?

• Transparent, reliable information and data

• Well-trained and highly-skilled employees to optimise systems with new technologies

• Partnerships with aligning initiatives

With a focus on becoming net-zero by 2050, many businesses are already well on their way to achieving the cost-saving benefits of reducing their footprint. In this article, we’ll discuss the strategies and benefits involved in implementing technological tools to reduce emissions. 

On-Demand, Anytime Collaboration

With unified communications and virtual desktops, teams can completely reduce their transportation costs. Innovative UCaaS software allows teams to work with greater efficiency and exceed the possibilities of in-office organisations.   

Virtual Desktops

Virtual desktops allow team members to produce quality work through a secure platform on any device, in any location and at any time. The result is engaged employees who focus less on commuting and more on collaborating.

Unified Communications

Webex or Microsoft Teams meetings provide an experience that is on par with an in-person meeting. Unified communications technology allows teams to collaborate in whichever medium of messaging suits their needs—voice, instant messaging, video, and SMS—from one centralised, secure digital platform.

Reduce Commuter Emissions

The average vehicle can emit approximately 4.6 metric tons of carbon annually. Since staff travel is a factor in calculating the footprint of a business, this is an important figure to consider. 

So, although it may not result in cost savings for the business to reduce the amount of time its employees spend commuting—unless the company offers a commuting stipend—it will measurably improve the overall sustainability rating of the business. This is important because of shifting consumer and investor demand for action on environmental sustainability. 

Reduce Space Utilisation by Moving to the Cloud

The Energy Information Administration’s annual survey found that energy makes up 19% of office-related costs. More research has shown that 77% of commercial building emissions come from electricity use, and 11% from natural gas. 

Hybrid and fully remote companies have the potential to dramatically reduce these emissions by allowing their employees to work from home through cloud-based software. Even in-office operations can reduce emissions by transitioning from a physical space that requires hardware to a software-based system. This optimises the available space, allowing for smaller office spaces and reduced energy costs.

Evolve IP’s solutions are powered by cloud-based technology that can have a dramatic impact on an enterprise’s carbon footprint and energy costs. Contact us to learn more about how we can help.  

IoT and Facilities Management 

Regardless of how many hours a team spends at the office each week, facilities must continue to be climate-controlled. This means businesses are accumulating energy costs seven days per week when employees are only occupying the building for eight hours per day, five days per week. These numbers can be even more discouraging considering the growing prevalence of hybrid work environments. 

Save transitioning to a fully-remote workplace, the best way to reduce power usage is by unplugging and powering off all possible equipment at the end of each day, over weekends, and during holidays.

Use Smart Power 

If the task of manually powering every piece of equipment on and off each day is daunting, invest in smart power technology. Smart power tech has become mainstream over the past decade and as a result, there are options for any budget or application. 

Here are some common options:

• Programmable power bars and plugs

• App-controlled building comfort systems

• Smart thermostats

• Leak and damage detection

• Automatic lights

• App-controlled appliances

Research has found a potential for an 18.7% decrease in power consumption through the use of smart power, so these solutions are worth the investment. 

Reducing Emissions: Continuous Improvement Toward Worthy Goals

Beginning in July of this year, Evolve IP announced its commitment to becoming carbon neutral. To demonstrate our commitment and provide a pathway for the rest of the cloud communication industry, we voluntarily calculated our carbon footprint. This calculation accounted for all activities including heating, energy consumption, business travel and employee commuting at the EMEA offices.

Our footprint was calculated at 3.05 total kWh per hour. The annual impact of our carbon footprint is the equivalent of:

• 26.735 fully grown trees felled

• 4.09 passenger vehicles driven for one year

• 2,410,678.205 phones charged